Choose Tarrytown for an older, central street grid inside Austin city limits; choose Westlake for larger, hillier lots and a lower tax rate. Prices are close: owner-estimated median values were $1,495,800 in 78703 and $1,494,300 in 78746 (Census ACS 2020-2024). The combined 2026 tax rate is about $2.12 per $100 in Tarrytown versus $1.65 in West Lake Hills.

This is one of the most common decisions we help relocating and trade-up buyers work through. We are Ross Speed and Lindsay Neuren, the founders of The Speed & Neuren Group at Compass (Lindsay is a third-generation Austinite), and we sell on both sides of this comparison. This guide lays out the tradeoffs with public data you can check: location, price, taxes, housing stock, what can be built, and daily life.

What is the difference between Tarrytown and Westlake?

Tarrytown is a central neighborhood inside the City of Austin; Westlake is a set of small cities and unincorporated hills just outside it. That jurisdiction difference drives most of what follows: tax rate, building rules, school district, and city services.

Tarrytown sits in the 78703 ZIP code between MoPac and Lake Austin, and includes Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve on West 35th Street. It is served by Austin ISD and by City of Austin services. The 78703 ZIP also includes neighboring central areas, so ZIP-level figures below describe more than Tarrytown alone.

Westlake is the informal name for the City of West Lake Hills, the City of Rollingwood, and the unincorporated hills around them, mostly in 78746, all served by Eanes ISD. Some 78746 addresses are inside the City of Austin, which changes the tax bill.

Factor	Tarrytown (78703)	Westlake (78746)
Jurisdiction	City of Austin	West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, unincorporated Travis County, some City of Austin
School district	Austin ISD	Eanes ISD
Owner-estimated median value (ACS 2020-2024)	$1,495,800	$1,494,300
Median year built (ACS 2020-2024)	1973	1988
Average travel time to work (ACS 2020-2024)	17.6 minutes	20.1 minutes (West Lake Hills 16.6)
Housing units (ACS 2020-2024)	About 12,073	About 11,848
Combined 2026 tax rate per $100	$2.1211	$1.6543 (West Lake Hills) to $2.0281 (inside City of Austin)
Lake	Lake Austin, east shore	Lake Austin, west and south shores

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Travis County Tax Office, 2026 adopted tax rates; Austin ISD board resolution, September 24, 2026.

Which is more expensive, Tarrytown or Westlake?

They are nearly the same at the ZIP-code level: the Census ACS 2020-2024 owner-estimated median home value was $1,495,800 in 78703 and $1,494,300 in 78746. The difference shows up inside each area, not between them.

Within Westlake, the small cities run higher. Travis Central Appraisal District’s 2026 certification totals put the median homestead market value at $1,989,530 in West Lake Hills and $2,394,584 in Rollingwood. Tarrytown homes are priced street by street. For a real comparison we pull closed sales from the MLS for the streets you are considering.

What your budget buys differs. In Tarrytown the price is mostly location and land value inside the city, often on smaller, flatter lots. In Westlake the housing stock is newer (median year built 1988 in 78746 vs 1973 in 78703), on larger, sloped lots shaped by West Lake Hills’ low-density rules.

Are property taxes higher in Tarrytown or Westlake?

Tarrytown has the higher property tax rate: about $2.12 per $100 of taxable value in 2026, compared with about $1.65 at a West Lake Hills address, using 2026 adopted rates from the Travis County Tax Office and Austin ISD. On the same $1 million of taxable value, that is about $4,670 more per year in Tarrytown before exemptions.

Taxing unit (2026 rate per $100)	Tarrytown address	West Lake Hills address
School district	Austin ISD $0.9184	Eanes ISD $0.8254
City	City of Austin $0.579948	West Lake Hills $0.174896
Austin Community College	$0.103643	Not in taxing district
Travis County	$0.386210	$0.386210
Travis Central Health	$0.132863	$0.132863
Emergency services district	None (Austin Fire Department)	ESD No. 9 $0.0779
Water control district	None	WCID No. 10 $0.057
Combined	$2.121064	$1.654269

Source: Travis County Tax Office, 2026 adopted tax rates; Austin ISD board resolution, September 24, 2026. Rates are before homestead and other exemptions, which differ by taxing unit. Austin Community College’s taxing district includes the City of Austin, including the City of Austin portion of Eanes ISD, but not West Lake Hills (Austin Community College). A Westlake-area address inside the City of Austin totals about $2.03. Travis County WCID No. 10 appears on nearly all West Lake Hills single-family parcels (Travis Central Appraisal District).

The larger city levy is the main driver: the City of Austin’s 2026 rate is about 41 cents higher per $100 than West Lake Hills’, and Tarrytown also pays the community college levy, while West Lake Hills pays the ESD No. 9 and WCID No. 10 levies. When we compare homes across these two areas, we compare the annual tax bill, not just the price.

Which school district serves Tarrytown and which serves Westlake?

Austin ISD serves Tarrytown, and Eanes ISD serves Westlake. Eanes ISD lists eight K-12 campuses: Barton Creek, Bridge Point, Cedar Creek, Eanes, and Forest Trail elementary schools, Hill Country and West Ridge middle schools, and Westlake High School.

Austin ISD is a large district and assigns Tarrytown addresses to campuses by attendance zone. In both districts, boundaries follow streets and can change, so enter the exact address in the district’s school finder or boundary tool before you make an offer.

Are the homes older in Tarrytown or Westlake?

Tarrytown’s homes are older: the Census ACS 2020-2024 median year built is 1973 in 78703, compared with 1988 in 78746 and 1992 in the City of West Lake Hills. Tarrytown streets mix pre-war cottages, mid-century ranches, and recent rebuilds; Westlake leans toward homes built from the 1980s onward, many on sloped, wooded lots.

Older stock cuts both ways. In Tarrytown, many buyers are paying for the lot and planning a renovation or rebuild. In Westlake, renovation costs often run higher because of terrain, retaining walls, and drainage, and some properties use on-site septic systems, which the City of West Lake Hills permits and regulates.

Can you build more on a Tarrytown lot than a Westlake lot?

Generally yes. Tarrytown falls under the City of Austin’s land development code, where the HOME amendments allow up to three housing units on many single-family lots (Phase 1, effective February 5, 2024) and one unit on lots of at least 1,800 square feet (Phase 2, effective August 16, 2024), according to the City of Austin.

West Lake Hills works the other way. The city calculates new subdivision density at 0.67 lots per acre of total subdivision area (subdivision checklist, section 36.01.008) and caps impervious cover at 25 percent on single-family lots of half an acre or more. For a buyer, that means Tarrytown lots carry more redevelopment optionality, and more potential for change next door, while West Lake Hills lots are harder to subdivide. Private deed restrictions can limit either, so review them for any specific lot.

What is daily life like in Tarrytown compared with Westlake?

Tarrytown is a city street grid a short drive from central Austin; Westlake is winding hill roads where most errands are by car. Neither is better; they suit different routines.

In Tarrytown you are inside the city, between MoPac and Lake Austin, near Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve and a short drive or bike ride from the Lady Bird Lake trail and downtown. Most streets connect on a grid. In Westlake the terrain is steeper and the roads curve around ridgelines; shopping and dining cluster along Bee Caves Road, the Barton Creek Greenbelt runs along the south, and some neighborhoods reach Lake Austin frontage. Lake Austin itself is a pass-through lake that the Lower Colorado River Authority generally operates within a small range.

Where do Tarrytown and Westlake rank among the best luxury neighborhoods in Austin, TX?

Both sit at the top of the Austin market. By average homestead market value on the 2026 Travis County appraisal roll, Rollingwood and West Lake Hills rank first and second among cities (TCAD 2026 certification totals). Inside the City of Austin, 78703, which includes Tarrytown, had an owner-estimated median value of $1,495,800 in Census ACS 2020-2024 data, level with 78746.

The right choice depends on how you want to live. Two homes with similar asking prices in these areas can represent very different value once you account for lot, condition, tax rate, and lake or view premiums. Ross’s appraisal training helps here, because pricing either market off a generic per-square-foot average is how buyers overpay. We price off the right comparables and model the annual carrying cost for both.

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