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West Lake Hills, Texas

West Lake Hills is a suburb of about 3,200 people in Travis County, Texas, in the Austin area. It has lost about 7% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 8.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Austin, is about 4 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Austin

Population
3,229
down 6.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$1,664,500
Travis County prices down 10% since 2022
Household income
$198,125
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Austin area
98.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center
To Austin
4 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.9% below the U.S. average in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 8.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 30.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byThe Hospital at Westlake Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityAustin is about 4 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means West Lake Hills meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

West Lake Hills runs into the built-up area around Austin (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Worth a closer look

West Lake Hills has lost about 7% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$1,664,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Down 10%Travis County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$3,500 or more a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$198,125U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
86%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$10,000 or more a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
23%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
98.1U.S. average = 100 (the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved down 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area, not West Lake Hills alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,2292020: 3,458
Median age
50.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Professional and business services (33%); schools, health care and social services (24%); finance, insurance and real estate (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
42%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center, Austin, TX, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

6 public schools in West Lake Hills, run by Eanes Isd.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Texas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
90%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
42°F
July average high
97°F
Days 90°F or hotter
123 a year
Nights at or below freezing
12 a year
Rain and melted snow
36.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
858 feet

Weather station: Austin-camp Mabry (4 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Austin.

Travis County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park36 miles

Read about West Lake Hills's history on Wikipedia.

Know West Lake Hills?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Lost Creek, TX (unincorporated)954 people, 2 miles
  • Sunset Valley, TX612 people, 5 miles
  • San Leanna, TX530 people, 10 miles
  • Bear Creek, TX476 people, 11 miles
  • Manchaca, TX (unincorporated)2,171 people, 11 miles
  • Volente, TX521 people, 12 miles
  • Hays, TX271 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.