Choosing a Lubbock neighborhood can be nerve-racking for a new resident with little understanding of the city layout. Choosing wrong can leave you stuck in a lease in a neighborhood you hate for a year at least.
To help you make the best choice, I will cover fifteen of the most popular neighborhoods around the city. This list will cover a variety of neighborhoods, from those suitable for new families to some of the upper-class neighborhoods.
At Lubbock Lease Homes, we look forward to helping new and prospective tenants in any way possible. If you’re moving to Lubbock soon or already living here and looking for a new rental home in the city, contact us. Previous tenants have consistently rated us five stars due to the above-and-beyond level of service we provide. Check out available properties to find your perfect Lubbock rental home.
Lubbock’s Top 15 Neighborhoods For New Residents To Know
This is a list of some neighborhoods in Lubbock. There are dozens more neighborhoods around the city, including many residential neighborhoods.
I’ve focused on the neighborhoods most appealing to new Lubbock residents, including students, new families, and others.
1. Tech Terrace
Tech Terrace is a popular centrally located neighborhood bordered to the north by Texas Tech University. While the area has traditionally been popular with students, the past decade has seen young families flocking to the neighborhood due to the parks, schools, and social spaces.
The neighborhood offers a range of home rental and buying types, from upscale homes to basic two-bedroom duplexes. You can easily access the rest of the city and will find you’re at most fifteen to twenty minutes from anywhere else in the city due to the central location.
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2. Maxey Park
Maxey Park is located directly west of the Tech Terrace Neighborhood and to the south of Texas Tech University. The area consists primarily of lower to middle-class single-family homes, with some apartments on the neighborhood’s southwest side.
One of the things that sets the Maxey Park neighborhood apart is the large park, Maxey Park, on the central west side of the neighborhood, and the medical district. The northern half of the Maxey Park neighborhood is home to the Covenant Health System, along with numerous clinics, specialists, and other medical facilities.
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3. Heart of Lubbock
The Heart of Lubbock is one of the city’s central neighborhoods south of the Overton development and directly east of Tech Terrace. The area is a mix of low-income households on the eastern half of the neighborhood, with Tech students, some families, and young couples slowly starting to take over the area west.
If you have trouble finding available housing in the Tech Terrace neighborhood, the western half of Heart of Lubbock can be a great starting point. You have easy access to plenty of restaurants and downtown nightlife areas. Also, being near I-27 and the Marsha Sharp Freeway, you can quickly get anywhere in the city without hitting traffic.
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4. Wheelock and Monterey
Directly to the South of Tech Terrace is the Wheelock and Monterey neighborhood. Like the Heart of Lubbock, the area is an excellent alternative for people who can’t find available housing in Tech Terrace. If you are a Tech student, working downtown, or working in the Medical District, the Wheelock neighborhood is a great area to reside.
The neighborhood has two schools: Monterey High School on the southwest corner of the neighborhood and Wheelock Elementary School. You are also near numerous restaurants and a large grocery store along 50th Street on the neighborhood’s south side.
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5. Maedgen Area
The Maedgen Area neighborhood is west of Wheelock and Monterey and south of Maxey Park and the Medical District. If you’re looking to be centrally located in Lubbock, this is a great neighborhood with plenty of options for both lease houses and homes for sale.
You can find a mix of middle-class housing throughout the neighborhood, with the far northwest comprising government-assisted housing. There is one small park in the neighborhood, AB Davis Park, with plenty of room for running, picnics, and a playground for kids.
6. Melonie Park
Moving further south, the Melonie Park neighborhood is directly south of Maedgen Area and bordered by Loop 289 on the south of the neighborhood. The area has a large park with a playa lake in the southwest part of the neighborhood and another park southeast next to Miller Elementary School.
Most of the Melonie Park neighborhood is middle to upper-middle-class homes, with some smaller homes in the northern part. The neighborhood is a good option for families and anyone looking for a quiet area to reside in.
7. Stubbs-Stewart
Another popular area for renters is Stubbs-Stewart. The neighborhood is in the central western part of the city inside Loop 289 and directly west of the Maedgen Neighborhood. For singles or anyone looking for a quiet area, this can be a good choice.
One downside of the Stubbs-Stewart neighborhood is there isn’t a park within the area. However, you can easily get to parks in surrounding neighborhoods. You are also conveniently located near grocery stores and the mall and have easy access to the Marsha Sharp Freeway for getting around the city.
8. Quaker Heights
Moving south of Loop 289, the Quaker Heights neighborhood is a well-located middle-class area with a nearby park, restaurants, grocery stores, and retail shops. The neighborhood is part of the Quaker Heights Homeowners’ Association, with a neighborhood center and pool for residents.
This is an excellent area for families and is part of the Whiteside and Irons Jr High neighborhood school zones. Being near Loop 289 also makes it easy to get around the city, with I-27 and the Marsha Sharp Freeway both easily accessible from the Loop.
9. Lakeridge
Lakeridge is a hidden gem located directly south of Quaker Heights between Slide Ave and Quaker Ave., with some of the area extending east of Quaker. The neighborhood is primarily upper-class homes with some middle-class houses sprinkled on the southern side and an apartment complex on the far northeast side.
One of the key draws of the neighborhood is the LakeRidge Country Club, which has an entire 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, swimming pool, and other athletic facilities. These are primarily properties for sale, with some rental homes available.
10. Vintage Township
Another middle to upper-middle area and one of Lubbock’s most unique neighborhoods is Vintage Township. As the name implies, the area is meant to have a vintage feel with cozy houses and an old-fashioned town square feeling. This is an excellent area for families that want a safe and quiet community.
One downside of the neighborhood is the streets are quite narrow. Also, because of the location south of town, it is surrounded by streets that are actively undergoing construction and likely will see regular construction for the foreseeable future.
11. Raintree
Raintree is another south Lubbock neighborhood located just east of Lakeridge. The area is home to Honey Elementary School, one of the top schools in Lubbock. Along with the large park in the center of the neighborhood, the area is great for families and people looking for a quiet area to reside.
Potential residents can find a healthy mix of lease homes, homes for sale, and a few apartment complexes. There is also a sporting complex located in the middle near the park. The Raintree part of the neighborhood mainly consists of middle-class housing, with the Lakeridge half comprising upper-class homes.
12. Remington Park
Another family-friendly neighborhood is Remington Park, located directly south of West Loop 289, west of the Quaker Heights and Spanish Oaks neighborhoods. The area is popular due to the many shops and restaurants nearby and close to shopping areas such as the South Plains Mall.
Whiteside Elementary and Irons Junior High School are located within the area for families with young children. There are also multiple parks with playgrounds and ample room for running and other outdoor activities.
13. Clapp Park
The Clapp Park neighborhood is directly east of the Wheelock and Monterey neighborhood and has one of Lubbock’s largest and most unique parks. There is an arboretum, dog park, and the Lubbock Garden & Arts Center, along with a neighborhood swimming pool.
Like Heart of Lubbock, the area is slowly cleaning up with students, first-time home buyers, and young couples moving in. Clapp Park can be a good choice for people working downtown, in the medical district, or for Texas Tech students and employees.
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14. Arnett Benson
The Arnett Benson neighborhood is north of Texas Tech University and directly north of the Marsha Sharp Freeway. For the longest time, this area consisted of predominantly lower-income residents. However, developments around Texas Tech and increased student numbers each year have led many young people to move into the neighborhood and slowly clean things up.
Along with its proximity to Texas Tech, the area is directly east of the famous Rawls Golf Course. Residents can easily access the Marsha Sharp Freeway, making it simple to get anywhere in the city within ten to fifteen minutes.
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15. Preston Smith
The final bus, most certainly to the last of the Lubbock neighborhoods worth considering, is the Preston Smith neighborhood. This area is named after the former Governor of Texas, who was also a resident of West Texas during the latter part of his life.
Preston Smith is a popular area for families due to the school of the same name in the neighborhood. The large park in the middle of the neighborhood and the low crime rates make it appealing for families and younger couples.
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5 Factors To Consider When Choosing a Lubbock Neighborhood
The above fifteen neighborhoods represent only a fraction of the city and are by no means the only good neighborhoods in Lubbock.
Now that you know some popular neighborhoods, you need a system for narrowing down the best for your specific goals, whether you choose one of the above neighborhoods or one of the many others in the city.
Budget
The first thing to consider is your monthly rent or mortgage budget. As with any other city, you can find everything from multi-million dollar homes to low-income government-subsidized housing and everything in between in Lubbock.
Understanding your budget can make getting the most bang for your buck easier. After taking a look at the other four factors, you can more easily narrow down a few different neighborhoods and then find homes in these areas within your budget.
Nearness To Work/School
While Lubbock isn’t a large city in the same way that Dallas or Houston is, it is a growing city. Compared to just a few years ago, the traffic and travel times have been lengthening. I don’t expect this to change and fully expect the city to keep growing rapidly.
With this rapid growth, you can expect the city and state to be constantly playing catch-up with road work. This means increasing commute times and tighter traffic and road widening projects catch up.
Choosing a neighborhood near your work, school, or children’s school can save you some headaches dealing with increased traffic and construction.
Renting vs Buying
Also critical to choosing the right neighborhood is whether you want to rent or buy. Some neighborhoods offer much more to renters than others. Areas like Lakeridge, for example, typically only have a small number of properties for rent due to the higher income level of the area.
Other areas around the city, especially those around Texas Tech, offer significantly more rental opportunities. With interest rates running high and property values continuing to rise, securing a lease home can be a good idea for new residents to Lubbock.
Lifestyle
Another critical factor you should be clear about is your preferred lifestyle before selecting a home in the city. Do you want an easily walkable neighborhood? Then Tech Terrace is likely your best bet. Are you looking for somewhere quiet? Then Preston Smith, among many others, is a good choice.
List the most important things you want out of a neighborhood, such as easy access to outdoor spaces or closeness to nightlife. This can help you narrow your search to a few different ideal spots.
Crime Rates
This final point is crucial, especially in the context of Lubbock. Search for crime rates in Lubbock, and you will inevitably come across numerous articles and credit posts talking about the high crime rates in the city.
Understand that many of these, both forum posts and news articles, are created by people who don’t know what they are talking about and can be incredibly misleading.
Lubbock, unlike many larger cities, reports every call made to police regardless of the severity of the crime and whether there were arrests. This can cause crime rates to look higher than they really are on the ground, with minor property crimes inflating the numbers.
As with any other city, there are good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods. Rather than looking at articles about crime in the city, look at the rates in each neighborhood and understand that you should take the same precautions as you would in any other city.
Get Help Finding Your New Home In Lubbock
Finally, know that I and the rest of the Lubbock Lease Homes team are here to help. Whether you are looking for a rental property as a student or a young family looking for a larger place, we have you covered.
We’re here to answer any questions about moving to Lubbock and look forward to helping you both as a new resident and as a new Lubbock Lease Homes tenant. So, don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions, and check out available properties to find your next home.
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