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Helotes vs Sunnyvale

255 miles apart. The biggest differences: growth since 2010 (+30.9 pts in Sunnyvale) and trails (4.2× in Sunnyvale).

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Helotes, TXKnown for its schoolsTexas · 9,630 people
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Sunnyvale, TXHomes around $632KTexas · 8,336 people
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Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

HelotesKnown for its schools
Schools#87 for schools in TXof 583 towns HealthHealthier than 89%of U.S. towns on CDC estimates Housing$466K typical home56% above the TX typical home All about Helotes →
SunnyvaleHomes around $632K
Housing$632K typical home111% above the TX typical home Schools#77 for schools in TXof 583 towns HealthHealthier than 92%of U.S. towns on CDC estimates All about Sunnyvale →
The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Growth since 2010+30.9 pts
Sunnyvale has grown faster since 2010
Sunnyvale +53.9%Helotes +23%
Trails4.2×
Sunnyvale has more miles of trail
Sunnyvale 7.1 miHelotes 1.7 mi
Rent+76%
Rent runs higher in Helotes
Helotes $2,500Sunnyvale $1,422
Home values+42%
Homes cost more in Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale $565,300Helotes $399,000
Jobs per worker2.3×
Sunnyvale is more of a job hub
Sunnyvale 1.26Helotes 0.55
Household income+28%
Households in Sunnyvale earn more
Sunnyvale $170,348Helotes $132,675
★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $990 more a month in Sunnyvale

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Helotes$3,160/mo
Typical home $466K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.84% · or rent about $2,500/mo · Housing →
Sunnyvale$4,150/mo
Typical home $632K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.58% · or rent about $1,422/mo · Housing →

The difference: $990 a month, about $11,800 a year, between Sunnyvale and Helotes.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Sunnyvale places higher on 13 of 22 TX lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Texas ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety
B+HelotesSafer than 71% of U.S. towns BSunnyvaleSafer than 58% of U.S. towns
Schools
C+HelotesBetter than 39% of districts in the state A−SunnyvaleBetter than 82% of districts in the state
Health
AHelotesHealthier than 89% of U.S. towns ASunnyvaleHealthier than 92% of U.S. towns
9Helotes
13Sunnyvale

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 584 towns #271#41 Most conserved landOutdoors · 572 towns #473#279 Shortest commuteGetting around · 653 towns #347#556 Cheapest rentCost of living · 624 towns #602#424 Lowest depressionHealth · 652 towns #148#6 Most trailsOutdoors · 405 towns #291#206 Most walkableOutdoors · 653 towns #450#586 Fastest growingGrowth · 640 towns #165#62

Left end = #1 in Texas. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Helotes’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
HelotesSunnyvale
Snow a year0″0″
January low41°F—
July high95°F—
Growing season (days)277d—
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)66th53rd
Outdoors & history
HelotesSunnyvale
Trails2 mi7 mi
Conserved land0.6%2.1%
Settled1880—
National Register places1—
Archive photos12—
Community
HelotesSunnyvale
Library hours a week—43 hrs
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined10

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

255 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

HelotesTXSunnyvaleTX
Helotes ↔ Sunnyvale255 miles apart
Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

HelotesSunnyvale
People
Population 9,630Highest 8,336Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +23%Lowest TX: +15.9% +53.9%Highest TX: +15.9%
Median age 42.8±5Lowest 20% above TX 43.3±2Highest 22% above TX
Sunnyvale and Helotes are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 19.2%±4Lowest TX: 25% 28%±3.6Highest TX: 25%
Age 65+ 18.6%±3.5 TX: 13.4% 18.6%±3.2 TX: 13.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 52.7%Lowest TX: 33.8% 57.2%Highest TX: 33.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 8.2%±3Highest TX: 6.2% 3.5%±1.3Lowest TX: 6.2%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $132,675±$12kLowest 69% above TX $170,348±$12kHighest 117% above TX
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $399,000±$33kLowest 41% above TX $565,300±$33kHighest 99% above TX
Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,500±$447Highest 78% above TX $1,422±$543Lowest about the TX average
Property taxmedian, yearly $7,356Lowest 74% above TX $8,926Highest 111% above TX
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 48.5%±54Lowest TX: 51.7% 79.9%±62Highest TX: 51.7%
Sunnyvale and Helotes are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 3.1%Lowest TX: 13.8% 6%Highest TX: 13.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 97%Highest TX: 62.6% 91.5%Lowest TX: 62.6%
Typical home builtmedian year 2006 14 yrs newer than TX 2006 14 yrs newer than TX
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 26 minLowest 4% below TX 33 minHighest 23% above TX
Work from home 21.2%±6.4Highest TX: 14.4% 13.6%±3.9Lowest TX: 14.4%
Helotes and Sunnyvale are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 1.7%Lowest 5.3%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.3 miLowest 14.8 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.55Lowest 1.26Highest
Top workplaceoutside town San Antonio (60%)Dallas (38%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in SunnyvaleFew work in Helotes
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 0.6%Lowest 2.1%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 1.7 miLowest 7.1 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 0.4 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Lowest 8Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 45.7Highest 25.2Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #87 of 583 in TX#77 of 583 in TX
School district NORTHSIDE ISDEDUCATION CENTER INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY · SUNNYVALE ISD
High school in town O'Connor H SSunnyvale H S
Students per teacherat that high school 17.1Highest 14.4Lowest
Texas average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Helotes neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 1w

Helotes Then and Now

1 neighbor in Helotes can answer.

Sunnyvale neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sunnyvale’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Helotes

+ Compare
San Antonio1,479,835 people · $236K homes

Towns like Helotes

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Highland Village16,101 people · $550K homes
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Ovilla4,375 people · $447K homes
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Woodway9,570 people · $371K homes
H
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Heath10,777 people · $767K homes
Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Texas towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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