Dollars and sense
This Dallas community makes the grade as Texas’ smartest town
With a median household income of $211,741, University Park reigns as one of the wealthiest communities in Texas. It also happens to be the most educated in the state, too. In other words, University Park has got both brains and bucks.
A new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by Business Insider shows 87.2 percent of adults 25 and over in University Park hold at least a bachelor’s degree. That’s the highest percentage of any Texas town with at least 1,000 residents.
Business Insider based its analysis on a review of estimates from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2012 to 2017.
While Business Insider didn’t offer an explanation as to why University Park ranks No. 1 among the most educated towns in Texas (and No. 8 in the entire country), that status is undoubtedly related to the community’s proximity to Southern Methodist University.
The 234-acre SMU campus encompasses parts of University Park, Highland Park, and Dallas. Most certainly, it doesn’t hurt that many of the more than 760 faculty members at SMU — nearly three-fourths of whom hold doctoral degrees — live in University Park.
Last year, personal finance website WalletHub ranked University Park as the 14th best place to live in Texas. It landed at No. 1 in the “family life and fun” category and No. 4 in the “education, health, and safety” category.
Not surprisingly, University Park boasts some of the best public schools in Texas. In 2018, education website Niche.com ranked it No. 3 on a list of places in Texas with the best public schools.
