West Lake Hills, Texas

Population

Down 6.6% since 2020.

3,229

people, the 480th-largest of Texas's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Texas's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

98.9%

of 5,469 jobs located in West Lake Hills are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 157% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$3,501

a month. Texas's median is $1,403.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $2,525 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Travis County.

• $976 Tract 359
• $3,501 Tract 362

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$1,186–$1,779

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $3,501 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

64% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 182 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 9% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 64% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.1–4.1% to the 1,353 homes here.

1–55

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 487% more than Texas's.

$1,664,500

median home value in West Lake Hills.

• $1,664,500 West Lake Hills
• $283,800 Texas
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year