48fit
Brentwood
$2K median rent
Bungalows between Crestview and Hyde Park. Slightly more cafes than Allandale, slightly less polish than Rosedale.
Family streetsWalk 19Safety 89
Austin/Old West Austin
34fit
Old West Austin
Official planning area: Old West Austin
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · APD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Aug 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Clarksville cottages west of downtown. Close to the lake trail, quieter than Rainey, priced like it.
clarksville
Best in Austin for familiesWalkable AustinUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
53
12 violent · 265 property · 42.3 per 1k (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)+3 vs city set
Schools
83
Rating 8.3 / 10 nearby+29 vs city set
Walk
0
OSM: 2 groceries · 5 cafes · 14 transit · 9 parks-18 vs city set
Cost
85
$2,590 ACS median vs your rent budget-12 vs city set
Vibe
5
OSM: 5 cafes · 17 restaurants · 4 bars · 9 parks-9 vs city set
Commute to work
From Old West Austin, a typical weekday is 20 min to Downtown, 20 min to UT campus, 29 min to The Domain. Not live traffic.
Downtown is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Downtown
20 min
Rainey, Sixth, Capitol · at the city-set median · fastest of these three
UT campus
20 min
Forty Acres · at the city-set median
The Domain
29 min
North Burnet tech · +3 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 $2,590 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 20% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($152K) could “afford” about $3,795 a month at 30% of pay.
60% of households rent. Median home value is $1,303,800.
ACS median rent
$2,590
30% income budget
$3,795
Rent / income
20%
Median home
$1,303,800
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Austin city. Up 71% since 2014. Old West Austin is 50% 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: 2 groceries, 5 cafes, 9 parks, and 14 transit stops.
A grocery run on foot is possible; some trips will still need a ride. Parks are close — 9 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (14 stops or stations).
5 cafes and 17 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Austin set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 1 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
6,543
Median age
40.5
Median income
$152K
Renters
60%
Bachelor+
86%
Violent / 1k
1.8
Property / 1k
40.5
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 1 census tract · APD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM 2026-08-31
WaterfrontFamily streets
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.
Old West Austin holds Clarksville, one of the city’s historically Black freedom towns, now a pocket of cottages west of downtown priced like inner-core real estate. Walk Score lists Clarksville among Austin’s most walkable residential neighborhoods. The lake trail is close; Rainey is close enough to visit and far enough to sleep.
Enfield and the MoPac edge add traffic. The housing is small, charming, and expensive per square foot. This is the “close to downtown, not in it” move — more house than a Rainey high-rise, more walk than Allandale.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, Seattle Times coverage, Boston planning-neighborhood writing, 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.
106 reports
- Parking Violation Enforcement21
- Compost10
- Code Officer6
- Garbage6
- Construction Concerns in Right of Way4
- Vehicle Abatement Report
- Vehicle Abatement Callback
- Pothole Repair
- Parking Violation Enforcement
- Construction Concerns in Right of Way
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.
In r/Austin lately: traffic.
- Power outage in Clarksville.
r/Austin · Jul 26 · 9 upvotes · 9 comments
The line above is a reading of the titles, not a verdict. Up to 3 links, last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Old West Austin safe?
Old West Austin is middle of the pack for Part I here (safety 53 vs city 50). APD logged 1.8 violent and 40.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 42.3 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Old West Austin?
ACS median rent is $2,590 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 60% of households rent. Median home value is $1,303,800. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Old West Austin walkable?
Walk is 0 here vs 18 for the Austin set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 2 groceries, 5 cafes, 14 transit stops, 9 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Old West Austin good for families?
The scores lean family relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 8.3 / 10. Median age is 40.5. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Old West Austin?
20 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 Old West Austin?
About 6,543 people. Median income $152K. 86% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Old West Austin?
Rosedale, Zilker, Barton Hills sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official planning areas, start with Old West Austin vs Rosedale.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Old West Austin vs RosedaleOld West Austin vs ZilkerOld West Austin vs Barton Hills
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
43fit
Bouldin Creek
$2K median rent
West of South Congress: cottages, food trailers, and the SoCo strip on the doorstep.
NightlifeWalk 28Safety 21
42fit
Rosedale
$1K median rent
Medical-center adjacent, walkable groceries, and a calmer read than Hyde Park on a Saturday night.
Family streetsWalk 4Safety 68
42fit
Barton Hills
$2K median rent
Hills west of Zilker. Quiet streets, trail access, and a car for most errands.
WaterfrontFamily streetsWalk 5Safety 63