Best PlacesZapata County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Zapata 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.
Zapata County ranks 2,854th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Zapata 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.
Zapata County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Zapata County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 193 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 84% of counties
Where Zapata County ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 5% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Zapata County
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Zapata County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,581, 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 Zapata County's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Zapata County
Zapata County runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Zapata County.
Who works in Zapata County, and how
Work in Zapata County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Zapata County
Zapata County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Zapata County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Zapata County growing, and who is moving in?
Zapata County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Laredo, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Zapata County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Zapata County, month by month
Zapata County sees roughly 193 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 73, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 73° | 58° | 46° |
| April | 92° | 77° | 66° |
| July | 102° | 88° | 77° |
| October | 90° | 77° | 66° |
Flying in and out of Zapata County
The nearest airport, Laredo International, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 188 miles away.
The best schools in and around Zapata County
Schools across Zapata County average a D, better than 9% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Zapata South ElD+ · 24% proficient
- Zapata North ElD+ · 22% proficient
- Fidel And Andrea R Villarreal ElD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Zapata MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Zapata H SD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Zapata County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Zapata 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 Zapata County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Zapata County
Is Zapata County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Zapata County ranks 2,854th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, walkability, and a stable housing market, and lowest on thin health care access and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Zapata County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $104,271. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $48,581 median income, cost of living beats 5% of counties.
Is Zapata County safe?
Zapata County is safer than 12% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $628 per resident a year.
Compare Zapata County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Zapata County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Zapata 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.
Zapata County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Zapata County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Zapata County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Zapata County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Zapata County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Zapata 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.