Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Dallas might be more expensive than living in rural Texas, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
What exactly are those Dallas neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Dallas are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Dallas for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Urbandale-Parkdale looks to be the cheapest Dallas neighborhood to live in.
At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Dallas. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Dallas that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Dallas.
For more Texas reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Texas
- Cheapest Places To Live In Texas
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Dallas For 2024
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Population: 25,716
Cost Of Living Index: 88 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (22nd cheapest)
More on Urbandale-Parkdale: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 26,359
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.026 (3cheapest)
More on South Boulevard-Park Row: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 67,875
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.5 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.027 (32nd cheapest)
More on Cedar Crest: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 4,240
Cost Of Living Index: 90 (12th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (26th cheapest)
More on Cockrell Hill: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 80,473
Cost Of Living Index: 112 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.0 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (5th cheapest)
More on Preston Hollow: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 62,164
Cost Of Living Index: 90 (12th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.7 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (20th cheapest)
More on Winnetka Heights: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 140,736
Cost Of Living Index: 89 (9th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.022 (27th cheapest)
More on Southeast Dallas: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 236,985
Cost Of Living Index: 101 (18th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.0 (14th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (9th cheapest)
More on Northeast Dallas: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 39,134
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.7 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.026 (30th cheapest)
More on Wolf Creek: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 31,153
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.6 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.028 (33rd cheapest)
More on South Dallas: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Dallas Hoods In 2024
To rank the cheapest places to live in Dallas, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.
Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 33 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Dallas.” We’re lookin’ at you, Urbandale-Parkdale.
We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Dallas. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Dallas
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Dallas where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
The most affordable neighborhoods in Dallas are Urbandale-Parkdale, South Boulevard-Park Row, Cedar Crest, Cockrell Hill, Preston Hollow, Winnetka Heights, Southeast Dallas, Northeast Dallas, Wolf Creek, and South Dallas.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Dallas aren’t all cheap. Convention Center District takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Dallas.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Dallas are Convention Center District, Farmers Market District, Near East, Highland Park, and Arts District.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more Texas reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Places In Texas
- Richest Cities In Texas
- Safest Places In Texas
- Worst Places To Live In Texas
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Dallas For 2024
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urbandale-Parkdale | 88 |
| 2 | South Boulevard-Park Row | 87 |
| 3 | Cedar Crest | 86 |
| 4 | Cockrell Hill | 90 |
| 5 | Preston Hollow | 112 |
| 6 | Winnetka Heights | 90 |
| 7 | Southeast Dallas | 89 |
| 8 | Northeast Dallas | 101 |
| 9 | Wolf Creek | 87 |
| 10 | South Dallas | 87 |
| 11 | Lake Highlands | 88 |
| 12 | Far North | 107 |
| 13 | Eagle Ford | 92 |
| 14 | Oak Cliff | 101 |
| 15 | M Streets | 112 |
| 16 | Northwest Dallas | 89 |
| 17 | Southwest Dallas | 92 |
| 18 | North Dallas | 138 |
| 19 | Five Mile Creek | 89 |
| 20 | Reunion District | 127 |
| 21 | Love Field Area | 88 |
| 22 | Oak Lawn | 111 |
| 23 | Main Street District | 118 |
| 24 | University Park | 216 |
| 25 | West End Historic District | 97 |
| 26 | Government District | 118 |
| 27 | City Center District | 103 |
| 28 | Bluffview | 135 |
| 29 | Arts District | 116 |
| 30 | Highland Park | 240 |
| 31 | Near East | 99 |
| 32 | Farmers Market District | 134 |
| 33 | Convention Center District | 143 |