Best PlacesUniversity Pines, Lubbock, TX Best Neighborhoods

2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026

Every neighborhood in and around University Pines, Lubbock, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.

See the map of best neighborhoods

University Pines, Lubbock ranks 3,273rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.

#3,273
of 5,983 neighborhoods
BestNeighborhood rank
Defaults weight crime safety, affordability, schools, and weather highest: the things hardest to change after a move
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of 5,983 neighborhoods
Your rank
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The best neighborhoods in University Pines, Lubbock

Map of the best neighborhoods in the University Pines, Lubbock area, with better matches in green and worse matches in red
Click the map to explore
National median
Worse match Better match
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BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.

University Pines, Lubbock's strengths and weaknesses

Top 1%A stable housing market
Top 3%Clean air
Top 3%Short commutes
Each measure against the national median. Bars to the right beat the median; bars to the left fall short. Percentiles compare University Pines, Lubbock with other neighborhoods.

Where University Pines, Lubbock ranks high

  • Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
  • Air qualityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
  • Short commute15.1 minutes each way, better than 98% of neighborhoods
  • Cheap childcare$672 a month, better than 96% of neighborhoods
  • QuietBetter than 94% of neighborhoods

Where University Pines, Lubbock ranks low

  • Big-city accessBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
  • Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
  • BikingBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
  • TransitBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
  • Low property taxBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods

What it costs to buy a home in University Pines, Lubbock

A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median University Pines, Lubbock home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,158, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.

Income to buy the median home
$51,000
a year, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate
Estimated monthly payment
$1,194
principal, interest, tax, and insurance on a $180,030 home
Median rent
$1,509
a month, across all home sizes

Where the monthly payment goes

Principal & interest$918
Property tax$216
Homeowners insurance$60

Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses University Pines, Lubbock's effective rate of 1.44%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.

Renting versus buying

At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.

Cumulative cost of renting versus owning the median home, first 10 years. Illustrative estimate.

Who lives in University Pines, Lubbock

University Pines, Lubbock runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.

Median age
37
younger than the U.S. median of 41
Residents 65 and older
19%
versus 18% nationally
Average household
2.2
below the U.S. average of 2.6

Residents by age

Under 1819%
18 to 3429%
35 to 4918%
50 to 6415%
65 and older19%

Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for University Pines, Lubbock.


Who works in University Pines, Lubbock, and how

Work in University Pines, Lubbock centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.

Work from home
6%
below the national average
Unemployment
0.2%
below the national average
Job growth
+2.6%
/y 2019-2023, near the national pace

Largest industries

Education13%
Retail trade12%
Health care & social11%
Manufacturing10%
Professional & technical8%

How people get to work

  • Drive or carpool 92%
  • Work from home 6%
  • Transit, walk, or bike 2%

Life in University Pines, Lubbock

University Pines, Lubbock has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of University Pines, Lubbock and thins out in others, which the map shows.

Places to eat and drink
22
restaurants, bars, and fast food, about 65.0 per 10,000 residents, more than 71% of neighborhoods
Parkland
62 acres
about 18.3 acres per 1,000 residents, more than 91% of neighborhoods

What the weather is like in University Pines, Lubbock, month by month

University Pines, Lubbock sees roughly 137 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.

Average daily high, mean, and low in degrees Fahrenheit, NOAA station data 2016 to 2025.
Show the monthly temperatures
MonthAvg highAvgAvg low
January58°40°26°
April81°62°45°
July97°83°70°
October80°63°48°

Flying in and out of University Pines, Lubbock

The nearest airport, Lubbock Preston Smith International, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 283 miles away.

Nearest airport
LBB
Lubbock Preston Smith International, about 11 miles
Airport size
Small hub
133rd-busiest in the US, 23 nonstop destinations
Average drive
16 min
from the area, with no traffic

The best schools in and around University Pines, Lubbock

Schools across University Pines, Lubbock average a C+, better than 54% of neighborhoods.

Top elementary schools

Top middle schools

Top high schools

Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every University Pines, Lubbock school and its grade on SchoolGrade.


University Pines, Lubbock measure by measure

Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare University Pines, Lubbock against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.


Common questions about living in University Pines, Lubbock

Is University Pines, Lubbock a good place to live?

Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, University Pines, Lubbock ranks 3,273rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, clean air, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.

Is University Pines, Lubbock expensive to live in?

The median home is worth $180,030. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $60,158 median income, cost of living beats 37% of neighborhoods.

Is University Pines, Lubbock safe?

University Pines, Lubbock is safer than 40% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $612 per resident a year.


Compare University Pines, Lubbock with other neighborhoods


Sources and methodology

Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to University Pines, Lubbock. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in University Pines, Lubbock represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.

University Pines, Lubbock detail on BestNeighborhood maps:

  1. Walk Grade for University Pines, Lubbock: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
  2. Noise in University Pines, Lubbock: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
  3. Conservative vs liberal map of University Pines, Lubbock: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
  4. Mobile and cell coverage in University Pines, Lubbock: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.

University Pines, Lubbock detail on related sites:

  1. CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
  2. ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
  3. CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.

Federal and public data:

  1. U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
  2. NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
  3. FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
  4. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
  5. FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
  6. U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
  7. FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
  8. CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
  9. National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
  10. FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
  11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
  12. Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.