Most people who start looking in West Lake Hills think of it as a single neighborhood — a compact, wealthy pocket west of Austin with good schools and Hill Country scenery. Then they start driving around, and they realize the city's seven subdivisions feel nothing alike. Spiller Hill is treetop panoramas and acre-plus lots. Wildcat Club is six curated luxury estates carved out of native landscape. Westwood is older ranch homes beside builders with demolition permits. The zip code is the same 78746; the experience of living in each area is not. West Lake Hills sits four square miles entirely within Travis County, reached primarily via RM-2244 (Bee Cave Road) and Loop 360, and positioned about 15 minutes to Downtown Austin — a proximity that shapes nearly every purchase decision.
The economic engine here is Eanes Independent School District, which holds an A rating, according to the Texas Education Agency, and 7,530 students enrolled in 2025-26. The district is one of the most cited reasons families pay this city's prices — and it is the reason the school-boundary question comes up before the street name in nearly every buyer conversation. The median household income is $189,125, drawn largely from households with ties to Austin's tech corridor, state government, and professional services. Despite the city's population of just 3,229, it functions as a full-fledged municipality with its own city hall, fire department, and code enforcement — a deliberate choice the community has defended since incorporating in 1953.
The typical home price in West Lake Hills stood at $2,116,171 in July 2026, which is above Bee Cave and Lost Creek and broadly in range with the city's reputation as one of the Austin metro's most expensive addresses. Rollingwood, its neighbor to the east, runs even higher. What that price buys varies enormously by neighborhood — a 1970s ranch on a wooded Westwood lot, a contemporary estate on Spiller Hill with skyline views, or a teardown-ready original in need of a full rebuild. The city is not a condo or townhome market; almost everything is a single-family home on a meaningful lot, and the effective property tax rate sits at approximately 1.34%.
Whether you are relocating from out of state, moving up from a less expensive Austin suburb, or trying to sort out which subdivision actually meets your daily-life priorities, the sections below break down West Lake Hills' neighborhoods, who each one suits, the mistakes buyers commonly make, and where to focus your search as a renter.
The West Lake Hills Reality
The single most important thing to understand before buying in West Lake Hills is that Eanes ISD attendance boundaries are not the same as the city limits — and they do not perfectly mirror subdivision lines. Every neighborhood in this guide falls within Eanes ISD, which holds an A rating, according to the Texas Education Agency. But proximity to a specific campus matters if you have elementary-age children: Westwood sits roughly a block from Eanes Elementary; other subdivisions feed different elementary campuses with different daily commute patterns for drop-off. Verify current attendance boundaries directly with the district before you fall in love with a particular street.
The second divide is physical. RM-2244 (Bee Cave Road) is the commercial spine of the city — restaurants, services, and the quickest on-ramp to the broader Austin metro. Neighborhoods that sit close to Bee Cave Road trade some quiet for convenience. Neighborhoods that climb higher — Spiller Hill, Wildcat Club, the ridgeline areas of West Rim — gain views and privacy but add meaningful vertical to any errand. Loop 360 defines the eastern edge and is the primary corridor for commuters heading into Austin. That geography creates a practical tension: the higher and more private the lot, the more every coffee run becomes a drive.
Neither corridor is wrong. But buyers who assume the whole city is uniform — and make offers based on a zip code rather than a specific street's relationship to these two roads — consistently underestimate how different daily life can feel from one subdivision to the next in a city of just four square miles.
Neighborhoods at a Glance
| Neighborhood | Best For | Vibe |
|---|---|---|
| Westlake Terrace | Families Commuters | Central location, 1970s–80s housing stock with scattered updates and new builds; walkable to RM-2244 retail and dining |
| Spiller Hill | Luxury Views Privacy | High-elevation panoramas of Austin skyline and Hill Country; acre-plus lots, mature trees, quiet roads |
| Wildcat Club | Luxury Privacy | Six signature-architect estates on 1–4 acre lots; curated, contemporary, one of the most exclusive enclaves in the city |
| West Rim (Westrim) | Luxury Nature | Gated community with large landscaped lots and access to Lake Austin; own community park |
| Westwood | Families Schools | Original Westlake neighborhood; oversized wooded lots, active teardown-rebuild market, steps from Eanes campuses |
| Windfall Woods | Families Quiet | Established residential subdivision in the 78746 cluster; Hill Country terrain, Eanes ISD, low-traffic feel |
| Terrace Ridge | Families Value | Established subdivision on Hill Country terrain; recognized Eanes ISD address, quieter positioning within the city |
West Lake Hills typical home price: $2,116,171 (Zillow ZHVI, July 2026). Neighborhood tiers on this page are relative to these figures.
Best Neighborhood by Buyer Type
| Buyer Type | Best Neighborhood | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First-Time Buyer | Westlake Terrace | The most central location in the city gives you proximity to RM-2244 services without requiring the highest tier of the market. |
| Luxury Buyer | Wildcat Club | Six individually architect-designed estates — each by a different signature Austin firm — with no comparable collection anywhere else in the city. |
| Walkability Seeker | Westlake Terrace | Closest to Bee Cave Road dining and retail; in a car-dependent city, this is the address that minimizes how often you have to drive. |
| Families with Kids | Westwood | A block from Eanes Elementary, close to both Hill Country Middle and Westlake High — the tightest cluster of Eanes ISD campuses in one walkable radius. |
| Commuters | Westlake Terrace | Direct access to RM-2244 and a short run to Loop 360 makes the about 15 minutes to Downtown Austin drive as predictable as it gets in this city. |
| Large-Lot Buyers | Spiller Hill | Generous lots — some exceeding one acre — surrounded by mature trees at the city's highest elevation, with no gated community trade-off. |
| Renters | Westlake Terrace | The most active single-family rental market in the city sits closest to services and the commuter corridor, making it the most practical entry point. |
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Most Popular Neighborhoods
1. Westlake Terrace
Westlake Terrace is the city's most centrally located subdivision — a mix of 1970s and 1980s ranch-style homes, updated contemporaries, and newer construction on tree-lined lots sitting close to the RM-2244 corridor. Convenience is the main draw, but that same positioning means this is one of the louder and more trafficked parts of a city that otherwise prides itself on quiet. If you want the treetop-and-silence experience Westlake is known for, Terrace is probably the compromise you make for daily practicality.
Best for: Families and commuters who want Eanes ISD and RM-2244 access without climbing the ridgeline.
2. Spiller Hill
Spiller Hill sits at some of the highest elevation in West Lake Hills, which means the Austin skyline and Hill Country both appear from the same vantage point — a genuinely rare combination in a city this close to downtown. Lots frequently exceed one acre and are ringed with mature trees, and proximity to Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve adds 2.5 miles of hiking trails to the backyard. The catch: that elevation is real, and every errand involves a descent and a climb that some residents find tiring over time.
Best for: Buyers who prioritize views, lot size, and connection to preserved natural land above most other factors.
3. Wildcat Club
Wildcat Club is one of the most architecturally intentional enclaves in the Austin metro — six contemporary luxury estates on Wildcat Hollow, each designed by a separate signature Austin architecture firm and built by a single builder on lots ranging from one to four acres. Floor plans run from roughly 5,750 to 9,500 square feet. The limitation is also the appeal: six homes means no turnover noise, no entry-level access, and almost no inventory at any given moment.
Best for: Luxury buyers who want signature architecture, serious lot size, and an address with no comparison in the city.
4. West Rim (Westrim)
West Rim is the city's gated offering — luxury homes on large, landscaped lots with a community park inside the gates and access to Lake Austin nearby. The contemporary-leaning homes on the higher reaches of the community add glass, balconies, and pools to the Hill Country terrain. The gated structure creates a sense of separation that appeals to some buyers and feels constraining to others; your read on that usually tells you immediately whether West Rim is the right fit.
Best for: Luxury buyers who want the security and community coherence of a gated address with Lake Austin within reach.
5. Westwood
Westwood is the original Westlake neighborhood — 1960s and 1970s homes on oversized, wooded lots positioned about a block from Eanes Elementary, with Westlake High School and Hill Country Middle School both nearby. That proximity to every Eanes ISD campus in one concentrated area is its signature advantage. The active teardown-and-rebuild market here means buyers routinely face a choice between purchasing an original home in need of significant work and paying a substantial premium for new construction on the same street.
Best for: Families with school-age children who want to walk to Eanes campuses and are comfortable navigating a neighborhood in active transition.
6. Windfall Woods
Windfall Woods is an established residential subdivision in the 78746 zip code, serving Eanes ISD families in a quieter position within the city's Hill Country terrain. Dedicated neighborhood-level data is thinner here than for Spiller Hill or Westwood, which itself tells you something about the market: Windfall Woods tends to attract buyers who have already done their research on the city and are looking for a settled, lower-profile address rather than a signature amenity.
Best for: Families seeking a quiet, established Eanes ISD address without the visibility or premium of the city's marquee subdivisions.
7. Terrace Ridge
Terrace Ridge rounds out the recognized West Lake Hills subdivision inventory — an established neighborhood on Hill Country terrain within Eanes ISD boundaries, sitting alongside Westwood and Windfall Woods in the city's 78746 cluster. Like Windfall Woods, it carries less individual sourcing than the city's higher-profile areas, which means buyers here are typically choosing for the school district and the address rather than a specific neighborhood feature. The terrain is genuinely Hill Country, which delivers both scenery and the driving reality that comes with it.
Best for: Buyers who want a recognized West Lake Hills address and Eanes ISD enrollment and are comfortable with a neighborhood that flies below the radar.
Common Mistakes Buyers Make in West Lake Hills
Assuming Every Address Gets the Same Eanes ISD Elementary
Eanes ISD holds an A rating, according to the Texas Education Agency, and every neighborhood in this guide feeds into it — but elementary attendance boundaries are drawn at the campus level, not the city level. A home in Westwood and a home in Spiller Hill may feed different elementary schools with meaningfully different commute patterns for morning drop-off. Buyers who skip boundary verification and assume their specific lot feeds a preferred campus discover the error after closing. Confirm the current attendance zone for the exact parcel before making an offer.
Treating RM-2244 Access as a Bonus Rather Than a Daily Reality
RM-2244 (Bee Cave Road) is the primary arterial that connects West Lake Hills to Austin and to the retail and dining corridor residents rely on. Buyers who purchase higher on the ridgeline — trading accessibility for views — routinely underestimate how often they will be on that road. The about 15 minutes to Downtown Austin figure assumes an unimpeded run; morning rush toward Loop 360 compresses that number significantly. Buyers focused on the destination tend to underweight the daily texture of the commute in and out.
Chasing Square Footage Over Lot and Orientation
In a city where homes range from 1960s ranch houses to 9,500-square-foot contemporary estates, it is easy to optimize for interior square footage and miss the outdoor dimension entirely. West Lake Hills' characteristic Hill Country lots — tree canopy, terrain variation, covered outdoor living — are often worth more to long-term quality of life than a larger floor plan. Buyers who prioritize interior size over lot quality and orientation frequently find themselves on a larger-house street that feels disconnected from the landscape character they were drawn to in the first place.
Underestimating the Teardown Risk in Westwood
Westwood's active builder market means that the quiet wooded street you close on in January may have a demolition crew two lots down by March. Buyers attracted to Westwood for its established, mature character sometimes arrive to find a neighborhood in active physical transition — original-condition homes beside new construction beside lots mid-rebuild. That turnover creates opportunity for buyers pursuing new construction close to downtown Austin within Eanes ISD; it can feel disruptive for buyers expecting a settled, stable streetscape.
Best Areas to Rent in West Lake Hills
| Area | Ideal For | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Westlake Terrace | Commuters and families wanting RM-2244 proximity | More road noise and traffic than the rest of the city; limited rental inventory in a predominantly owner-occupied market |
| Westwood | Families who want to live within the Eanes Elementary radius before buying | Teardown activity on some blocks means the streetscape can feel unsettled; rental supply is thin and competes with builder activity |
| Spiller Hill area | Renters who prioritize views and lot character over convenience | Every errand involves the elevation change; fewer rentals available than lower-lying areas |
| West Rim (Westrim) | Renters seeking a gated, managed community environment | Gated access can complicate delivery logistics and guest visits; inventory here is extremely limited |
| Windfall Woods / Terrace Ridge corridor | Renters wanting a quiet established address and Eanes ISD enrollment | Thinnest rental supply in the city; most single-family homes here are owner-occupied long-term |
West Lake Hills is an overwhelmingly owner-occupied city of 3,229 residents, and the rental market reflects that: single-family homes that do come available tend to be priced at the top of the Austin metro rental range, and competition for them is real. Renters willing to treat a lease here as a trial run before purchasing will find it one of the most practical ways to test a specific neighborhood before committing at the city's typical price point, which the cost-of-living page covers in full.
Local Expert Takeaway: West Lake Hills is a four-square-mile city with a median home price that reflects the one thing buyers are really paying for: Eanes ISD, which holds an A rating from the Texas Education Agency, combined with about 15 minutes to Downtown Austin. Within that, the choice between Westwood's teardown-and-rebuild energy near elementary campuses, Spiller Hill's high-elevation panoramas, and Wildcat Club's six signature-architect estates is genuinely consequential. Get the school boundary confirmation in writing before your offer, decide whether your daily life fits better near RM-2244 or up on the ridgeline, and treat the lot and terrain as seriously as the floor plan.
Quick Takeaways & FAQs
✅ Eanes ISD holds an A rating from the Texas Education Agency — the school district is the single most consistent reason buyers absorb this city's price point.
⚠️ The typical home price of $2,116,171 (July 2026) sits above the income most households can carry, meaning this market rewards buyers who arrive with significant equity or liquidity rather than those stretching to qualify.
📍 Westwood is the one neighborhood where new construction is actively available close to downtown Austin within Eanes ISD — but builder teardown activity means you need to walk the block, not just the lot.
Are all West Lake Hills neighborhoods in Eanes ISD?
Which West Lake Hills neighborhood is best for families with school-age children?
Is there new construction available in West Lake Hills?
How far is West Lake Hills from Downtown Austin?
What is the difference between West Rim and Wildcat Club for luxury buyers?
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