Best PlacesYoung County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Young County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Young County ranks 1,002nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Young 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.
Young County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Young County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 182 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of counties
- Short commute16.9 minutes each way, better than 91% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of counties
- QuietBetter than 76% of counties
Where Young County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 21% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 21% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Young County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Young County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,344, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Young County's effective rate of 1.23%, 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 Young County
Young County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Young County.
Who works in Young County, and how
Work in Young County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Young County
Young County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of counties and more parkland per resident than 78% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Young County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Young County growing, and who is moving in?
Young County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Dallas, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Young County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Young County, month by month
Young County sees roughly 182 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 43° | 32° |
| April | 79° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 98° | 85° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 66° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Young County
The nearest airport, Sheppard AFB/Wichita Falls Municipal, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Young County
Schools across Young County average a B, better than 76% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Windthorst ElA− · 62% proficient
- Olney ElB− · 42% proficient
- Graham ElC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Windthorst JhA · 62% proficient
- Olney J HA− · 55% proficient
- Graham J HB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Olney H SA− · 62% proficient
- Graham H SB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Young County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Young 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 Young County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Young County
Is Young County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Young County ranks 1,002nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, short commutes, and low taxes, and lowest on summer heat and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Young County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $173,216. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $68,344 median income, cost of living beats 57% of counties.
Is Young County safe?
Young County is safer than 23% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $509 per resident a year.
Compare Young County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Young County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Young 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.
Young County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Young County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Young County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Young County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Young County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Young 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.