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Texas›Hays County

BelterraTX

A town of 6,978.

Is Belterra a good place to live?

For most people who can afford it, yes. Belterra grades A− overall, ranked 25th of 640 in Texas. Residents are healthier than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household earns $220K and its public schools beat 89% of Texas towns on state tests and graduation. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $773K, 7.7 years of the Austin metro’s $100K median household income. 66% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Belterra, against 23% in Texas’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. Only 6 of the 642 Texas towns we compare have a higher share of households owning their home than Belterra.

What makes Belterra stand out

Where Belterra beats most towns.

A commuter town

99% of working residents leave Belterra for work

Where Belterra’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

52% → Austin Austin 52% 7% → Dripping Springs Dripping Springs 7% 4% → San Antonio San Antonio 4% 3% → Houston Houston 3% 2% → Dallas Dallas 2% 1% → San Marcos San Marcos 1% Belterra · 1% stay
239jobs based in Belterra
1%of working residents work in town
16 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

How Belterra grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Belterra is from typical.

How grading works
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

How TownRatings grades towns →

Nearby attractions

Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium and 45 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Belterra. Close and well known come first.

All 70 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium: Brint03, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jacob's Well (Texas): Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Moody Center: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Lady Bird Lake: Arvindn on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Austin: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Lake Travis: Trey Perry, CC BY 3.0

Getting set up

Moving to Belterra: who provides what

Belterra is unincorporated, so Hays County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerPedernales Electric Coop12.8¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterHays County Wcid 2 water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesHays CountyHays County provides services here
SchoolsDripping Springs Independent School DistrictWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteIn personTexas has no online registration; you can register in person until 30 days before Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereHays County Early Voting ClerkHays County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code7873778737 100%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Belterra.

Belterra has schools in the top 5% of Texas, has less food insecurity than most of Texas and has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns.

OutdoorsB

12.3% of Belterra is conserved land

4.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Belterra’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile.

#28for trails in TX
12.3%
conserved · 184 of 1,498 acres
4.0 mi
of trails · 1.7 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Belterra Recreation Center0.1 mi10

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

SchoolsA

For schools, Belterra earns an A

Its A ranks #29 of the 642 Texas towns we grade for schools. Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $773K.

Its public schools are run by Dripping Springs ISD. Its one school is below.

89%of TX districts it outscoresASchool Grade
SchoolLevelStudentsLetter
Rooster Springs ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5Grades PK–5772A−

NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation

HealthA+

A smaller share of adults report frequent physical distress in Belterra than in most of Texas or the rest of the country

Its widest gap with Texas is food insecurity: 7.1% of its 4,007 adults worry about having enough food, against 19.3% statewide. Against the 726 U.S. towns with household incomes like Belterra’s, it is less healthy than 56%: its national edge comes with its incomes.

9.1% of Belterra adults report frequent physical distress. Belterra beats the Texas average on 21 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 11% of Belterra adults say their health is fair or poor.

97%healthier than U.S. townsA+Health Grade
BelterraTexas townsU.S. towns
Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES)9.1%15%14%
Get no exercise (CDC PLACES)15%30%25%
Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES)11%24%19%
Diabetes (CDC PLACES)7.9%13%12%
31 measures vs. Texas
21 better9 too close to call1 worse
What stands outBelterraTX
Fewer adults facing food insecurity7.1%19.3%
Fewer uninsured adults7.2%19.1%
More adults who have had cancer7.4%6.1%
Ascension Seton Southwest
6.3 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
98th
percentile among TX towns

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Work & commuteJobs & income grade A

Belterra stands out in Texas and nationally: the median household income there is higher

Belterra has 239 jobs for its 3,161 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. 37.1% of workers work from home, against 14.4% across Texas.

1.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Belterra. Since 2013, Belterra has added 143 jobs, to 239 in 2023. 37% of workers work from home in Belterra.

1%work in town
BelterraTexas townsU.S. towns
Work from home37%9.6%11%
Median household income$220,000$69,000$80,000
Below the poverty line1.5%12%9.6%
Working residents who work in town0.9%8.3%8%

Where working residents work

In Belterra1%
Austin52%
Dripping Springs7%
San Antonio4%
Houston3%
16 mi
median commute distance
239
jobs based in Belterra
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Mild winters and hot summers in Belterra

The Dripping Springs 6 E weather station records that about 106 days a year reach 90°, more than in 96% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 94.5°, hotter than in 95% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39.3°.

Belterra has mild winters and hot summers. The January low in Belterra is 39°F. Snow is almost unheard of.

96°summer high
BelterraTexas townsU.S. towns
January low39°F37°F22°F
July high95°F95°F85°F

Typical low → high °F

Winter41–63°
Spring57–79°
Summer72–94°
Fall58–80°
Nov 13
typical first frost
Mar 17
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
96°
typical summer high

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B

Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Belterra

Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities.

39risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
39Low riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingTornadoesHail

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

HousingCost of living grade C−

The median home in Belterra sells for about $693K

At 7.7 years of the Austin metro’s $100K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 95% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.

Only 9 of the 613 Texas towns we compare have a higher median rent than Belterra.

$693Kmedian sale price
Market temperature
BalancedA seller's marketBuyer’sSeller’s
37
days on market
99.4%
sale-to-list price
10
homes sold in May

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Belterra

16pages on Belterra
After high school

Colleges nearby

3 within 15 miles of the center of Belterra

About Belterra

Census-designated place in Texas, United States

Belterra is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hays County, Texas, United States, with a land mass of approximately 3.4 square miles. It is 18 miles (29 km) southwest of downtown Austin. Belterra, Texas had a population of 6,170 at the time of the 2020 census. Belterra, Texas is bordered by Highway 290 on the north side, Mesa Verde Drive and Sand Hills Lane to the south, Sawyer Ranch Road to the west, and Nutty Brown Road to the east. Belterra is located in the Dripping Springs Independent School District. Belterra is located in the Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) of the city of Dripping Springs, Texas.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
2.3 sq mi
Elevation
1,096 ft

Belterra’s neighbors

One town shares a border with Belterra.

Explore the map →
How the neighbors grade
TownTX rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Belterra#25A−C−—AA+
Dripping Springs#36A−D−—AA

Belterra and Dripping Springs report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Belterra with a neighbor →

Questions about Belterra

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Belterra, TX a good place to live?

For most people who can afford it, yes. Belterra grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #25 of 640 in Texas. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.

Is Belterra, TX expensive?

Yes. The typical home is worth about $773,000, 161% above the Texas typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.