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.

Down paymentRate%

Rockwall$3,070/mo

Typical home $475K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.47% · or rent about $1,947/mo · Housing →

Leander$2,840/mo

Typical home $422K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.79% · or rent about $1,939/mo · Housing →

The difference: $230 a month, about $2,700 a year, between Rockwall and Leander.

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

Leander places higher on 13 of 23 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−RockwallSafer than 54% of U.S. towns A−LeanderSafer than 76% of U.S. towns

Schools

ARockwallBetter than 85% of districts in the state A−LeanderBetter than 79% of districts in the state

Health

ARockwallHealthier than 87% of U.S. towns ALeanderHealthier than 89% of U.S. towns

8Rockwall

13Leander

Lists won, of 23 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 632 towns #63#336 Most trailsOutdoors · 405 towns #253#90 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 180 towns #97#39 SafestSafety · 470 towns #174#62 Most new homesHousing · 535 towns #170#43 Best schoolsSchools · 583 towns #67#179 Fastest growingGrowth · 640 towns #144#22 Lowest property taxCost of living · 647 towns #522#605

Left end = #1 in Texas. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Rockwall’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

RockwallLeander

Snow a year0″0″

January low—36°F

July high—96°F

Growing season (days)—259d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)42nd 33rd

Outdoors & history

RockwallLeander

Trails10 mi 32 mi

Conserved land4.2%4.8%

Settled1854 —

National Register places1 —

Community

RockwallLeander

Library hours a week47 hrs 52 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

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

182 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

RockwallTX LeanderTX

Rockwall ↔ Leander182 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.

Only big differences vs Texas average

RockwallLeander

People

Population 51,168Lowest 74,067Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +26%Lowest TX: +15.9% +123.2%Highest TX: +15.9%

Median age 39.5±1.2Highest 11% above TX 36.3±0.7Lowest about the TX average

Kids under 18 24.3%±1.7Lowest TX: 25% 26.9%±1.6Highest TX: 25%

Leander and Rockwall are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 15.8%±1.4Highest TX: 13.4% 8.5%±0.9Lowest TX: 13.4%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 48.6%Lowest TX: 33.8% 53.3%Highest TX: 33.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.6%±1Highest TX: 6.2% 4.5%±0.6Lowest TX: 6.2%

Rockwall and Leander are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $115,580±$6kLowest 47% above TX $139,048±$5kHighest 77% above TX

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $411,700±$17kLowest 45% above TX $506,200±$20kHighest 78% above TX

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,947±$111Highest 39% above TX $1,939±$92Lowest 38% above TX

Rockwall and Leander are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $6,032Lowest 43% above TX $9,083Highest 115% above TX

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 51.9%±8Highest TX: 51.7% 46.2%±5.6Lowest TX: 51.7%

Rockwall and Leander are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 4%Lowest TX: 13.8% 5.8%Highest TX: 13.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 72.5%Lowest TX: 62.6% 73.4%Highest TX: 62.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 2003Lowest 11 yrs newer than TX 2013Highest 21 yrs newer than TX

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 32 minHighest 19% above TX 29 minLowest 9% above TX

Work from home 19.2%±2.1Lowest TX: 14.4% 30.6%±2.2Highest TX: 14.4%

Work in townworking residents 14.4%Highest 9.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 21.3 miHighest 16.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.06Highest 0.50Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Dallas (23%)Austin (44%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in LeanderFew work in Rockwall

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 4.2%Lowest 4.8%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 9.8 miLowest 31.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miLowest 0.8 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 19Lowest 20Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 69.5Highest 64.1Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #67 of 583 in TX #179 of 583 in TX

School district ROCKWALL ISDHARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS - CENTRAL TEXAS · LEANDER ISD

High school in town Rockwall H SRouse H S

Students per teacherat that high school 15.5Lowest 16.0Highest

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.

Rockwall neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Rockwall’s Town Square.

Leander neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Leander’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Rockwall and Leander

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Rockwall

+ Compare

Dallas1,307,930 people · $321K homes

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Heath10,777 people · $767K homes

+ Compare

Fate22,884 people · $384K homes

Towns like Rockwall

+ Compare

Friendswood41,030 people · $420K homes

+ Compare

Pflugerville65,971 people · $402K homes

+ Compare

Little Elm54,820 people · $421K homes

+ Compare

Mansfield77,510 people · $411K 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.

Rockwall vs Leander

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $230 more a month in Rockwall

Leander places higher on 13 of 23 TX lists

What daily life feels like in each

182 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Rockwall and Leander

Bordering Rockwall

Towns like Rockwall

Post to Rockwall

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