Area Overview
A former ranch, now a city.
Fair Oaks Ranch and the communities around it sit at the edge of the Hill Country, the point on the corridor where the city's influence meets the limestone hills. The city was built on a former ranch, and the ranch's story is still visible in its golf courses, its trails, and its open spaces.
It is also the corridor's one incorporated city whose limits cross three counties. A single street can change counties, so city limits, county, and appraisal district must each be verified for every property. That combination, a real city with a ranch's character and a three-county structure, is what makes Fair Oaks Ranch the most instructive jurisdiction story on the corridor besides Boerne's.
Located about 27 miles northwest of downtown San Antonio, on both sides of Cibolo Creek, north of I-10 between Leon Springs and Boerne, the city fills the middle of the corridor with housing, services, and open ground all at once.
Jurisdiction
An incorporated city that spans three counties.
Fair Oaks Ranch is an incorporated city that spans three counties: Bexar, Kendall, and Comal. County, and therefore appraisal district, is verified by address, one property at a time. Most of the city is served by Boerne ISD; the Comal County portion is served by Comal ISD. Verify by address.
Counties
Bexar, Kendall, and Comal. The county of a specific home comes from its property records, not its mailing label.
Appraisal
Bexar Central Appraisal District or Kendall Appraisal District, depending on the county of record. The appraisal district follows the county.
Schools
Boerne ISD serves most of the city; the Comal County portion is served by Comal ISD. Assignment follows the property address.
ZIP caveat
Not every home with a 78015 or Boerne mailing address is inside Fair Oaks Ranch city limits. City limits status is verified by address.
History
From ranch land to incorporated city.
The area is named for Ralph E. Fair Sr., an oilman and rancher who acquired the land in the 1930s and ran cattle and racehorses there. The Fair family established the residential community in the 1970s, and the city incorporated in 1988.
That lineage explains the place. The ranch heritage shows up in the city's generous open space, its golf courses, and its trails, while the 1988 incorporation explains the municipal services and codes that apply inside the city today.
- 1930s
Ralph E. Fair Sr. acquires the land and runs cattle and racehorses on the ranch.
- 1970s
The Fair family establishes the residential community.
- 1988
The city incorporates and begins operating with its own municipal government and services.
Size
About 12.3 square miles.
Fair Oaks Ranch covers about 12.3 square miles, with a population of 9,833 at the 2020 census. It is small enough to feel like a community and large enough to operate as a full municipality with its own services.
Lifestyle
The Fair Oaks Ranch Golf and Country Club offers two 18-hole courses, with membership separate from any neighborhood. Nature trails and parks run throughout the city, and residents receive city services from the incorporated municipality.
Golf
Two 18-hole courses at Fair Oaks Ranch Golf and Country Club; membership is separate from any neighborhood.
Trails and parks
Nature trails and parks throughout the city, part of the character the former ranch left behind.
City services
An incorporated city with its own municipal government, zoning, and codes inside the corporate limits.
Daily Life
Lemon Creek Ranch and the Fair Oaks H-E-B.
The Fair Oaks H-E-B opened in March 2024 at I-10 and Fair Oaks Parkway as the first phase of Lemon Creek Ranch, a 118-acre mixed-use development with retail, restaurants, office space, and parks and trails. It gave the city a major grocery anchor at its own interchange and continues to fill in around it.
Around that anchor, daily life draws on the whole corridor: Leon Springs dining to the south, Boerne to the north, and La Cantera and The Rim a short drive down I-10. Fair Oaks Ranch residents get the city's own services and gathering places locally, with the corridor's retail and entertainment minutes in either direction.
At a Glance
- About 27 miles northwest of downtown San Antonio, north of I-10 between Leon Springs and Boerne.
- Incorporated city with its own municipal government and city services.
- Boerne ISD for most addresses; Comal ISD in the Comal County portion.
- City limits, county, and appraisal district all verified by address.
Communities on This Site
In or near this area.
Profiled corridor communities connected to this area include Front Gate and Arbors at Fair Oaks, and nearby with Boerne mailing addresses, Sablechase, Fallbrook, and Balcones Creek. Each community profile documents its own city-limits status and county of record, which is exactly the verification this three-county city demands.
Advisory
Planning to Buy Along the Corridor?
The corridor rewards buyers who verify before they bid. Tami Price brings two decades of San Antonio area real estate experience to buyer representation along the corridor and can walk you through jurisdiction, school assignment, taxes, and community dynamics before you commit.
Conversion happens at TamiPrice.com · Tami Price Properties