Moving to
Wells Branch.

All Wells Branch data Compare Wells Branch

13,523people live here $66,656median household income▼ 17% below US $1,544median rent per monthNear US average $401,100median home value▲ 21% above US

Wells Branch is an unincorporated community in Travis County, TX. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Wells Branch

Wells Branch is an unincorporated community in Texas with county unemployment below the national average, commutes that run shorter than most cities, a highly educated workforce, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Wells Branch deals with household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin, and hot summers.

The good

Low unemployment in the county
Short commutes
Highly educated workforce
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Air quality concerns
High rent burden for renters
Hot summers

How Wells Branch compares

Median household income

Wells Branch$66,656

Texas avg$78,476

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Wells Branch$1,544

Texas avg$1,403

US$1,413

Median home value

Wells Branch$401,100

Texas avg$283,800

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Wells Branch

Based on Wells Branch's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,088

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $61,760 a year
53% of Wells Branch renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$80,220

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $40,110
Homes cost 6.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of livingNear US average

$1,544/mo median rent

Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,544 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $401,100. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $401,100 · 53% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.4% county unemployment

Unemployment in Travis County is 3.4%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Travis County (county-wide)

Safety

319 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Wells Branch doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Travis County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs close to the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1291/100k · Policed by Travis County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 17% below US

22 min average commute

Commutes are reasonable, averaging 21.6 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 26% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

66%

Work from home

26%

Carpool

6.6%

Other

1.8%

Public transit

0.3%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 95°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 39°F.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 37% above US

49% bachelor's degree or higher

The population is well-educated, with 49% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.

Schools

4 public schools inside the boundary

There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail (32 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Wells Branch's strongest points are county unemployment below the national average and commutes that run shorter than most cities; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($1,544/mo) equals 28% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), remote workers (26% of workers here already work from home), and people who want short commutes.

See all the data for Wells Branch →·All Texas cities →