Best PlacesWoodway, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Woodway, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Woodway ranks 457th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Woodway
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.
Woodway's strengths and weaknesses
Where Woodway ranks high
- Cheap childcare$619 a month, better than 95% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 92% of cities
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 89% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of cities
Where Woodway ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 11% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 14% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 21% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 22% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Woodway
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Woodway home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $95,863; 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 Woodway's effective rate of 1.47%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Woodway
Woodway'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 Woodway.
Who works in Woodway, and how
Work in Woodway centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Woodway
Woodway has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of cities and more parkland per resident than 78% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Woodway and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Woodway, month by month
Woodway sees roughly 152 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 37° |
| April | 78° | 66° | 56° |
| July | 98° | 86° | 75° |
| October | 84° | 70° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Woodway
The nearest airport, Waco Regional, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Austin-Bergstrom International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Woodway
Schools across Woodway average a B+, better than 80% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- South Bosque ElA+ · 76% proficient
- Woodway ElB+ · 55% proficient
- Castleman Creek ElB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Midway MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Lorena MiddleA · 60% proficient
- China Spring IntA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Lorena HighA · 73% proficient
- Midway H SA · 70% proficient
- China Spring H SA · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Woodway school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Woodway 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 Woodway against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Woodway suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of cities and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 84% of cities and health care access beats 64%.
Common questions about living in Woodway
Is Woodway a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Woodway ranks 457th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and short commutes, and lowest on summer heat and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Woodway expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $341,970. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $95,863 median income, cost of living beats 74% of cities.
Is Woodway safe?
Yes, Woodway is safer than 75% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $301 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Woodway?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 37. That works out to about 152 pleasant days a year, more than 84% of cities.
Is Woodway good for families?
Schools beat 80% of cities, crime safety beats 75%, and childcare runs $619 a month.
Compare Woodway with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Woodway. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Woodway 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.
Woodway detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Woodway: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Woodway: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Woodway: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Woodway: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Woodway 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.