Austin's Best Schools

Greater Austin has a number of communities with OUTSTANDING schools--many of which have exceptional national ranking. Here are a few of my top recommendations and some information about the communities to help you think outside the box about what is important to you and your family. 


Eanes Independent School District (ISD) is often considered to be the best school district in the Austin area. If you casually ask any local for "the best schools" you will likely be told "Check out Eanes". 8 out of the 9 Eanes ISD schools are rated Exemplary schools and Westlake High is rated among the top 100 high schools in the nation. And since Eanes ISD is just west of Downtown Austin, it has another advantage that elevates its reputation in the community--it is a very short commute to downtown Austin. Of course, this proximity to downtown comes with a price. Finding a large home, a newer home and/or a home with maximum privacy in Eanes is not out of the question--but you should expect to pay a premium for a home in this area. Many of the homes here are older custom homes and remodeling is common. The commute to downtown will be 10-20 minutes for much of Eanes ISD, and walk-ability is good in many of these communities (low traffic; family oriented communities). If you are looking for a home in Eanes ISD, an average priced home runs between $650-850k with an upper end well above $5M.

There are other communities in the Greater Austin area with outstanding (Exemplary Rated) schools as well. Westwood High School (Round Rock ISD) is also rated in the top 100 HS's in the nation. There are approximately 29,000+ public High Schools in the US today, so being in the top 100 nationally is a really big deal. I am told that more than 40% of the students in Westwood HS have perfect GPA's in a very rigorous academic environment. Westwood High communities include a number of neighborhoods in the North West Austin area. The commute to downtown is an approximate 20-25 mins, so this is still fairly close to all things Austin, with good access to Lake Travis, and the NW Austin retail area. The challenge for the luxury market in this part of Austin is SIZE. The homes in this part of Austin tend to be older and smaller. Finding a home that is larger than 4000 sf is rare and the choices re limited. If you are looking for a home in Westwood High School area, an average priced home around $300k with an upper end typically between $700-800k. 

The next areas that sometimes get over-looked when speaking of great Austin area schools are Vandergrift High and Lake Travis High. Great school communities that were Recognized and Exemplary rated schools in 2010-11. There are a number of large scale and smaller communities here with some of Austin's best schools in one of our most well known master planned communities--Steiner Ranch. Located in the Leander ISD, Homes in this area are approximately 20-30 minutes from downtown and just minutes to both Lake Austin and Lake Travis. Although the dirt around Lake Travis is not cheap, it can be more affordable than communities closer to downtown. These two areas feature outstanding schools, larger lots (in some cases), bigger homes, occasional views of the lake, lake access and some of Austins best known golf courses. Along the giant Balcones Preserve, this area brings the Texas Hill Country and the Austin lake life-style into focus. If you are looking for a home in Vangergrift High school area, an average priced home runs between $425-500k with an upper end well above $2.5M. If you are looking for a home in Lake Travis High school area, an average priced home runs between $350-450k with an upper end well above $3.5M.


No matter what you are looking for in the Austin Luxury market, from $500k to $MM, we have options for you, and all the amenities and features that you want in a home. If you are looking for a community with great schools--Let's Talk.