Best PlacesWest Houston, Houston, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Houston, Houston, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Houston, Houston ranks 2,067th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 40 minutes away. Its strengths are state finances and quiet. The cost shows up in disaster risk, summer heat, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in West Houston, Houston
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 Houston, Houston's strengths and weaknesses
West Houston, Houston lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. State finances, quiet, and low taxes carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Disaster risk, summer heat, and property taxes hold the score down. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where West Houston, Houston ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$842 a month, better than 83% of neighborhoods
Where West Houston, Houston ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Houston, Houston
A household needs to earn about $137,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Houston, Houston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,141, 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 Houston, Houston'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 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 Houston, Houston
West Houston, Houston 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 Houston, Houston.
Who works in West Houston, Houston, and how
Work in West Houston, Houston centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in West Houston, Houston
West Houston, Houston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 79% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 40 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Houston, Houston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Houston, Houston, month by month
West Houston, Houston sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 55° | 46° |
| April | 82° | 71° | 62° |
| July | 95° | 85° | 76° |
| October | 85° | 73° | 63° |
Flying in and out of West Houston, Houston
William P Hobby sits about 20 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 6.8 million passengers in 2025, with 101 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around West Houston, Houston
Schools across West Houston, Houston average a C+, better than 69% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Hazel S Pattison ElA+ · 84% proficient
- Bush ElA · 68% proficient
- Ray Daily ElC+ · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Garland Mcmeans J HA+ · 80% proficient
- Memorial MiddleA+ · 75% proficient
- Memorial Parkway J HA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Kerr H SA+ · 85% proficient
- Alief Early College H SA+ · 83% proficient
- Memorial H SA+ · 81% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Houston, Houston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Houston, Houston 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 Houston, Houston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who West Houston, Houston suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of neighborhoods, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 66% of neighborhoods and it is quieter than 88%.
Common questions about living in West Houston, Houston
Is West Houston, Houston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Houston, Houston ranks 2,067th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, quiet, and low taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Houston, Houston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $483,104. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $98,141 median income, cost of living beats 86% of neighborhoods.
Is West Houston, Houston safe?
West Houston, Houston is safer than 42% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $623 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Houston, Houston?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 46. That works out to about 127 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of neighborhoods.
Is West Houston, Houston good for families?
Schools beat 69% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 42%, and childcare runs $842 a month.
Is West Houston, Houston good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of neighborhoods, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 68% of neighborhoods. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare West Houston, Houston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Houston, Houston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Houston, Houston 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 Houston, Houston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Houston, Houston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Houston, Houston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Houston, Houston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Houston, Houston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Houston, Houston 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.