Fair Oaks Ranch is a city in the Texas Hill Country, situated west of San Antonio and straddling the boundaries of Bexar, Comal, and Kendall counties. Its name comes from Ralph E. Fair Sr., a successful oilman and rancher whose property formed the basis of the community. The 2020 census recorded about 9,800 residents, a figure that has grown steadily as the city has developed from a rural ranch into one of the San Antonio area's best-known golf-and-country-club communities. The community's modern identity took shape in the late 1970s, when a tennis club was built on the former ranch in 1977 and builders expanded the original Fair home to create the Fair Oaks Ranch Golf and Country Club in 1978. The golf club gave the developing area its residential and recreational centerpiece. As growth continued through the 1980s, residents sought municipal incorporation, and because of state rules on population density the area initially incorporated as two separate cities, Fair Oaks North and Fair Oaks South, before the community consolidated. Today Fair Oaks Ranch is regarded as a higher-income Hill Country suburb. Its landscape is defined by rolling terrain, mature oaks, golf-course fairways, and a mix of established and newer residential areas. The city provides its own police and emergency services, and its residents enjoy a setting that feels distinctly Hill Country while remaining connected to the employment, shopping, and amenities of San Antonio and the nearby town of Boerne. The city's appeal rests on its combination of open space, golf and club amenities, and access to Interstate 10. For buyers seeking a country-club lifestyle in the Texas Hill Country without leaving the San Antonio metropolitan orbit, Fair Oaks Ranch is a primary destination.