Best PlacesWest Congress, Austin, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Congress, Austin, 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.
West Congress, Austin ranks 2,052nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Congress, Austin
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.
West Congress, Austin's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Congress, Austin ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
Where West Congress, Austin ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD+, better than only 22% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 25% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Congress, Austin
A household needs to earn about $176,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Congress, Austin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,362, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
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 West Congress, Austin's effective rate of 1.24%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Congress, Austin
West Congress, Austin runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Congress, Austin.
Who works in West Congress, Austin, and how
Work in West Congress, Austin centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in West Congress, Austin
West Congress, Austin has more parkland per resident than 94% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of West Congress, Austin and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Congress, Austin, month by month
West Congress, Austin sees roughly 122 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 83° | 68° | 56° |
| July | 99° | 85° | 74° |
| October | 86° | 71° | 58° |
Flying in and out of West Congress, Austin
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 6 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 10.7 million passengers in 2025, with 127 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around West Congress, Austin
Schools across West Congress, Austin average a D+, better than 22% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- St Elmo ElD+ · 22% proficient
- Pleasant Hill ElD · 17% proficient
- Odom ElF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lively MiddleC− · 30% proficient
- Bedichek MiddleD− · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Crockett EchsC · 34% proficient
- Travis Early College H SD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Congress, Austin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Congress, Austin 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 West Congress, Austin against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West Congress, Austin
Is West Congress, Austin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Congress, Austin ranks 2,052nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, a strong job market, and quiet, and lowest on summer heat and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Congress, Austin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $636,937. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $85,362 median income, cost of living beats 68% of neighborhoods.
Is West Congress, Austin safe?
West Congress, Austin is safer than 50% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $514 per resident a year.
Compare West Congress, Austin with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Congress, Austin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Congress, Austin 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.
West Congress, Austin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Congress, Austin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Congress, Austin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Congress, Austin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Congress, Austin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Congress, Austin detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- 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.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.