The 10 Best Places To Live In Texas For 2024


The best places to live in Texas for 2024 are University Park, West University Place, and Colleyville. Find out where your city or town ranks.

In a land where everything is famously bigger, uncovering the best places to live in Texas requires swallowing your Texas pride.

Take a step back and look at the data to determine which Texas cities are bigger and better.

Unlike other sites that randomly decide Austin has to be the best place to live, we stick to the cold hard facts from sources like the Census, Zillow, and FBI. For this study, we compared factors like crime, incomes, real estate prices, and schools for the 342 places in Texas with over 5,000 people.

So, grab your Tex-Mex and a margarita as we look at the top ten best places to live in Texas.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Table | Map | Methodology | Summary


You might have come here expecting to see Dallas and Houston as one of the best places in Texas. Even though those cities offer up a ton to residents, it’s better to live outside the cities and commute.

University Park is the perfect example — it’s a small suburb outside of Houston with everything you could ever want without the constant hustle and bustle.

For more reading, check out:

The 10 Best Places To Live In Texas For 2024

Best Places To Live In Texas Map

University Park, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Drumguy8800 at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Stat University Park Texas
Population 25,179 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 2
Median Home Value $2,037,260 $298,423
Median Income $250,001 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 4.1% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0135 0.0270

More on University Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

University Park is a Dallas suburb of 25,179 people that has a lot going for it. With a median age of 33, University Park is the youngest city to make this list, so you know it’s a vibrant place with fresh ideas. It’s also the 2nd most densely-populated city in Texas, which adds to the dynamism here. And with Dallas right there, you can be in America’s largest urban art district in under 15 minutes.

In general, residents of University Park don’t have money problems, because they’re the 2nd best-paid workers in Texas, pulling in around $250,001/year. Moneyed individuals don’t often go in for crime, and that holds true in University Park, where violent crime is the 7th lowest in Texas and the total crime rateis 50% lower than the national average.

Add to that top-notch schools and an excellent housing market, and you’ve got a recipe for the best place to call home in Texas.

West University Place, TX

Source: Public domain
Stat West University Place Texas
Population 14,963 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 3
Median Home Value $1,706,657 $298,423
Median Income $250,001 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 5.7% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0101 0.0270

More on West University Place: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Kicking off our list of best places to live in Texas is West University Place, an affluent suburb of Houston. As the most densely-populated city in Texas, West University Place is sure to have enough activity even for your most social of social butterflies. I mean, in just fifteen minutes you can be at an Astros game or Houston’s world-class Museum of Natural Science, depending on your inclination.

Over half of the population in West University Place has a master’s degree or higher, so you know that folks here aren’t dummies. All those fancy diplomas really pay off for residents, because at $250,001/year, West University Place has the 2nd highest median income in Texas. And since people with good jobs usually also have health insurance, West University place also has the 4th highest rate of insured residents in the state.

Nobody gets left out of the good times in West University Place, as evidenced by the city’s ranking as the place with the 3rd lowest poverty level in Texas. Seeing as poverty and crime usually go hand in hand, it’s no surprise that West University Place also boasts the 11th lowest rate of violent crime in Texas.

Colleyville, TX

Source: Wikipedia User IDidThisThing | CC BY-SA 3.0
Stat Colleyville Texas
Population 25,876 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 7
Median Home Value $825,914 $298,423
Median Income $196,298 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 3.7% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0049 0.0270

More on Colleyville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Another Dallas-Fort worth suburb, Colleyville is a city of 25,876 with across the board strong statistics. Noted for its consistently high-ranking public schools, you’d better believe kids who grow up in Colleyville get off on the right foot. Evidently, the importance of education transcends age, because about 30% of Colleyville’s residents kept earning degrees after earning their bachelor’s.

That work ethic really pays off for Colleyville’s residents, who earn the 10th highest pay in Texas, around $196,298/year. And since smart people with good jobs don’t have much reason to go around committing crimes, Colleyville also has the 7th lowest crime rate in the state, about 75% lower than the national average.

As for escaping the hustle and bustle of the big cities, not many cities on this list can boast having a 46-acre natural refuge, complete with nine ponds and countless fishing spots. Colleyville can, though.

Coppell, TX

Source: Wikipedia User nthomas76207 | CC BY 2.0
Stat Coppell Texas
Population 42,513 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 4
Median Home Value $591,824 $298,423
Median Income $143,817 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 1.9% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0146 0.0270

More on Coppell: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

A bedroom community of the Dallas-Fort Worth Area, Coppell is a city of 42,513 that ranks as the 4th best place to live in Texas. Coppell is a place where the economy works for everyone, as evidenced by the super-low rates of unemployment (1.9%) and poverty (2.6%). It also has one of the premier educational systems in the state, with GreatSchools giving Coppell’s schools an average score of 8/10 (with plenty of 10/10s available, depending on your district).

All these things are great indicators of Coppell’s high quality, but we haven’t come to the city’s best feature: being only ten minutes away from the Legoland Discovery Center. At 39, Coppell has a lower median age than most places listed here, so we think residents’ Lego appreciation is proportionally higher.

Bellaire, TX

Source: Public domain
Stat Bellaire Texas
Population 17,163 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 1
Median Home Value $986,454 $298,423
Median Income $215,636 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 2.5% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0230 0.0270

More on Bellaire: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Bellaire is a city of 17,163 surrounded by Houston and West University Place. We named Bellaire one of the best cities for families in Texas, and a lot of those same factors land it on this list. For instance, an 8.5/10 GreatSchools average rating for local public schools and awesome kid friendly amenities around like the Children’s Museum Houston.

If you’ve always wanted to get in on a book club, you’ve got a good shot in Bellaire, because around 50% of its residents have a master’s, PhD, or professional degree. You also won’t have to worry much about the vicissitudes of Wall Street or Washington here, because Bellaire has the 7th lowest poverty levels and 3rd highest rate of residents with health insurance in Texas.

Alamo Heights, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Nightryder84 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Stat Alamo Heights Texas
Population 7,417 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 8
Median Home Value $699,020 $298,423
Median Income $149,332 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 1.1% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0338 0.0270

More on Alamo Heights: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

We’re heading back down to the greater San Antonio area to arrive at our 6th best city in Texas, Alamo Heights. Alamo Heights is a city of 7,417 people almost completely surrounded by the bigger city, which helps give it the title of 9th most densely populated city in Texas. Those who like to be in the center of the action will find plenty to love in Alamo Heights. It’s also a great jumping off point for getting to Natural Bridge Caverns, Texas’ largest underground attraction and a serene, but strangely eerie, spot to spend the day.

Alamo Heights has a diverse population, high-quality public schools, and hot markets for both jobs and housing. It’s also the place with the highest rate of insured residents in Texas, with 99.0% of people being covered.

Trophy Club, TX

Source: Public domain
Stat Trophy Club Texas
Population 13,251 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 5
Median Home Value $662,834 $298,423
Median Income $183,125 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 4.0% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0064 0.0270

More on Trophy Club: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

An affluent suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Trophy Club comes in as the 7th best place to live in Texas for 2024. As the town with the 14th lowest rate of crime in the state, Trophy Club is one of the safest places to live in Texas.

Trophy Club is also younger than most places on this list, with a median age of 40. The young folks are doing quite well for themselves, because the median household income in Trophy Club is $183,125/year. Combined with home prices of around $662,834, Trophy Club actually has the lowest overall cost of living among the cities featured here. And having the 10th lowest rate of poverty in Texas means that everyone in Trophy Club gets in on the good times.

Don’t worry about a dearth of activity here, because in just 30 minutes you can find yourself at Fort Worth’s Sundance Square, where the nightlife is popping.

Southlake, TX

Source: Wikipedia User NETarrantMan | CC BY 3.0
Stat Southlake Texas
Population 30,779 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 9
Median Home Value $1,122,373 $298,423
Median Income $250,001 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 2.5% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0127 0.0270

More on Southlake: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Next up #8: Southlake – a Dallas/Fort Worth suburb located about 25 miles north of the city centers near DFW airport. There’s plenty to do if you live in Southlake. There are restaurants like Taverna Rossa and TruFire and shopping nearby. And there’s Summit Park on Main Street.

Homes here will cost you a pretty penny – with the median price being 250,001, but that’s a bargain compared to some other places on this list. People here are making a cool 250,001 a year and the poverty and unemployment rates are both under 4%.

The public schools are fantastic – with 96% of high school students reading at the correct level and a 94% graduation rate.

Highland Park, TX

Source: Wikipedia User The original uploader was Ansem27 at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Stat Highland Park Texas
Population 8,840 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 6
Median Home Value $2,475,526 $298,423
Median Income $249,923 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 4.8% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0222 0.0270

More on Highland Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

You should have no trouble recognizing that you’re living in high society in Highland Park, an affluent town that, together with University Park, comprises the Park Cities enclave of Dallas. Homes in University Park are the 1st costliest in Texas, going for a median price of $2,475,526. That’s okay though, because University Park residents are also the 4th best paid in the state, pulling in around $249,923/year.

Some other markers of University Park’s excellence are its sub-3% rates of poverty and unemployment and its distinction as the 26th least violent place in Texas. As a bonus, folks in University Park only commute 19 minutes to and from work, which is the shortest trip you’ll see on this list. In about the same amount of time, you can get to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens to add a bit of color to your life.

Keller, TX

Source: Wikipedia User 1958publius | CC BY-SA 4.0
Stat Keller Texas
Population 45,320 29,243,342
Rank Last Year 10
Median Home Value $603,388 $298,423
Median Income $162,094 $73,035
Unemployment Rate 3.0% 5.2%
Crime Per Capita 0.0076 0.0270

More on Keller: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

We’re going to stick around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to wrap up our list of best places in Texas with Keller, a suburb of 45,320. There’s no one statistic that earns Keller a spot on this list. Is the school system way above average? Yes. Is the crime rate among the lowest in the state? You betcha. Are poverty and unemployment rates hovering around 3%? You’d better believe it.

Folks in Keller earn the 14th highest salaries in Texas, with a median household income of $162,094. Of all the places on this list, the cost of living in Keller is second-lowest only to Trophy Club. As an extra attraction, having the top-notch Keller Farmer’s Market and Keller Pointe athletics center right in your neighborhood means it’s easy to eat healthy and stay active here. That’s the kind of quality that pays dividends down the road.

Mapping The Best And Worst Places To Live in Texas

Best Places To Live In Texas Size Requirement

Before we even started to collect data on the best places to live in Texas, we had to answer a tough question: Is it fair to pit Austin, with a population of 958,202, against places with a population of 18?

We firmly decided no, that just isn’t fair.

So, to create our ranking, we broke the best places to live into three tiers:

  • Cities — Populations over 5,000
  • Towns — Populations between 1,000 and 5,000
  • Small Towns — Populations below 1,000

This filter left 342 cities, 580 towns, and 518 small towns.

We then decided no matter how much anyone loves their town, the best cities to live in Texas have more of everything, and therefore, you need over 5,000 people to truly be ‘the best.’

Methodology: How We Calculated The Best Cities To Live In Texas

Now that we had our set of the best possible cities, it was time to rank them using Saturday Night Science.

We ranked each place in Texas across a number of criteria from one to 342, with one being the best.

We then took the average rank across all criteria, crowning the city posting the lowest overall score, the “Best Place To Live In Texas.”

The criteria we looked to determine the best places were:

  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Population Density (Higher is better)
  • Unemployment Rate
  • Commute Time
  • Crime
  • Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty rates

Sources of criteria include the New Census Data, FBI Crime Data, and Zillow. We updated this article for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking Texas’s best places to live.

If your city or town isn’t among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart of the best places in Texas. Otherwise, buckle up for a ride down good living lane with University Park at the end of the cul-de-sac.

Summary: The Best Places In Texas

If you’re looking at areas in Texas with the best economic situations, where there’s lower than average crime, and a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

The best places to live in Texas are University Park, West University Place, Colleyville, Coppell, Bellaire, Alamo Heights, Trophy Club, Southlake, Highland Park, and Keller.

University Park made a strong showing to take in the overall number one spot for the best place to live in Texas for 2024.

If you’re curious enough, here are the worst places to live in Texas according to the data:

  1. Port Arthur (Pop. 55,897)
  2. Hutchins (Pop. 5,633)
  3. Robstown (Pop. 10,246)

For more Texas reading, check out:

Best Places To Live In Texas Table

Rank City Population Unemployment Rate Home Value Median Income Rent Crime Per Capita
1 University Park 25,179 4.1% $2,037,260 $250,001 $2,686 0.0135
2 West University Place 14,963 5.7% $1,706,657 $250,001 $3,501 0.0101
3 Colleyville 25,876 3.7% $825,914 $196,298 $2,785 0.0049
4 Coppell 42,513 1.9% $591,824 $143,817 $1,743 0.0146
5 Bellaire 17,163 2.5% $986,454 $215,636 $2,423 0.0230
6 Alamo Heights 7,417 1.1% $699,020 $149,332 $1,390 0.0338
7 Trophy Club 13,251 4.0% $662,834 $183,125 $1,908 0.0064
8 Southlake 30,779 2.5% $1,122,373 $250,001 $2,518 0.0127
9 Highland Park 8,840 4.8% $2,475,526 $249,923 $2,673 0.0222
10 Keller 45,320 3.0% $603,388 $162,094 $1,850 0.0076
11 Terrell Hills 5,045 4.1% $840,452 $199,643 $1,100 0.0131
12 Corinth 22,502 2.6% $411,905 $116,083 $1,676 0.0088
13 Flower Mound 76,630 3.9% $582,405 $154,471 $2,039 0.0084
14 Lakeway 18,835 2.8% $782,679 $154,118 $2,563 0.0116
15 Allen 105,444 4.3% $506,564 $121,259 $1,747 0.0104
16 Woodway 9,399 4.1% $368,615 $111,014 $1,720 0.0113
17 Murphy 20,880 5.2% $583,866 $152,847 $2,354 0.0075
18 Cedar Park 76,344 3.3% $489,193 $118,903 $1,677 0.0149
19 Frisco 202,075 3.9% $650,075 $144,567 $1,803 0.0156
20 Sachse 27,829 5.1% $443,583 $127,888 $1,670 0.0082
21 Friendswood 40,888 4.6% $435,930 $121,301 $1,636 0.0065
22 McKinney 196,160 3.7% $506,871 $113,286 $1,740 0.0122
23 Bee Cave 8,771 1.2% $910,939 $104,949 $1,787 0.0194
24 Parker 5,573 2.3% $1,011,628 $202,727 $0 0.0045
25 Heath 9,771 3.3% $701,027 $211,522 $1,886 0.0078
26 Fairview 10,354 2.0% $640,850 $103,219 $1,703 0.0071
27 Sugar Land 110,077 5.0% $431,661 $132,247 $1,868 0.0167
28 Iowa Park 6,529 1.8% $147,973 $61,667 $949 0.0046
29 Melissa 15,244 4.1% $450,384 $138,465 $2,269 0.0045
30 Wylie 57,063 3.5% $411,646 $109,465 $1,844 0.0068
31 Leander 62,491 3.7% $445,365 $129,684 $1,802 0.0105
32 Fulshear 21,552 4.9% $601,277 $170,602 $1,745 0.0050
33 Mansfield 73,680 3.7% $423,311 $112,465 $1,670 0.0154
34 Rockwall 47,859 3.1% $440,779 $114,799 $1,728 0.0177
35 Fair Oaks Ranch 9,917 4.1% $670,180 $150,237 $2,316 0.0134
36 Roanoke 9,565 4.1% $429,441 $113,171 $1,698 0.0145
37 Hewitt 16,034 4.7% $292,938 $75,898 $1,308 0.0108
38 Celina 21,501 1.6% $551,707 $142,643 $1,853 0.0108
39 Pearland 124,478 3.2% $367,684 $111,123 $1,622 0.0182
40 Plano 284,948 4.4% $503,025 $105,679 $1,699 0.0209
41 Prosper 31,507 4.5% $764,610 $178,224 $1,892 0.0114
42 Nassau Bay 5,215 1.5% $411,649 $74,542 $1,237 0.0203
43 Canyon 15,089 2.6% $266,143 $67,631 $919 0.0100
44 Pflugerville 64,528 3.9% $402,967 $111,151 $1,677 0.0185
45 Wolfforth 5,779 8.6% $273,241 $100,703 $1,388 0.0066
46 Saginaw 24,106 3.5% $310,280 $99,752 $1,668 0.0149
47 Portland 20,130 3.1% $256,988 $83,493 $1,731 0.0150
48 Cibolo 32,640 5.7% $341,576 $116,510 $1,872 0.0167
49 Boerne 18,475 2.5% $556,332 $82,982 $1,453 0.0180
50 Nederland 18,569 3.1% $193,238 $73,706 $1,265 0.0170
51 Midlothian 35,460 2.9% $443,526 $119,323 $1,506 0.0119
52 Carrollton 132,284 3.7% $410,598 $95,380 $1,555 0.0189
53 Hutto 29,498 6.1% $367,638 $105,743 $2,103 0.0086
54 Helotes 9,140 7.3% $472,660 $124,367 $2,462 0.0188
55 Bedford 49,455 4.4% $366,367 $80,924 $1,332 0.0237
56 Grapevine 50,763 5.0% $517,910 $107,165 $1,750 0.0310
57 Round Rock 120,465 3.8% $436,302 $91,888 $1,586 0.0261
58 North Richland Hills 70,114 3.1% $360,470 $88,656 $1,465 0.0221
59 Richardson 118,063 5.0% $436,131 $94,362 $1,725 0.0238
60 Lake Dallas 7,682 2.7% $339,586 $72,386 $1,319 0.0085
61 Fate 19,010 6.8% $369,189 $121,935 $2,282 0.0062
62 Seabrook 13,558 3.8% $346,205 $96,223 $1,482 0.0161
63 Lumberton 13,613 3.5% $265,395 $99,066 $990 0.0100
64 Benbrook 24,366 4.3% $308,272 $80,971 $1,389 0.0136
65 Rowlett 63,291 4.1% $381,572 $110,954 $1,807 0.0177
66 Aledo 5,053 2.0% $497,638 $123,045 $2,326 0.0463
67 Fredericksburg 11,020 3.8% $540,684 $56,858 $1,296 0.0118
68 Deer Park 34,046 4.9% $270,700 $89,219 $1,255 0.0161
69 Manvel 11,265 2.6% $413,399 $105,188 $1,631 0.0129
70 Seminole 7,024 2.5% $211,160 $73,074 $878 0.0115
71 Buda 14,997 3.6% $411,841 $105,378 $1,648 0.0257
72 Little Elm 48,241 6.5% $426,402 $110,218 $1,916 0.0073
73 New Braunfels 92,993 3.8% $374,671 $85,827 $1,426 0.0184
74 Port Neches 13,635 5.3% $214,948 $85,086 $1,038 0.0122
75 The Colony 44,323 4.1% $403,361 $106,518 $1,739 0.0318
76 Princeton 18,441 2.4% $332,177 $93,586 $1,734 0.0119
77 Kerrville 24,333 2.5% $350,078 $58,797 $1,027 0.0111
78 Georgetown 71,788 5.7% $447,599 $87,465 $1,575 0.0165
79 Bulverde 5,827 0.5% $484,817 $107,315 $1,374 0.0261
80 Robinson 12,470 5.3% $299,318 $93,148 $1,385 0.0140
81 Sunnyvale 7,873 5.9% $638,548 $152,632 $999 0.0164
82 Schertz 42,545 6.2% $333,518 $94,173 $1,513 0.0133
83 Willow Park 5,055 3.4% $415,055 $104,931 $2,303 0.0208
84 Nolanville 6,102 1.8% $302,455 $66,295 $1,033 0.0080
85 Whitehouse 8,512 6.1% $282,692 $72,900 $1,585 0.0107
86 Lewisville 125,028 3.8% $395,721 $82,006 $1,455 0.0227
87 Burleson 48,970 3.8% $317,969 $87,312 $1,571 0.0163
88 Dripping Springs 5,495 3.3% $737,947 $104,141 $2,015 0.0416
89 Fort Stockton 8,404 1.2% $167,067 $65,657 $872 0.0052
90 Harker Heights 33,036 4.7% $304,601 $72,258 $1,063 0.0160
91 Mont Belvieu 7,868 2.0% $413,425 $132,010 $1,563 0.0216
92 Red Oak 14,853 2.9% $339,153 $105,309 $1,427 0.0164
93 Burnet 6,464 3.2% $411,693 $77,376 $997 0.0131
94 Euless 60,360 4.7% $347,693 $77,403 $1,497 0.0250
95 Anna 18,585 3.4% $352,841 $93,785 $1,888 0.0129
96 Lucas 7,746 3.0% $1,003,546 $205,288 $1,757 0.0454
97 Hurst 40,053 3.1% $328,991 $71,275 $1,246 0.0259
98 Aubrey 5,932 2.3% $378,839 $93,071 $1,275 0.0167
99 Dalhart 8,013 2.2% $168,387 $75,000 $1,133 0.0095
100 White Oak 6,227 4.1% $240,222 $94,273 $1,107 0.0119

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.