Live in Prospect Hill
Older West Side streets where most owners hold the house outright, the typical value in ZIP code 78207 was $109,513 in August 2026, and at that price a homestead exemption leaves no school tax at all, so the bill turns on whether the owner lives there.
Prospect Hill began at the turn of the twentieth century as a neighborhood of German and East European families west of downtown, and from the late 1930s Mexican American families moved north into it across Durango Street, as the historian Ricardo Romo, who grew up there, has written. This guide takes the area the Prospect Hill neighborhood association files with the City: about 1,849 acres from Culebra Road down to Guadalupe Street, where the 2020 census counted 18,684 residents, 8.3% fewer than on the same ground in 2010, and owners lived in 58% of the occupied homes. Apache Creek runs through it and fills Elmendorf Lake, FEMA maps 17.2% of the ground in the 1% annual chance flood zone, and no City historic district or conservation district covers any of it. About four in five residents are in San Antonio ISD and one in five in Edgewood ISD.
An old West Side neighborhood where more owners hold outright than owe
The area the Prospect Hill neighborhood association files on the City of San Antonio's Neighborhood Associations layer (OBJECTID 318), which the City publishes without saying it checks the lines: about 1,849 acres in two parts that meet along West Martin Street. The northern part runs from Culebra Road (State Spur 421) on the north, between North General McMullen Drive on the west and North Elmendorf Street on the east, then steps east by Leal Street to about North Pinto Street and south to Martin. The southern part runs along Martin from General McMullen east to the BNSF railroad at North Comal Street, south to West Commerce Street, west along Commerce to Zarzamora Street, south on Zarzamora to Guadalupe Street, west along Guadalupe and Castroville Road to SW 26th Street, and back north by SW 26th, El Paso Street and SW 24th Street to Commerce and General McMullen. Romo's older Prospect Hill, from Alazan Creek west to Hamilton Avenue between Durango and Travis streets, is only partly inside: the blocks east of Zarzamora and south of Commerce are not. All of it is in Bexar County and the City of San Antonio.
Prospect Hill was built around 1900 for German and East European families west of downtown, and from the late 1930s Mexican American families and businesses moved in from the south. The historian Ricardo Romo, who grew up there, dates the change by its shops: Prospect Hill Cleaners on Commerce Street in 1938, the Centeno grocery, with parking for 500 cars, in 1948. This guide takes the area the Prospect Hill neighborhood association files with the City: about 1,849 acres from Culebra Road to Guadalupe Street, where the 2020 census counted 18,684 residents, 8.3% fewer than in 2010. Romo's Prospect Hill, from Alazan Creek to Hamilton Avenue between Durango and Travis streets, is smaller, and its blocks east of Zarzamora and south of Commerce are outside the association's line.
Most owners here owe nothing on the house. Owners lived in 3,522 of the 6,036 occupied homes in 2020, and 2,210 of them held it free and clear. No price index follows the line; Zillow's figure for ZIP code 78207, home to 78% of the residents and much larger than the area, was $109,513 in August 2026, down 1.1% on the year, against a Bexar County median sale of $280,999.
At that price, the homestead exemption decides the tax bill. The seven taxing units charge 2.440474 per $100 in San Antonio ISD and 2.271424 in Edgewood ISD, but every school district exempts $140,000 of a homestead, so on a $109,513 house the school line is $0 and an owner who lives there pays about $1,154 a year in either district. As a rental the same house owes about $2,673 in San Antonio ISD or $2,488 in Edgewood, on the county's 2025 rates; the city's own example is on the San Antonio page.
The school district is a matter of the address. 3,581 residents, a fifth, are in Edgewood ISD, whose 1984 suit led the Texas Supreme Court to rule the state's school funding unconstitutional in 1989; the rest are in San Antonio ISD, which publishes only its 2021-22 attendance map. On 23 March 2026 its board voted to close Rhodes Middle School, zoned for almost half the area on that map, and to bring in Third Future Schools to help run Tafolla, where Rhodes students go, and Ogden Elementary, rated F for 2026.
Apache Creek is the flood line on the map, and not the only one. FEMA's map puts 17.2% of the area in the 1% annual chance zone, along the creek and around Elmendorf Lake, on blocks holding 1,508 residents, and nationally 29% of flood insurance claims from 2014 to 2024 came from outside FEMA's high-risk areas. No City historic or conservation district covers the area, but its 16 designated landmark parcels need a certificate of appropriateness for exterior work. VIA's Primo line runs on Zarzamora Street, and Frequent buses on Commerce, Martin, Culebra, Guadalupe and General McMullen.
- File the homestead exemption with the Bexar Appraisal District
- Check whether the address is in San Antonio ISD or Edgewood ISD on the appraisal record
- Ask San Antonio ISD which schools serve the address now; its public map is from 2021-22
- Look the address up on FEMA's flood map and price a flood policy
- Check whether the house is a designated landmark
How Prospect Hill got here
- 1895The Sisters of Divine Providence found Our Lady of the Lake University and complete its Main Building beside the lake, just west of what is now the association's line on SW 24th Street.
- 1911Crockett Public School No. 11 is built of stone, brick and concrete at 2300 West Commerce Street, on the association's southern line; the Mexican American Unity Council buys it in 1976.
- 1929Leppard Motors opens a Mission-style auto dealership and garage on West Commerce Street, one of the landmarks the City's Office of Historic Preservation recorded in 2013.
- 1930The Prospect Hill Library opens at 2322 Buena Vista Street, a block outside today's line; a new Las Palmas library replaces it in 1969.
- 1938Roberto Sosa opens Prospect Hill Cleaners on Commerce Street, among the first Mexican American businesses in what had been an Anglo neighborhood, as Romo records.
- 1940Lincoln Heights Courts opens on North Elmendorf Street, just east of the line: public housing built with federal loans under the Housing Act of 1937, for African American families under the city's segregated system.
- 1948The Centeno family opens a grocery on Commerce Street in Prospect Hill, which Romo calls one of the largest in the city, with parking for 500 cars.
- 1954Rhodes Middle School opens on Tampico Street, the middle school zoned for most of the area on San Antonio ISD's 2021-22 map.
- 1984On 23 May MALDEF files Edgewood ISD v. Kirby on behalf of the district that holds a fifth of the area's residents; Edgewood had $38,854 of property wealth per student.
- 1989On 2 October the Texas Supreme Court rules 9 to 0 that the state's school finance system is unconstitutional.
- 1999The founding year the City's registry records for the Prospect Hill neighborhood association.
- 2010FEMA's countywide flood map for Bexar County takes effect on 29 September, the panel still in force at the reference point; the census counts 20,374 residents on the same ground.
- 2020The census counts 18,684 residents and 6,709 homes inside the line; 673 of the homes stand vacant.
- 2026On 23 March San Antonio ISD's board votes 5 to 2 to close Rhodes Middle School at the end of the school year and send its students to Tafolla, and approves a partnership with Third Future Schools to help run Tafolla and Ogden Elementary.
A lake the creek fills, and 65 acres on the western edge
Elmendorf Lake Park, on West Commerce Street, is about 37 acres of City park around the lake that Apache Creek fills, with a pool and a splash pad, and Our Lady of the Lake University just beyond it. Rosedale Park, on Dartmouth Street in the west, is about 65 acres, and West End Park on North Hamilton Avenue about 9. Woodlawn Lake Park is across Culebra Road.
What the map does not show: the lake park is also the floodplain; much of the area FEMA puts in the 1% zone lies along Apache Creek and the lake.
24 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 24 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are computed from OpenStreetMap's place node for Prospect Hill, near Ogden Elementary, using straight-line distance times a road factor and a tiered speed model: honest ranges, not routed times.
Every gym within reach
The Westside Family YMCA is inside the line on Ruiz Street. The City's outdoor pool is at Elmendorf Lake, and its indoor pool, the Atanacio Garcia Natatorium, is to the southeast.
- Westside Family YMCA: about 2.0 km, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday
- Elmendorf Lake Park Pool: about 1.4 km, seasonal
- Atanacio Garcia Natatorium: about 3.4 km, indoor
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Westside Family YMCA open | The YMCA of Greater San Antonio's branch at 2900 Ruiz Street, inside the area: open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, to 8 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, closed on Sunday. | 4–6 min |
| Elmendorf Lake Park Pool open | The City's outdoor pool at 235 Shore Drive, inside the area, with a splash pad; the City listed it as closed for the season on 30 September 2026. | 4–6 min |
| Atanacio Garcia Natatorium open | The City's indoor pool at 1430 West Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard, with a diving well; the City posts its hours on its website. | 6–9 min |
| Rosedale Park open | The free option: about 65 acres of City park at 303 Dartmouth Street, in the west of the area. | 4–7 min |
The free option is Elmendorf Lake Park and Rosedale Park's 65 acres.
Two districts, a 2021-22 map and a middle school that has closed
Most of the area is in the San Antonio Independent School District. On its 2021-22 map, the most recent it publishes, the elementary zone at the reference point is Ogden on Leal Street, for 37% of residents; the middle zone was Rhodes, now closed, whose students go to Tafolla; and the high school for 73% is Lanier, rated C, 78. A fifth of residents are in the Edgewood Independent School District, which publishes no zone map this guide could read.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ogden Elementary School | San Antonio Independent School District | 2215 Leal Street, inside the area. On the district's 2021-22 attendance map, the most recent it publishes, it is the elementary zone at the reference point and for 6,833 of the 2020 residents, 37%; the rest divide among Crockett (3,208), Carvajal (2,147), Margil (1,916) and De Zavala (1,015), and San Antonio ISD's board has since voted to close Carvajal. The Texas Education Agency rated Ogden F, 58, for 2026 and F, 59, for 2025, with 94.1% of its students economically disadvantaged; in March 2026 the board approved a partnership with Third Future Schools to help run it. |
| David Crockett Academy | San Antonio Independent School District | 2215 Morales Street, inside the area, from early education to grade 8: the 2021-22 elementary zone for 3,208 residents. Rated F, 50, for 2026 and D, 63, for 2025. |
| Fidel L. Tafolla Middle School | San Antonio Independent School District | 1303 West Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard. On the 2021-22 map Rhodes Middle School was the middle zone at the reference point and for 8,980 residents, 48%, and Tafolla for 2,931; the board voted on 23 March 2026 to close Rhodes at the end of the 2025-26 year and send its students to Tafolla. Tafolla was rated F, 59, for 2026 and F, 41, for 2025. |
| Lanier High School | San Antonio Independent School District | 1514 West Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard: the high school zone at the reference point and for 13,598 residents, 73%, on the 2021-22 map, with 1,521 zoned to Jefferson. Rated C, 78, for 2026 and C, 75, for 2025, with a graduation rate component of 89.3. |
| Roy Cisneros Elementary School | Edgewood Independent School District | 3011 Ruiz Street, inside the area, one of the district's campuses for the 3,581 residents in Edgewood ISD. Edgewood publishes no attendance map this guide could read, so which Edgewood schools serve a given address is unconfirmed. Rated D, 68, for 2026 and F, 59, for 2025. |
Confirm the district and the schools with San Antonio ISD or Edgewood ISD for the exact address before you commit. The 2021-22 map is not a current assignment, and San Antonio ISD's school choice program lets families apply anywhere in the district.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- The appraisal district values every property as of 1 January, and last year's bill is due by 31 January
- Highs near 17 °C and lows near 5 °C at San Antonio International, with about five nights at or below freezing on the 1991 to 2020 normal
- Penalty and interest start on unpaid property tax on 1 February
- The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo runs from 11 to 28 February 2027
- Highs near 20 °C and 44 mm of rain, the driest month on the normal
- Highs near 23 °C and lows near 11 °C
- 59 mm of rain, and about one night at or below freezing on the normal
- Fiesta San Antonio runs citywide from 15 to 25 April 2027
- Highs near 27 °C and 61 mm of rain
- 15 May, or 30 days after the appraisal district mails its notice if that is later, is the deadline to protest a value
- 112 mm of rain, the wettest month on the normal and the start of the late spring flash flood season; 17.2% of the area is in FEMA's 1% zone
- Highs near 34 °C, with about 24 days reaching 32 °C (90 °F) on the normal
- 83 mm of rain on the normal
- Elmendorf Lake Park's City pool and splash pad, at 235 Shore Drive, are inside the line
- Highs near 35 °C, with about 28 days reaching 32 °C on the normal
- Highs near 36 °C and lows near 24 °C, with about nine days reaching 38 °C (100 °F) on the normal
- 55 mm of rain
- El Grito and the Fiestas Patrias weekend filled Historic Market Square, east along Commerce Street, on 12 and 13 September 2026
- 99 mm of rain, the start of the autumn flash flood season, and highs near 32 °C
- 95 mm of rain on the normal, after 99 mm in September: with May, the wettest months of the year
- Highs near 28 °C and lows near 16 °C
- The 45th Ford Holiday River Parade is on the River Walk on 27 November 2026, with a free viewing area
- Highs near 22 °C and lows near 10 °C
- Property tax bills for the year are due by 31 January, and penalty and interest start on 1 February
- Highs near 18 °C and lows near 6 °C, with about four nights at or below freezing
Every photograph in this guide's library is above
This library holds 3 photographs and the page has already printed all of them, each once. The credits are in the footer.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near Prospect Hill, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. Inline photos elsewhere on the page may still come from the site's shared San Antonio library.