Best PlacesWilliamson County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Williamson County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Williamson County ranks 18th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $123,837, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, air quality, and summer heat.
The best neighborhoods in Williamson County
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.
The best areas in Williamson County
The parts of Williamson County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Leander
Crime runs lower, heat risk is lower, and more households have young kids.
Liberty Hill
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Pflugerville
Scores close to Liberty Hill, except that fewer residents vote here.
Round Rock
More adults hold degrees.
Cedar Park & Austin
Schools score higher and tree cover is thicker.
Hutto & Taylor
Scores close to Cedar Park & Austin, except that homes cost less here.
Brushy Creek
Commutes are shorter, though local pay stretches less far.
Georgetown
Health care is easier to reach, though incomes run lower.
Jarrell
Health outcomes score lower and streets are more car-dependent.
Scores across Williamson County run from about the 17th to the 100th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Williamson County's strengths and weaknesses
Williamson County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Few empty homes and population health follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Property taxes, air quality, and summer heat hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Williamson County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of counties
- Household income$123,837 median, better than 98% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 98% of counties
Where Williamson County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 13% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 17% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 21% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Williamson County
A household needs to earn about $133,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Williamson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $123,837; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Williamson County's effective rate of 1.50%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Williamson County
Williamson County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Williamson County.
Who works in Williamson County, and how
Work in Williamson County centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Williamson County
Williamson County has more parkland per resident than 81% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 72% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Williamson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Williamson County growing, and who is moving in?
Williamson County has grown about 49% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Austin, TX metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Williamson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Williamson County, month by month
Williamson County sees roughly 159 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 49° | 39° |
| April | 80° | 68° | 58° |
| July | 97° | 86° | 76° |
| October | 83° | 70° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Williamson County
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 26 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 Williamson County
Schools across Williamson County average a B−, better than 72% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cactus Ranch ElA+ · 85% proficient
- Patsy Sommer ElA+ · 77% proficient
- Elsa England ElA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- Florence W Stiles MiddleA+ · 77% proficient
- Pearson Ranch MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
- Canyon Vista MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
Top high schools
- Westwood H SA · 78% proficient
- Round Rock H SA · 74% proficient
- Rrisd Early College H SA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Williamson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Williamson County 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 Williamson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Williamson County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Williamson County
Is Williamson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Williamson County ranks 18th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, few empty homes, and population health, and lowest on property taxes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Williamson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $465,943. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $123,837 median income, cost of living beats 100% of counties.
Is Williamson County safe?
Yes, Williamson County is safer than 92% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $278 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Williamson County?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 62 with lows near 39. That works out to about 159 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Williamson County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Leander, Liberty Hill, and Pflugerville. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Williamson County good for families?
Schools beat 72% of counties, crime safety beats 92%, and childcare runs $923 a month.
Is Williamson County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 85% of counties. About 26% of workers already work from home.
Compare Williamson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Williamson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Williamson County 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.
Williamson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Williamson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Williamson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Williamson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Williamson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Williamson County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.