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The Best Suburbs of Austin, Texas - 2025 Guide

By Sean Creamer on January 09, 2025

Choosing where to live in Austin, Texas is challenging, as there are plenty of neighborhoods and suburbs, each offering something different from the next.

But depending on your home ownership goals and where your career is, you may have to narrow down the areas you target. Not all buyers want to live amidst the hustle and bustle of Downtown Austin, even if it means being closer to work. Luckily, Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas and many suburbs offer a mix of resale and new construction homes as you trade in city life. 

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People come from all over to get a career in tech at one of the many firms opening up shop in the city or come for the eclectic culture that celebrates live music, the arts, and great BBQ. No matter your reason, there is a home for everyone in Austin. 

So to help buyers kick off their search, our team at Prevu Real Estate gathered a list of the top suburbs to call home in the Austin area. 

Best Suburbs of Austin

  • Round Rock 
  • Four Points
  • Lakeway 
  • South Austin
  • Shady Hollow 
  • Pflugerville 
  • Brushy Creek 
  • Cedar Park 
  • Bee Cave 

Round Rock

First up on the Austin suburbs list is Round Rock, one of the larger communities surrounding the Austin Metropolitan Area. 

Round Rock is a historic area in Texas as the name comes from a round rock in Brushy Creek, where covered wagons did low-water crossings in the 1800s. Today, over 120,000 people live in this small city, which is about 25 minutes north of Downtown Austin. Round Rock is right in the middle of Central Texas Hill Country, and the homes in the region blanket some of these hills. 

There is a slew of managed communities in the area, but there are plenty of chances to find homes with no HOA fees. Sports are a way of life in Round Rock, which is known as the "Sports Capital of Texas" because of the many championship games hosted at the Round Rock Sports Center and the Round Rock Multipurpose Center. Dell Computers is a large employer in the area, sponsoring a baseball field called the Dell Diamond. 

But sports are not the only game in town, as locals love to cool off at Tom Foolery's Adventure Park, an indoor theme park attached to the large Kalahari Resort center in Round Rock. Considering the Texas heat, shopping is a big pastime, and strip malls sprawl across I-35 and continue up and down East Palm Valley Boulevard. 

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Four Points 

If you want to have easy access to Austin and be near the great outdoors, you should check out homes in Four Points. This small community is about 30 minutes from Downtown Austin, and expansive greenbelts surround the area. 

Unlike the sprawling city of Round Rock to the north, Four Points is a much smaller region and is perfect for people who want a home near Lake Travis, making this region ideal for angling-minded homebuyers. Golfing is another pastime, and residents can hit the links at River Place Country Club and UT Golf Club. Ranch-to-Market Road 2222 and the N FM 620 provide excellent views of Texas Hill Country and lead drivers to Austin. 

Along these throughways are home developments, providing quite a bit of seclusion from the business of other Austin suburbs. But just because you live closer to nature does not mean there is a lack of shopping. The 2222 and the 620 have several big-box retailers lining the roads, and there are some great restaurants like Shuck Me and Rudy's Country Store and BBQ. 

But the Oasis on Lake Travis is one of the local favorites, and people from all over Austin come to grab a bite and watch the sunset. 

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Shady Hollow 

Near the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center is the bucolic Shady Hollow suburb, about 10 miles south of Downtown Austin. 

This scenic suburb is near Circle C, one of the largest master-planned communities in Austin. Shady Hollow is another managed community on the edge of the Texas Hill Country wilderness. Shady Hollow, Shady Hollow Estates, and Shady Hollow Gardens make up the three neighborhoods in the area. 

Homebuyers can find beautiful brick-faced houses lining the Shady Hollow streets, many dating back to the 1980s. There is no dedicated shopping center, so locals must head north to Slaughter Lane to shop at Palamino Park. 

Folks looking to commute to Austin can use Loop 1 to come around Austin from the west. 

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Lakeway 

If you seek a home with direct access to the Lake Travis waterfront, then Lakeway may be your ideal Austin suburb. 

While part of Lakeway resides along the shores, most of this community stretches to the south and west, and the hills contain plenty of stately homes with amazing views of Austin to the east and Lake Travis to the west. 

If boating is a pastime for folks living in Four Points, it is a way of life for people in Lakeway. 

Folks with waterfront homes usually have a few boats on hand, the most popular being pontoon boats. These stable vessels are perfect for hosting friends on the water, and it is common to see groups of boats moored together on the weekends. But even if you do not live on the water, the Lakeway Marina, Freedom Boat Club at Lake Travis, and Hurst Harbor Marina offer opportunities to dock your boat. 

Golf is another favored pastime of locals in Lakeway, and the city has four golf courses all within 20 minutes driving distance from each other.

When folks aren't on the water or the links, expect to find them on Ranch Road 620 South, where you can find an H-E-B, the Oaks at Lakeway shopping center, and a slew of restaurants. 

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South Austin 

If you are looking for a taste of old Texas architecture, you should look no further than South Austin. 

While this suburb is not near the Lake Travis waterfront or the expansive greenbelts of Four Points, you are still close to nature in this green suburb. Several nature preserves nestle up against communities filled with tree-lined streets, blending the lines between forested land and residential development. 

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center offers up a chance for folks to see native Texas plants. At the same time, the Mary Moore Searight Metropolitan Park provides plenty of hiking trails and lawns for people to hang out under shady pecan and mesquite trees. 

But when the heat is up, folks look to hang out in the malls, the largest being Southpark Meadows, where you will find a Walmart, a Target, plenty of smaller boutiques, and a smattering of restaurants. For folks commuting to Austin, or just want to experience what the city has to offer on the weekend, they can take I-35 to reach the heart of Downtown.

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Pflugerville 

To the southeast of Round Rock, homebuyers can find the suburb of Pflugerville. 

German settlers initially settled this area when the United States annexed Texas, naming it Pflugerville after the german word for "plowman." Over the years, the farms disappeared as landowners subdivided the land for tract developers, who built several communities. 

Lake Pflugerville is a popular haunt for locals escaping the heat, and the park offers a beach to hang out at and several piers to take in the afternoon. Another popular haunt is the Typhoon Texas Waterpark, which offers multiple slides, wave pools, and lazy rivers to beat the heat. 

Dessau Road is where you can find shopping outlets in Pflugerville, such as Aldi, H-E-B, and Walmart. 

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Brushy Creek

The small town of Brushy Creek is a great place to escape from the hustle and bustle of nearby Round Rock and Pflugerville. 

This smaller community is right off the 45, making it perfect for folks working in Round Rock who want more space between themselves and their neighbors. Several neighborhoods are filled with winding, tree-lined streets in Brushy Creek, providing homeowners with idyllic homes built anywhere from the late 1970s to the late 2010s. 

There are multiple parks in the area, and you will see many locals lounging under the trees here on the weekend. Homeowners can head to North FM 620, the Brushy Creek commercial corridor, to find an H-E-B, coffee shops, and a few restaurants. 

Browse homes for sale in Brushy Creek

Cedar Park 

At 16 miles from Downtown, the small suburb of Cedar Park is one of the fastest-growing areas in the Austin Metropolitan Area. 

Many folks from nearby Brushy Creek will head to Cedar Park to do their shopping and pastimes, as the H-E-B Center hosts big sports games that attract folks from all around the surrounding cities and towns. Residents head to Splash Shack, a sizable indoor waterpark, on sweltering days to find solace from the heat. 

Cedar Park is near the shores of Lake Travis, making water sports a popular pastime for folks living in this corner of Central Texas. Train lovers come to Cedar Park to check out the historical Austin Steam Train Association Museum to get a taste of how settlers of old used to travel out to the Lone Star State. 

US 183 stretches across the city, creating a vast commercial corridor filled with car dealerships, restaurants, and shops. East Whitestone Boulevard is another major throughway, where there is a Target, a Whole Foods, a Costco, and a slew of quick-service restaurants. 

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Bee Cave 

If you want a quiet suburban city to the west of Austin, you should consider finding a home in Bee Cave. 

This small city of 10,000 is near the Colorado river and just south of Lakeway. Bee Cave sits in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, and many neighborhoods stretch out across the hills in the area. For instance, in Falconhead West, homes have large scrublands beyond the property line, and there is even a primitive use park at the western terminus of the region. 

The arts are important to Bee Cave residents, and there is a sculpture park right around the corner from the Bee Cave Arts Foundation. The Foundation is in the nearby Hill Country Galleria on the west side of town, where homebuyers can find big-box retailers, a movie theater, and various restaurants. 

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Sean Creamer

Sean Creamer

Content Marketing Lead

Sean Creamer is a Content Marketing Lead for Prevu, where he explores real estate topics focused on neighborhood discovery, the home buying process, real estate transaction costs, and commission rebates. Prior to Prevu, Sean was a journalist for eMarketer and Wall Street Letter. In addition to writing about real estate, Sean is an outdoor enthusiast and has interest in adventure writing.

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