Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Universal City grades D overall, 463rd among Texas's 640 graded towns, mostly because of safety. Its police reported 34 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. In its favor, it has 16 miles of trail. Universal City’s trail density is 2.8 miles per square mile, where Texas’ towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4. On history, just 37 of Texas’ 1,000 towns do worse. Universal City is home to Northeast Lakeview College.
Where Universal City beats most towns.
12.4% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Universal City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,613 in 1970, 19,720 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1931 and 4 maps from 1953 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Universal City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaAlamodome
14 mi LandmarkAlamo Mission
12 mi Stadium & arenaFrost Bank Center
35 mi CaveJacob's Well (Texas)
14 mi LookoutTower of the Americas
18 mi Theme parkSix Flags Fiesta TexasAlamodome: Billy Hathorn, CC BY 3.0 · Alamo Mission: Zygmunt Put Zetpe0202, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Frost Bank Center: Atristan 77, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jacob's Well (Texas): Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Tower of the Americas: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Six Flags Fiesta Texas: Chris Hagerman, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Universal City, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Universal City.
Universal City has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, is one of Texas’s best towns for the outdoors and has home values still below their peak.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #10 of 642 in Texas.
Universal City Cibolo Creek, at 129 acres with 4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Universal City Cibolo Creek | 4 mi | 129 |
| 2. Universal City Park | 0.5 mi | 35 |
| 3. Veterans Park | 0.5 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Judson ISD. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitty Hawk MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,062 | C |
| First Baptist Academy of Universal City PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 404 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 737 to 449 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Universal City’s property crime rate is 20.3 per 1,000 residents, above both Texas’ towns (10.7) and U.S. towns (9.9). Universal City reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 79% report less.
| Universal City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.3 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Universal City for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Universal City grew to 4,656 in 2023, 237 more than in 2013. The top destinations are San Antonio (48%), Schertz (6%) and Live Oak (5%).
| Universal City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.8% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Universal City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The San Antonio Intl Ap weather station, 11 miles away, records that about 122 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 40.7°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 95.2°.
Universal City has warm winters and hot summers. The January low in Universal City is 41°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Universal City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 41°F | 37°F | 22°F |
| July high | 95°F | 95°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $259K, is 8% below its August 2022 peak.
The typical Universal City home is worth about $259,000, down 2.3% in a year, 13% below the Texas typical home. 58% of Universal City households own their home.
| Universal City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,315 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Universal City beats the Texas average on 8 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 16% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Universal City.
| Universal City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 39% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 37% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Universal City | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.3% | 12.5% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 15.5% | 19.1% |
| More adults with arthritis | 25.2% | 21.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Texas average. Universal City has grown 3.5% since 2020, to 20,399 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 34% across Texas.
| Universal City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 23% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 26% | 22% |
| Median age | 37.1 years | 35.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 14% | 18% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.2 points. Across Texas, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Universal City | TX | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.1% | 13.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.4% | 11.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.9% | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.4% | 14.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.3% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9% | 8.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 5.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 14% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.6% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.4% | 20.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.6% | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.6% | 21.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
6 within 15 miles of the center of Universal City
About 7 of every 100 Universal City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
City in Texas, United States
Universal City is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States, with a small portion in Guadalupe County. It is a suburb of San Antonio to the northeast, and is adjacent to Randolph Air Force Base. The city also borders Schertz, Texas to its east, Selma to its north, Live Oak to its west, and Converse to its southwest. The population was 19,720 at the 2020 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Universal City.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universal City | #463 | D | C− | C− | C | B |
| Selma | #411 | C− | D | C | C | A− |
| Schertz | #159 | B− | D | B | A− | B+ |
| Converse | #481 | D | D | C− | C− | B− |
| Live Oak | #339 | C | C− | D | C+ | B+ |
| Randolph AFB | — | — | D− | — | A | A |
Randolph AFB has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Randolph AFB reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Universal City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Universal City grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #463 of 640 in Texas. It grades B for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
