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San Antonio vs Helotes

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: trails (200.8× in San Antonio) and size (153.7× in San Antonio).

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San Antonio, TXA colonial town, settled 1718Texas · 1,479,835 people
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Helotes, TXKnown for its schoolsTexas · 9,630 people
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.

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.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $1,500 more a month in Helotes

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.

San Antonio$1,660/mo
Typical home $248K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.75% · or rent about $1,324/mo · Housing →
Helotes$3,160/mo
Typical home $466K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.84% · or rent about $2,500/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,500 a month, about $18,000 a year, between Helotes and San Antonio.

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

Helotes places higher on 13 of 21 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.

Where they are

San Antonio and Helotes share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

San AntonioHelotesSan AntonioHelotes
San Antonio ↔ Helotes12 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
2,581 Helotes residents work in San Antonio (59.9% of its workers)
Work & commute in Helotes →
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
San AntonioHelotes
Snow a year0″0″
January low40°F41°F
July high94°F95°F
Growing season (days)277d277d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)58th66th
Outdoors & history
San AntonioHelotes
Conserved land10%0.6%
Settled17181880
National Register places1461
Archive photos56
Famous people born here27—
Community
San AntonioHelotes
Library hours a week46 hrs—
Colleges in town16—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined01

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.

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.

San AntonioHelotes
People
Population 1,479,835Highest 9,630Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.1%Lowest TX: +15.9% +23%Highest TX: +15.9%
Median age 34.9±0.2Lowest about the TX average 42.8±5Highest 20% above TX
Kids under 18 23.6%±0.3Highest TX: 25% 19.2%±4Lowest TX: 25%
Age 65+ 13.4%±0.2Lowest TX: 13.4% 18.6%±3.5Highest TX: 13.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 29%Lowest TX: 33.8% 52.7%Highest TX: 33.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 7%±0.2Lowest TX: 6.2% 8.2%±3Highest TX: 6.2%
Helotes and San Antonio are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $65,056±$776Lowest 17% below TX $132,675±$12kHighest 69% above TX
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $235,700±$2kLowest 17% below TX $399,000±$33kHighest 41% above TX
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,324±$12Lowest 6% below TX $2,500±$447Highest 78% above TX
Property taxmedian, yearly $4,122Lowest about the TX average $7,356Highest 74% above TX
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 53.7%±1.3Highest TX: 51.7% 48.5%±54Lowest TX: 51.7%
San Antonio and Helotes are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 17.1%Highest TX: 13.8% 3.1%Lowest TX: 13.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 52.2%Lowest TX: 62.6% 97%Highest TX: 62.6%
Typical home builtmedian year 1985Lowest 7 yrs older than TX 2006Highest 14 yrs newer than TX
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 25 minLowest 8% below TX 26 minHighest 4% below TX
Work from home 13.5%±0.5Lowest TX: 14.4% 21.2%±6.4Highest TX: 14.4%
Work in townworking residents 67%Highest 1.7%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 9.8 miLowest 11.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.30Highest 0.55Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Austin (4%)San Antonio (60%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Helotes60% work in San Antonio
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 10%Highest 0.6%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 341.4 miHighest 1.7 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.7 miHighest 0.2 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 212Highest 4Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 71.0Highest 45.7Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #405 of 583 in TX#87 of 583 in TX
School district POR VIDA ACADEMY · GEORGE GERVIN ACADEMYNORTHSIDE ISD
High school in town Reagan H SO'Connor H S
Students per teacherat that high school 18.8Highest 17.1Lowest
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.

San Antonio neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to San Antonio’s Town Square.

Helotes neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 6d

Helotes Then and Now

1 neighbor in Helotes can answer.

Add a town

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Bordering San Antonio

Towns like San Antonio

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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