Rollingwood is the answer when a buyer tells us they want a small city, a walkable feel, and to be close enough to downtown that they can bike to Barton Springs on a Saturday morning. We are Ross Speed and Lindsay Neuren, the founders of The Speed & Neuren Group at Compass, and Rollingwood is one of our favorite small markets to work because so few homes trade here and every one matters. Lindsay is a third-generation Austinite.

This guide is written the way we brief our own clients: what the city is actually like, what homes appraise for, the school district and tax rate, the location next to Zilker and downtown, and the kind of buyer who ends up here. If you are buying or selling in Rollingwood in 2026, this is the full picture.

Rollingwood is a small incorporated city in the 78746 ZIP code, wedged between West Lake Hills and Zilker Park just west of downtown Austin. It shares the Eanes Independent School District with Westlake, but it has its own identity: smaller, flatter, more walkable, and closer to the water.

Why Rollingwood Is One of Austin’s Most Sought-After Small Cities

Rollingwood punches far above its size. It covers about 0.7 square mile and had 1,467 residents at the 2020 Census, yet its homesteads carry the highest average market value of any city on the Travis County roll, $2,850,683 in 2026 (Travis Central Appraisal District). The combination of features below is what makes it so hard to get into.

A Walkable Village Next to the City

Most of the Eanes ISD area is Hill Country: wooded, hilly, and built around the car. Rollingwood is the exception. Its streets are flatter and leafier, the scale is more intimate, and you can genuinely walk or bike to Zilker Park, Barton Springs Pool, and the Barton Creek Greenbelt. That walkable, almost small-town character right at the edge of downtown is the single thing buyers fall in love with here.

Its Own Small City

Rollingwood is a separate incorporated city, with its own city hall, police department, and Rollingwood Park at the center of neighborhood life. Fire and EMS come from Travis County ESD No. 9, the Westlake Fire Department. Residents value the local control, and city council meetings are real community touchstones.

Eanes ISD, the Tax Rate, and No State Income Tax

Rollingwood sits inside Eanes ISD, as does West Lake Hills. Its 2025 combined property tax rate is about $1.6039 per $100 before exemptions (Travis County, Central Health, City of Rollingwood, Eanes ISD, and ESD No. 9), slightly below West Lake Hills at $1.6379, according to the Travis County Tax Office; almost no Rollingwood parcels carry a MUD or WCID. Texas also has no state income tax, so high earners can direct more of their income toward housing.

Very Limited Supply

There are only 493 single-family parcels in the entire city (Travis Central Appraisal District), and turnover is low. When a good Rollingwood property comes to market it tends to draw real attention, which is why pricing it correctly, and recognizing value quickly as a buyer, makes the difference here.

Homes and Prices in Rollingwood

Rollingwood has the highest average homestead market value of any city on the Travis County appraisal roll. Travis Central Appraisal District’s 2026 certification totals put the median homestead market value at $2,394,584 and the average at $2,850,683, ahead of West Lake Hills at $1,989,530 and $2,487,860. These are appraised values as of January 1, 2026, not sale prices. For context, the Travis County median sale price in September 2026 was $497,400, up 2.6 percent year over year.

Those numbers move with the lot and the street. Rollingwood has a mix of original mid-century and ranch homes on its older blocks alongside new and heavily renovated builds: the median single-family home was built in 1983, and 35 percent were built in 2000 or later (Travis Central Appraisal District). That range creates wide price gaps within a few blocks. This is where Ross’s training as an appraiser changes outcomes: pricing a Rollingwood home off a generic per-square-foot average is how sellers leave money on the table and how buyers overpay. We price off the right comparables, not the easy ones, and we recommend confirming current values for your specific situation.

Which School District Serves Rollingwood?

Rollingwood is served by Eanes Independent School District, the same district that serves West Lake Hills and the unincorporated Westlake area. Eanes ISD lists eight campuses: Barton Creek, Bridge Point, Cedar Creek, Eanes, and Forest Trail elementary schools, Hill Country and West Ridge middle schools, and Westlake High School.

Attendance boundaries follow streets, not city names, and they can change. Before a client writes an offer, we have them enter the exact address in the district’s boundary tool and confirm the assigned campuses.

Location: Walk to Zilker and Barton Springs, Minutes to Downtown

Location is Rollingwood’s superpower. The city borders Zilker Park, Barton Springs Pool, and the Barton Creek Greenbelt, and for many homes those amenities are a short walk or bike ride rather than a drive. Few places in Austin put a spring-fed swimming hole this close to home.

A point in Rollingwood is about 4.2 miles and 9 minutes from Congress Avenue at 6th Street in free-flowing traffic (OpenStreetMap routing, September 2026), crossing the river via Lamar Boulevard or MoPac (Loop 1); rush hour adds time. Census ACS 2020-2024 estimates put the average Rollingwood resident’s trip to work at 16.7 minutes. The honest tradeoff is that being this close to Zilker means more event-day and weekend traffic near the park, especially during festivals, and lots closer to Barton Creek warrant a look at the FEMA flood map. For most buyers, the convenience far outweighs those caveats.

Rollingwood vs West Lake Hills: A Side-by-Side

The comparison we are asked to make most often is Rollingwood against its larger neighbor, West Lake Hills. Both share Eanes ISD, and they are not the same.

Factor	Rollingwood	West Lake Hills
Drive to Congress Ave at 6th St, free-flow	About 9 min (4.2 mi), next to Zilker	About 10 min (4.3 mi), deeper in the hills
School district	Eanes ISD	Eanes ISD
Feel	Flat, walkable, village-like	Hilly, wooded, more private
Median single-family lot (TCAD)	0.40 acre	1.00 acre, often steeper
Median homestead market value (TCAD 2026)	$2,394,584	$1,989,530
Combined 2025 tax rate per $100	$1.6039	$1.6379
Best for	Walkability + shortest commute	Land + Hill Country privacy

Sources: OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data, September 2026 (peak traffic adds time); Travis Central Appraisal District 2026 certification totals and parcel records; Travis County Tax Office 2025 adopted rates.

Who Buys in Rollingwood

Rollingwood draws a distinct kind of buyer. The common thread is wanting it all in one address: a small city, a walkable lifestyle, and the shortest possible commute to the city.

Downtown Professionals and Executives

People who work downtown or value being minutes from it like that Rollingwood puts them minutes from downtown without a long Hill Country drive. Relocating executives from California, the Pacific Northwest, and the East Coast frequently land here when walkability and proximity matter most.

Buyers Who Want to Be Next to the Park

For many buyers, the pull is the rare mix of Rollingwood Park, and being able to bike to Zilker and Barton Springs. The flatter streets and village scale make day-to-day errands easier than in the steeper parts of the area.

Buyers Building or Renovating

Because Rollingwood has older homes on prime lots, some buyers come to build new or renovate substantially. Land value matters in these transactions, and understanding what a finished home will be worth on a given lot is exactly the kind of analysis Ross’s appraisal training supports.

Lifestyle in Rollingwood

Living in Rollingwood means morning swims at Barton Springs, greenbelt trail runs, and a quick drive or bike to the restaurants and music of downtown and South Lamar. The city itself is residential, centered on Rollingwood Park, with dining and shopping just over the line in Zilker, on South Lamar, and along Bee Caves Road.

Frequently Asked Questions About Living in Rollingwood