78717 — Austin, Texas

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 78717. Its median household income runs 55% above Austin as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

79out of 100
Area Score
Top 1% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 5% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured83
SchoolsTop 4% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured87
GrowthTop 26% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured63
Housing affordabilityTop 15% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured79
Climate1,897th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured67
Physical resilienceTop 13% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured86
Access1,653rd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured91
Economic stabilityTop 4% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured82
The quick read

78717 ranks in the top 5% of ZIP areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.8% and median household income of $145,325. The unemployment rate is published for Austin, TX, which contains 78717, rather than for 78717 alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 79% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 4% of published profiles for schools.

7,547 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 5% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Austin, TX, which contains 78717, rather than for 78717 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
37,262
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$145,325
Top 4% nationally
Density
2,856/sq mi
13 sq mi of land
Median age
36.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Austin
Texas
Nearest major airport
AUS
21 mi · Austin-Bergstrom Intl
Median home value
$652,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Austin, TX, which contains 78717, is 3.8%, lower than in 71% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Austin, TX, which contains 78717, grew 0.4% over the past year, to 641,590 employed residents.

69% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 96% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $145,325 is higher than in 96% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsWilliamson County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$97,30084th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftWilliamson County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$87,02781st percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,3782024 ACS 5-Year$145,325Top 4%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,5162024 ACS 5-Year$73,886Top 5%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year4.7%Top 19%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.7 minBottom 45%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year68.9%Top 4%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year57.7%11th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentAustin, TX’s figureJuly 2026641,590Top 5%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Austin, TX’s figureJuly 2026+4.0%Top 10%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Austin, TX’s figureJuly 2026+0.4%Top 29%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceAustin, TX’s figureJuly 2026667,01995th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.3%Top 15%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAustin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$74,580Top 21%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageAustin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$56,950Top 21%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%75th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Austin, TX’s figureJuly 2026+0.3%Bottom 30%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateAustin, TX’s figureJuly 20263.8%Top 29%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year33.1%96th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024145k120k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $145,325 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers42,190$117,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers35,000$29,310
Customer Service Representatives32,690$43,720
Software Developers31,960$134,120
Retail Salespersons29,660$33,860
Stockers and Order Fillers27,430$37,720

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Austin, TX, the city containing this ZIP code.

79% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 74% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.9 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
79.4%
Top 2% in Texas
Reading proficiency
74.2%
Top 3% in Texas
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Cedar Valley MiddleROUND ROCK ISD1,30615.982%72%
Harmony School of Endeavor Austin · charterHARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS - CENTRAL TEXAS1,00018.264%58%
Elsa England ElROUND ROCK ISD98715.989%83%
Pearson Ranch MiddleROUND ROCK ISD98116.478%72%
Rutledge ElLEANDER ISD85314.074%76%
Patsy Sommer ElROUND ROCK ISD81715.190%88%

12.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Texas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 98.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area is up 15% over five years, and up 0.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,852, close to the $1,867 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,852 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $74,100 a year, about 51% of the median household income here of $145,325.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,867 a month.

A median home at $652,200 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $207,789, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
98.3

Prices here run about 2% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
26.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,852
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,867
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$652,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 78717’s median household income of $145,325, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure202398.3Top 49%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.3%10th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+15.2%1st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+80.8%26th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 36%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year51.3%10th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6622024 ACS 5-Year15,36192nd percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,562Bottom 32%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,347Bottom 33%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,852Bottom 32%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$692024 ACS 5-Year$1,867Bottom 10%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$18,1172024 ACS 5-Year$652,20093rd percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes2024 ACS 5-Year$10,000+—2024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$20,6962024 ACS 5-Year$207,789Top 1%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year26.4%Top 39%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±312024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%19th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2572024 ACS 5-Year42270th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

63/ 100
Top 26% of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

72% of the 7,547 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Austin, TX, which contains 78717, rather than for 78717 alone.

At 7.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Austin, TX, which contains 78717, rather than for 78717 alone.

Units permitted
7,547
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.7
Top 19% nationally
Year over year
−5%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
71.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+2.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
36%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$97,300
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$87,027
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Travis County, TX 21,819 people · 38% of arrivals
  2. Bell County, TX 1,979 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  3. Harris County, TX 1,662 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  4. Bexar County, TX 1,157 people · 2.0% of arrivals
  5. Santa Clara County, CA 813 people · 1.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Travis County, TX 13,309 people · 31% of departures
  2. Bell County, TX 2,511 people · 5.8% of departures
  3. Harris County, TX 1,218 people · 2.8% of departures
  4. Hays County, TX 1,189 people · 2.8% of departures
  5. Burnet County, TX 1,139 people · 2.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Williamson County, TX. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Austin, TX, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 97°F and January a low of 42°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 36.3 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station AUSTIN-CAMP MABRY, 11.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals36.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals97°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals34°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

86 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 52% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 87% of measured US ZIP areas.

HailElevated
WildfireModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, cold wave, tornado, inland flooding, heat wave, lightning, ice storm, hurricane, strong wind, earthquake, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
3.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 78717 (Williamson County) rather than 78717 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Austin carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Austin-Bergstrom Intl at 21 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year97.5%Top 9%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle21 miBottom 43%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 40%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year1.0%Top 9%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Austin-Bergstrom IntlAUS21 mi12,250 ft
San Antonio IntlSAT79 mi8,505 ft
Tstc WacoCNW89 mi8,600 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
79
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

78717 vs Austin

How this ZIP area compares with Austin as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

78717
Austin
Median household income: 78717 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$145,325
vs
$93,658
Per capita income: 78717 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$73,886
vs
$62,862
Population density
2,856/sq mi
vs
3,001/sq mi
Median home value
$652,200
vs
$555,300
Median gross rent: Austin is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,867
vs
$1,729
Homeownership rate
51.3%
vs
43.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 78717 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
68.9%
vs
59.6%
Poverty rate: 78717 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
4.7%
vs
10.7%
Median age
36.8
vs
34.7

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.