Best Schools in Austin 2026: Eanes vs Lake Travis vs Austin ISD, and What Homes Cost in Each

I am Johnny Ronca, a SERHANT. Luxury Associate Broker in Austin. I have been selling here for 20+ years and 300+ transactions, and the single most common question I get from buyers relocating into this metro is some version of: how much am I actually paying for the schools? This page answers it with two sets of numbers that are usually quoted separately — district ratings and closed home prices — put side by side, from the same week.

Two sources, both current. School ratings come from the Texas Education Agency’s 2025-26 A-F accountability release and from each school’s own GreatSchools profile, checked on September 22, 2026. Home prices come from Unlock MLS closed sales pulled the same day, using an identical 180-day window for every district so the comparison is apples to apples.

Which Austin school district has the highest rating?

Eanes ISD scored an A at 94 out of 100 and Lake Travis ISD an A at 91, the only two A ratings among the six largest districts in the Austin area.

Texas Education Agency A-F accountability ratings released August 14, 2026 for the 2025-26 school year, with the prior cycle shown for trend. Austin ISD’s B is its highest district rating in four years.

The headline most people miss: Austin ISD moved from a C to a B in this cycle. If you looked at Austin ISD ratings in 2025 and wrote the district off, the current number is different. The district is also enormous and highly variable campus to campus, which is why the school-level table further down matters more than the district letter.

What does a home cost in each Austin school district?

Over the last 180 days the median closed price ran from $1,925,000 in Eanes ISD to $475,000 in Round Rock ISD — and the per-square-foot gap is even wider than the headline price gap.

Closed single-family sales, March 26 – September 22, 2026, Unlock MLS. Same window for every district.

Read those two middle columns together. Austin ISD’s $600,000 median looks affordable next to Lake Travis ISD’s $838,577 — until you notice the Austin ISD median home is 1,893 square feet and the Lake Travis one is 3,132. Per foot, Austin ISD is the more expensive of the two at $332 against $285. You are buying location density in one and square footage in the other.

Which Austin-area schools are rated 10 out of 10?

Sixteen campuses across five districts hold a 10 out of 10 on GreatSchools as of September 2026.

GreatSchools overall ratings read from each school’s own profile page on September 22, 2026. Ratings change annually. Confirm assigned campuses for any specific home.

And the 9-rated campuses, which in practice are excellent schools that happen to have lost a point somewhere in the formula: Westlake High School and Cedar Creek Elementary in Eanes ISD; Serene Hills and Rough Hollow Elementary in Lake Travis ISD; Bowie High School, Kealing Middle, Gorzycki Middle, Small Middle and Zilker Elementary in Austin ISD; Westwood High School in Round Rock ISD; Steiner Ranch Elementary in Leander ISD; and Walnut Springs and Rooster Springs Elementary in Dripping Springs ISD.

Where can you get a 9 or 10-rated school without paying a Westlake price?

Four of the five districts with 10-rated campuses have median closed prices under $850,000.

This is the part of the conversation most relocation buyers never get. If your requirement is a top-rated campus rather than a specific ZIP code, the metro gives you several routes at very different price points. Here is roughly what each route costs, using the ZIP-level closed medians from the same MLS pull.

Closed single-family medians, trailing 12 months, Unlock MLS. School assignment is by address, not by ZIP code — confirm assigned campuses for any specific home.

The Round Rock ISD line is the one that surprises people. Canyon Vista Middle, Laurel Mountain Elementary and Cactus Ranch Elementary all carry a 10, Westwood High carries a 9, and the surrounding ZIP codes close between $505,000 and $760,000 — roughly a quarter to a third of the Eanes median. Great Hills and Avery Ranch are worth a look if that is your priority.

Do school ratings actually move home values in Austin?

Yes, and you can see the size of the effect in the per-square-foot numbers rather than in the headline prices.

Compare two districts with similar housing stock. Lake Travis ISD homes close at $285 a foot with a 3,132-square-foot median. Leander ISD homes close at $214 a foot with a 2,665-square-foot median. Both are Hill Country suburban markets built in similar decades. The roughly 33 percent per-foot difference is the part of the price attributable to location, amenities and the district.

The Eanes premium is larger and harder to isolate, because Eanes ISD covers the closest luxury housing to downtown Austin and some of the only Lake Austin frontage in the city. School quality, proximity and land scarcity are all baked into the same $550 per foot. Anyone who tells you exactly how many dollars of that is the school district is guessing.

What I can tell you from 20 years of watching these transactions: in Eanes and in the top Round Rock and Leander zones, homes in the strongest attendance areas sell faster and see fewer price reductions than comparable homes a mile outside them. Speed, not just price, is where the district shows up.

How do I confirm which schools a specific Austin address is zoned to?

Check the district’s own attendance-zone lookup for the exact address, and never rely on a listing’s school fields.

Listing school fields are entered by hand and go stale after every boundary change. Districts rezone. Campuses open, close and merge — Eanes ISD consolidated Valley View Elementary into Barton Creek Elementary starting in the 2025-26 school year, and plenty of listings still show the old campus. Use the district’s address lookup, and if the schools are a deciding factor in your purchase, call the district before you remove your option period.

One more caution on boundaries. Several neighborhoods sit on district lines: parts of Barton Creek are Austin ISD while the Terraces section is Eanes ISD; the Commons Ford area near Lake Austin needs confirmation by address; and Steiner Ranch is Leander ISD even though its mailing address is Austin. Confirm assigned campuses for any specific home.

Frequently asked questions

Which school district is best in Austin, Texas?

By the 2025-26 TEA accountability ratings, Eanes ISD (A, 94/100) and Lake Travis ISD (A, 91/100) are the only A-rated districts among the metro’s six largest. By campus ratings, Eanes has six schools at 10 out of 10 on GreatSchools, more than any other district in the area. Best for a given household still depends on the specific campus, the program fit and your commute.

How much more do homes cost in Eanes ISD?

Over the 180 days ending September 22, 2026, the Eanes ISD median closed price was $1,925,000 against $838,577 in Lake Travis ISD and $600,000 in Austin ISD — about 2.3 times and 3.2 times, respectively. Per square foot the gap is $550 versus $285 and $332.

Is Lake Travis ISD as good as Eanes ISD?

Both hold an A from TEA for 2025-26, with Eanes at 94 and Lake Travis at 91. Lake Travis Middle and Lake Pointe Elementary are rated 10 on GreatSchools; Lake Travis High is an 8 and Westlake High is a 9. The median Lake Travis ISD home costs less than half of the median Eanes home, which is the real trade-off for most buyers.

What is the cheapest way to get into a 10-rated Austin school?

On the price data, the Round Rock ISD corridor. Cactus Ranch Elementary and Canyon Vista Middle both carry a 10, and the surrounding ZIP codes closed at $505,000 (78681) and $760,000 (78750) over the trailing 12 months. Leander ISD’s River Ridge Elementary and Canyon Ridge Middle sit near Steiner Ranch in 78732 at an $840,000 median.

Did Austin ISD ratings improve?

Yes. Austin ISD earned a B in the ratings released August 14, 2026 for the 2025-26 school year, up from a C (79/100) in the prior cycle. It is the district’s highest rating in four years. Campus quality inside AISD varies widely, so check the specific school, not just the district letter.

Are GreatSchools ratings the same as TEA ratings?

No. TEA issues A-F accountability ratings for districts and campuses using state assessment and college-readiness data. GreatSchools publishes its own 1-10 summary rating built from test scores and other factors. They usually point the same direction but can disagree on any individual campus, which is why this page lists both.

Does buying in a top school zone guarantee my child attends that school?

No. Attendance is set by the district and boundaries change. Districts also run transfers, magnet and application programs — LASA in Austin ISD, for example, is an application campus, not a neighborhood zone. Always confirm with the district before you rely on it.

What is the median home price in Lake Travis ISD?

$838,577 over the 180 days ending September 22, 2026, on 679 closed single-family sales, at a $285 per-square-foot median and 34 median days on market. Over the full trailing 12 months the district median was $810,000 on 1,177 sales.

Which Austin high schools are rated highest?

On GreatSchools as of September 2026: LASA (Austin ISD) at 10; Westlake High (Eanes), Bowie High (Austin ISD) and Westwood High (Round Rock) at 9; Anderson, McCallum, Lake Travis, Vandegrift, Cedar Park and Round Rock High at 8.

Can you help me find a home in a specific school zone?

That is one of the most common searches I run. Tell me the campus or the district and your price band and I will pull every active and off-market option inside the actual attendance boundary, not just the ZIP code, and confirm assignments with the district before you write an offer.

Source: Unlock MLS (ACTRIS) closed-sale data, pulled September 22, 2026. Figures are medians for closed single-family sales unless stated otherwise. School ratings are from the Texas Education Agency 2025-26 accountability release and from each school’s GreatSchools profile, accessed September 22, 2026. School assignments change; confirm assigned campuses for any specific home with the district. Market statistics are reported in aggregate and are not a substitute for a written valuation of a specific home.