Westover Hills (78251): SeaWorld, Lackland's Back Gate, and NISD's Southwest Growth Ring

Westover Hills is not an independent municipality, not a subdivision, and not a ZIP code by itself. It is the marketing name for a roughly 3,000-acre master-planned area on San Antonio's far southwest side, mostly inside ZIP 78251, wedged between Loop 1604 to the west, Loop 410 to the east, US-90 to the south, and roughly Potranco Road to the north. It wraps SeaWorld, backs up against JBSA-Lackland's Kelly Field annex, and is entirely inside the City of San Antonio and Bexar County — so unlike Alamo Heights or Terrell Hills, you get SAPD, San Antonio Municipal Court, and San Antonio's property tax rate, not a separate small-city government.

If you're a Lackland-bound airman, a USAA or Valero commuter running Loop 1604, or a family who wants Northside ISD without paying Alamo Ranch's newer-construction premium, Westover Hills is one of the answers. Whether it's the right answer depends on which back gate you can use, which NISD elementary you draw, and whether you can live with a commute that hits I-10 or 151 twice a day.

Where Westover Hills actually starts and stops

Locals throw "Westover Hills" at a lot of things. The tightest definition:

• North boundary: roughly State Highway 151 and Potranco Road
• South boundary: US-90
• East boundary: Loop 410 (at Marbach)
• West boundary: Loop 1604

Inside that box you get SeaWorld San Antonio, the Westover Hills Baptist Hospital campus (Methodist Hospital | Westover Hills on 1604), several large employer campuses (Nationwide, JPMorgan Chase's SA campus at Westover Hills Boulevard, Kohl's regional), and a mix of 1990s–2010s subdivisions: Alamo Parkway, Stonecreek, Silver Oaks, Laurel Mountain Ranch, Ventura, and the newer Hidden Cove and Escondido builds off Military Drive West.

Everything here is City of San Antonio — CPS Energy for electric and gas, SAWS for water and sewer, SAPD for police, San Antonio Fire for EMS. No separate PD, no independent city hall, no separate tax jurisdiction the way Alamo Heights or Leon Valley operate.

Schools: Northside ISD, but not the same NISD as Alamo Ranch

All of Westover Hills feeds Northside ISD — the largest district in San Antonio and the fourth-largest in Texas. That's the same district that runs Alamo Ranch, Helotes, and the far west side. But the campuses are different. The dominant Westover Hills feeds are:

• High school: Warren HS (on Hausman) for the northern half, Stevens HS (on Kyle Seale) or Brennan HS (on Shaenfield) depending on subdivision. Newer builds south of 151 sometimes feed Harlan HS.
• Middle: Straus, Jones Maxwell, or Hobby depending on street.
• Elementary: Adams Hill, Ward, Passmore, Meadow Village, and newer campuses along Military Drive West.

Before you sign anything, run the exact street address through NISD's school locator. Two houses on opposite sides of the same road can feed different elementaries, and the Warren/Brennan/Stevens boundary shifts every few years as NISD rebalances.

Lackland, Randolph, and Fort Sam commutes

This is the honest reason most renters look at Westover Hills.

Base	From central Westover Hills	Typical drive time
JBSA-Lackland main gate (Military Dr)	~7 miles via 151 → 410 S	15–25 min
JBSA-Lackland Valley Hi/Chapman Annex	~5 miles via Marbach or 90	12–20 min
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston	~20 miles via 151 → I-10 E	30–45 min
JBSA-Randolph	~28 miles via 1604 E or I-10 E	40–55 min

If you're stationed at Lackland (basic training instructor, Security Forces, 37th TRW, or Kelly Field tenants), Westover Hills is one of the shortest commutes in the metro that still gives you a family-size house in a decent school zone. If you're at Randolph, don't do this — Universal City, Schertz, or Converse are the right ZIP codes for you, and this pillar has separate write-ups on all three.

BAH varies by rank, dependent status, and the ZIP you actually lease in — pull the current DoD BAH calculator for 78251 before you commit. Do not rely on secondhand numbers from a base Facebook group.

And if orders change: SCRA § 3955 lets a servicemember terminate a lease on qualifying PCS or deployment orders with 30 days' written notice after the next rent date. The Texas Property Code military-clause protections in § 92.017 mirror this. Any lease you sign here should not add extra fees on top — read the military clause paragraph before signing.

What renting here actually costs

As of August 2026, RentInSA's active San Antonio listings show a citywide median asking rent of $1,695/month, with 3-bedroom homes at a median of $1,700 (n=2,117) and 4-bedrooms at $2,100 (n=930). Westover Hills sits right around the citywide 3BR median for standard single-family rentals off Military Drive West and Ingram, and slightly above it — often $1,900–$2,300 — for newer builds in Hidden Cove, Ventura, and the 1604-adjacent sections closer to the hospital and JPMorgan campus.

That's meaningfully cheaper than Boerne (median $2,895 across all beds on RentInSA), and cheaper than most Schertz/Cibolo 3BRs, while keeping you in NISD and inside Loop 1604.

What most people get wrong about Westover Hills

They confuse it with Alamo Ranch. Alamo Ranch is 78253, north of Potranco, farther from Lackland, feeds different NISD campuses, and generally has newer construction and higher rents. Westover Hills is 78251, older on average, closer to the base, and closer to US-90's industrial spine.

They assume 78251 = NISD everywhere. ZIPs and school districts don't line up. The east edge of 78251 near Loop 410 can cross into Northside ISD's boundary with SAISD or with Southwest ISD depending on the street. Verify by address, not ZIP.

They pick a subdivision without checking the Lackland gate they'll actually use. The Valley Hi/Growdon gate off SW Military Drive is a very different commute than the main gate off Military Drive West. If your unit is on Kelly Field or the annex, a house 3 miles closer to the wrong gate helps you nothing.

They ignore SeaWorld weekend traffic. Ellison Drive and Westover Hills Boulevard back up on Saturdays from March through October. If you're on the SeaWorld-facing side of 151, budget for it — or take Military Drive West east to 410 instead.

They skip the homestead exemption paperwork after buying. If you close on a house here as your primary residence, file Form 50-114 with BCAD by April 30 of the following tax year to lock in the general residence homestead exemption under Tax Code § 11.13. Because Westover Hills is inside City of San Antonio + Bexar County + NISD, all three of those taxing units honor the exemption — but only after you file.

They assume the hospital corridor means Medical Center-quality rentals. Methodist Westover Hills is a real, growing hospital campus, but it is not the South Texas Medical Center on Wurzbach. The rental stock and density are completely different. If you're a nurse or resident who needs to be near UTHSCSA or University Hospital, read the Medical Center (78229) write-up in this pillar instead.

When Westover Hills is the wrong pick

• You work downtown and hate highway driving. There is no non-highway route in.
• Your kids are already zoned to a specific NEISD or Alamo Heights ISD campus. Different district entirely.
• You want walkability. This is a car neighborhood. VIA service exists on the main arterials but is not the point.
• You want an independent-city small-town feel (Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Leon Valley, Kirby). Westover Hills is fully inside big-city San Antonio.

Making the move

Westover Hills works best when you already know two things: which JBSA gate or which 1604 employer you're aiming at, and which NISD elementary you want to draw. Get those pinned before you tour houses, not after.

Browse current 78251 rentals on RentInSA at /rentals, or filter by school zone and commute time from your specific gate. If you're selling a Westover Hills home yourself, you can list FSBO free at /list-your-home, and the rest of this pillar covers the neighboring pieces — Alamo Ranch, Helotes, the Medical Center, and the far west side — at /resources.