What it's like to live in Live Oak
Live Oak is a small city in Texas with home prices that remain within reach, commutes that run shorter than most cities, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Live Oak deals with rent well above the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and hot summers.
The good
- Affordable home prices
- Short commutes
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- Air quality concerns
- Hot summers
How Live Oak compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Live Oak
Based on Live Oak's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,268
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $65,360 a year
- 39% of Live Oak renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$49,260
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $24,630
- Homes cost 3.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 16% above US
$1,634/mo median rent
Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,634 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $246,300. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $246,300 · 39% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in Bexar County is 4.0%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Bexar County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 22% below US
257 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 3088/100k · Live Oak Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 21% below US
21 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 20.5 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 15% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 94°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 43°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 11% below US
32% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 32% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
5 public schools inside the boundary
There are 5 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (18 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Live Oak's strongest points are home prices that remain within reach and commutes that run shorter than most cities; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($1,634/mo) equals 25% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (15% of workers here already work from home) and people who want short commutes.
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