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
Austin/South Lamar
35fit
South Lamar
Official planning area: South Lamar
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · APD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Aug 2026 · updated Sep 2026
The corridor south of the river: retail, apartments, and a faster pulse than Barton Hills.
Best in Austin for familiesWalkable AustinUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
42
25 violent · 304 property · 43.1 per 1k (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)-8 vs city set
Schools
37
Rating 6.9 / 10 nearby-17 vs city set
Walk
11
OSM: 4 groceries · 4 cafes · 43 transit · 6 parks-7 vs city set
Cost
100
$1,686 ACS median vs your rent budget+3 vs city set
Vibe
6
OSM: 4 cafes · 38 restaurants · 3 bars · 6 parks-8 vs city set
Commute to work
From South Lamar, a typical weekday is 21 min to Downtown, 27 min to UT campus, 40 min to The Domain. Not live traffic.
Downtown is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Downtown
21 min
Rainey, Sixth, Capitol · +1 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
UT campus
27 min
Forty Acres · +7 min vs the city-set median
The Domain
40 min
North Burnet tech · +14 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 $1,686 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 25% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($79K) could “afford” about $1,986 a month at 30% of pay.
82% of households rent. Median home value is $562,634.
ACS median rent
$1,686
30% income budget
$1,986
Rent / income
25%
Median home
$562,634
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Austin city. Up 71% since 2014. South Lamar is 2% below 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: 4 groceries, 4 cafes, 6 parks, and 43 transit stops.
A grocery run on foot is possible; some trips will still need a ride. Parks are close — 6 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (43 stops or stations).
4 cafes and 38 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Austin set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 8 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
7,635
Median age
32.3
Median income
$79K
Renters
82%
Bachelor+
67%
Violent / 1k
3.3
Property / 1k
39.8
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 3 census tracts · APD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM 2026-08-31
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.
South Lamar is a corridor more than a village: apartments, big-box retail, and a faster pulse than Barton Hills next door. It is how a lot of people actually live south of the river — close to Zilker, close to SoCo, with a grocery and a gym that do not require a pilgrimage.
Walkability is block-dependent. The Lamar frontage is traffic; the side streets are small houses and new stacks. Fit this if your life is the south-central job-and-trail loop. Skip it if you want a single commercial square you can describe as a town.
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.
95 reports
- Code Officer20
- Garbage11
- Debris in Street9
- Compost6
- 311 E-Comm - Other5
- Code Officer
- Obstruction in Right of Way
- Traffic Sign Maintenance
- Debris in Street
- Debris in Street
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.
One r/Austin post in this snapshot names South Lamar.
- Taste of Ethiopia’s South Lamar location is closing
r/Austin · Sep 1 · 1 upvote
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 South Lamar safe?
South Lamar shows more Part I than most of this Austin set (safety 42 vs city 50). APD logged 3.3 violent and 39.8 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 43.1 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in South Lamar?
ACS median rent is $1,686 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 82% of households rent. Median home value is $562,634. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is South Lamar walkable?
Walk is 11 here vs 18 for the Austin set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 4 groceries, 4 cafes, 43 transit stops, 6 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is South Lamar good for families?
Family fit depends on the school rating nearby and how much quiet you want. Nearby school rating is 6.9 / 10. Median age is 32.3. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from South Lamar?
21 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 South Lamar?
About 7,635 people. Median income $79K. 67% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to South Lamar?
Zilker, Barton Hills, Bouldin Creek sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official planning areas, start with South Lamar vs Zilker.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
South Lamar vs ZilkerSouth Lamar vs Barton HillsSouth Lamar vs Bouldin Creek
43fit
Bouldin Creek
$2K median rent
West of South Congress: cottages, food trailers, and the SoCo strip on the doorstep.
NightlifeWalk 28Safety 21
42fit
Barton Hills
$2K median rent
Hills west of Zilker. Quiet streets, trail access, and a car for most errands.
WaterfrontFamily streetsWalk 5Safety 63
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
34fit
Old West Austin
$3K median rent
Clarksville cottages west of downtown. Close to the lake trail, quieter than Rainey, priced like it.
WaterfrontFamily streetsWalk 0Safety 53