71fit
Downtown
$3K median rent
Rainey, Sixth, and the warehouse blocks live here. Highest walk score, highest nightlife, and a crime rate inflated by visitors.
NightlifeWalk 100Safety 0
Austin/Bouldin Creek
43fit
Bouldin Creek
Official planning area: Bouldin Creek
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · APD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Aug 2026 · updated Sep 2026
West of South Congress: cottages, food trailers, and the SoCo strip on the doorstep.
bouldinsouth congresssoco
Best in Austin for familiesWalkable AustinUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
21
43 violent · 292 property · 54.0 per 1k (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)-29 vs city set
Schools
60
Rating 7.6 / 10 nearby+6 vs city set
Walk
28
OSM: 8 groceries · 14 cafes · 50 transit · 14 parks+10 vs city set
Cost
100
$1,915 ACS median vs your rent budget+3 vs city set
Vibe
20
OSM: 14 cafes · 58 restaurants · 10 bars · 14 parks+6 vs city set
Commute to work
From Bouldin Creek, a typical weekday is 12 min to Downtown, 18 min to UT campus, 33 min to The Domain. Not live traffic.
Downtown is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Downtown
12 min
Rainey, Sixth, Capitol · -8 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
UT campus
18 min
Forty Acres · -2 min vs the city-set median
The Domain
33 min
North Burnet tech · +7 min vs the city-set median
Minutes are baked from neighborhood geography to three job centers — not Google, not this hour’s traffic.
Cost of living
The ACS median rent is $1,915 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 18% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($126K) could “afford” about $3,158 a month at 30% of pay.
58% of households rent. Median home value is $1,023,538.
ACS median rent
$1,915
30% income budget
$3,158
Rent / income
18%
Median home
$1,023,538
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Austin city. Up 71% since 2014. Bouldin Creek is 11% above the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. The dashed mark is this area’s ACS 2024 median.
HUD treats 30% of income as the cost-burden line. We do not split ACS rent into 1-bed vs 2-bed. Method.
Within a walk
Within a short walk of this official planning area: 8 groceries, 14 cafes, 14 parks, and 50 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 14 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (50 stops or stations).
14 cafes and 58 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Austin set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 18 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
6,205
Median age
36
Median income
$126K
Renters
58%
Bachelor+
70%
Violent / 1k
6.9
Property / 1k
47.1
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 2 census tracts · APD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM 2026-08-31
Nightlife
Crime is APD Part I reports per 1,000 ACS residents — not a judgment of who lives here. Home and rent figures are ACS medians, not live MLS. Read the method.
On the ground
What it is like to live here, beyond the scores.
West of South Congress, Bouldin Creek is restored bungalows, newer boxy infill, and the SoCo strip as a front porch. Walk Score roundups put it among Austin’s most walkable residential neighborhoods (low 80s), with food trailers and boutiques that still photograph as “Keep Austin Weird” even as the prices stopped being weird years ago.
Tourists on Congress are the tax. One block west, the cottages and murals feel like a neighborhood again. Good for people who want to walk to dinner and can live with weekend crowds. Bad for anyone who needs a driveway and silence after ten.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, Seattle Times coverage, and local writing, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
Reported here lately
City 311 service requests in this official unit, last 14 days. This is what neighbors filed with the city — not a chat thread, and not part of the fit score.
199 reports
- Parking Violation Enforcement50
- Aquatic Maintenance12
- Garbage12
- Tree Issue Right of Way9
- Park Maintenance - Grounds8
- Obstruction in Right of Way
- Street Sweeping
- AE Street Light Issue - Address
- Sidewalk Repair
- Pavement Failure
City of Austin 311 public data, last 14 days. Mapped to Neighborhood Planning Areas. No street addresses stored. Method.
On Reddit
Public posts from r/Austin that mention this neighborhood. Not Nextdoor, not people on this block, and not part of the fit score.
No r/Austin posts in this snapshot mentioned Bouldin Creek.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Bouldin Creek safe?
Bouldin Creek shows more Part I than most of this Austin set (safety 21 vs city 50). APD logged 6.9 violent and 47.1 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 54.0 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Bouldin Creek?
ACS median rent is $1,915 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 58% of households rent. Median home value is $1,023,538. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Bouldin Creek walkable?
Walk is 28 here vs 18 for the Austin set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 8 groceries, 14 cafes, 50 transit stops, 14 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Bouldin Creek good for families?
The scores lean family relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 7.6 / 10. Median age is 36. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Bouldin Creek?
12 typical weekday minutes to Downtown. Not the app on your phone this hour. Other job centers are further down this page.
How many people live in Bouldin Creek?
About 6,205 people. Median income $126K. 70% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Bouldin Creek?
South River City, Zilker, Downtown sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official planning areas, start with Bouldin Creek vs South River City.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Bouldin Creek vs South River CityBouldin Creek vs ZilkerBouldin Creek vs Downtown
46fit
Zilker
$2K median rent
Park first, houses second. Barton Springs and the trail set the pace; prices follow the shade.
WaterfrontFamily streetsWalk 9Safety 74
37fit
South River City
$2K median rent
Travis Heights oaks on the east side of Congress. Porches, hills, and a walk to the lake.
WaterfrontFamily streetsWalk 9Safety 32
36fit
Hancock
$2K median rent
Between campus and Hyde Park. Golf course, student spillover, and a short walk to the Forty Acres.
Near UTWalk 9Safety 47
35fit
South Lamar
$2K median rent
The corridor south of the river: retail, apartments, and a faster pulse than Barton Hills.
Walk 11Safety 42