Downtown
$3K median rent
Rainey, Sixth, and the warehouse blocks live here. Highest walk score, highest nightlife, and a crime rate inflated by visitors.
Austin/South River City
Official planning area: South River City
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · APD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Aug 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Travis Heights oaks on the east side of Congress. Porches, hills, and a walk to the lake.
Best in Austin for familiesWalkable AustinUnder $2,500 rent
13 violent · 225 property · 46.3 per 1k (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)-18 vs city set
Rating 8.1 / 10 nearby+23 vs city set
OSM: 6 groceries · 4 cafes · 23 transit · 12 parks-9 vs city set
$1,894 ACS median vs your rent budget+3 vs city set
OSM: 4 cafes · 24 restaurants · 5 bars · 12 parks-7 vs city set
From South River City, a typical weekday is 17 min to Downtown, 24 min to UT campus, 39 min to The Domain. Not live traffic.
Downtown is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Rainey, Sixth, Capitol · -3 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
Forty Acres · +4 min vs the city-set median
North Burnet tech · +13 min vs the city-set median
Minutes are baked from neighborhood geography to three job centers — not Google, not this hour’s traffic.
ACS median gross rent is $1,894 across all occupied rental units — studios through large apartments mixed together, not a live 1-bed or 2-bed quote.
That is 19% of median household income — under the 30% HUD cost-burden line. A household at this area’s median income ($120K) could “afford” about $2,988 a month at 30% of gross pay.
57% of households rent. Median home value is $1,118,895.
HUD treats 30% of gross household income as the cost-burden line. We do not split ACS median rent into 1-bed vs 2-bed — that table is all occupied rental units. Method.
Inside the official planning area or within 800 meters of its centroid, OpenStreetMap maps 6 groceries, 4 cafes, 12 parks, and 23 transit stops.
A grocery run on foot is possible; some trips will still need a ride. Parks are close — 12 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (23 stops or stations).
4 cafes and 24 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Austin set.
Counts from OpenStreetMap, 800 m. Not a Walk Score license. Groceries here beat 15 of 19 other areas in this city set.
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 2 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.
What it is like to live here, beyond the scores.
South River City is the official name; Travis Heights is what people search. Live oaks, hills, and 1920s houses on the east side of Congress, with a walk down to the lake. It is Bouldin’s calmer twin: same south-central gravity, more porches, fewer souvenir shops on your block.
The hills are not a metaphor — errands can be a climb, and parking on festival weekends backs up from the trail. Schools and trees lead the scores. Nightlife is next door on Congress, not on your porch, which is why people pay for it.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, and local coverage, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
Answers from the same ACS, crime, and OSM figures on this page.
On this map South River City has a higher Part I rate than most Austin Neighborhood Planning Areas in the set (safety 32 vs city 50). APD logged 2.5 violent and 43.8 property incidents per 1,000 ACS residents — 46.3 combined. Rates mix residents and visitors. They are not a judgment of who lives here.
ACS median rent is $1,894. Median home value is $1,118,895. About 57% of households rent. These are survey medians, not this week's listings.
Walk scores 9 here vs 18 for the Austin set — you will likely drive or ride for daily errands. OpenStreetMap counts within 800 meters: 6 groceries, 4 cafes, 23 transit stops, 12 parks.
The scores lean family-friendly relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 8.1 / 10. Median age is 36.6.
Typical weekday minutes to Downtown: 17. Not live traffic. Open the neighborhood page for the other job centers in Austin.
About 5,140 residents, median income $120K, 78% with a bachelor's or higher. ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · APD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM.
Closest on this map: Bouldin Creek, South Lamar, Zilker. Compare South River City vs Bouldin Creek if you are deciding between two official planning areas.
Adjacent on the planning area map, ranked with your weights.
South River City vs Bouldin CreekSouth River City vs South LamarSouth River City vs Zilker
$3K median rent
Rainey, Sixth, and the warehouse blocks live here. Highest walk score, highest nightlife, and a crime rate inflated by visitors.
$2K median rent
Park first, houses second. Barton Springs and the trail set the pace; prices follow the shade.
$2K median rent
West of South Congress: cottages, food trailers, and the SoCo strip on the doorstep.
$2K median rent
The corridor south of the river: retail, apartments, and a faster pulse than Barton Hills.
$2K median rent
Further east, still in the city. More yard, fewer bars, a value contrast to Cesar Chavez.