On the move

Prosperous Dallas neighbor ranks as No. 1 Texas magnet for movers in 2022

Prosper is starting to boom.

Prosper, whose population soared more than 200 percent from 2010 to 2020, is prospering as the state’s most popular destination for movers so far this year.

The Collin County city ranks first in moveBuddha’s new list of the Texas cities where the share of people seeking to move in outweighs the share of people seeking to move out. From January 1 to July 5, Prosper saw the highest ratio (253-to-100) of move-in queries vs. move-out queries on the moveBuddha website of any Texas city.

Living in Prosper does come at a hefty price. According to real estate brokerage Redfin, the median sale price of a home in Prosper jumped to $905,000 in July, up 37 percent from the same time last year. However, Redfin notes that half of the Prosper homes on the market in July had dropped their list prices.

Why is Prosper attracting so much interest from homebuyers?

“Prosper offers an ideal place to raise a family. Besides ticking the right boxes with its outstanding school system, Prosper is renowned for its magnificent master-planned communities with resort-style amenities,” according to VIP Realty.

Also, Prosper is located about 37 miles north of downtown Dallas and about 26 miles northwest of Plano, offering relatively good access to two key employment hubs in DFW.

Families constitute more than 90 percent of Prosper’s generally well-off households. The median household income is close to $150,000. As of January, more than 35,000 people lived in Prosper.

Prosper isn’t the only DFW city among moveBuddha’s 20 top-ranked Texas cities. The seven others are:

No. 5 Euless, 211-to-110 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 6 Roanoke, 204-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 7 Forney, 202-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 12 Frisco, 180-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 13 Dallas, 170-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 19 Plano, 154-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 20 Addison, 151-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs

Based on the number of cities in moveBuddha’s top 20, DFW leads the state’s major metro areas for popularity as a moving destination. But other major-metro cities in Texas are represented on the list, too:

No. 4 Leander (Austin), 224-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 8 Tomball (Houston), 200-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 9 Montgomery (Houston), 198-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 10 New Braunfels (San Antonio), 191-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 14 Katy (Houston), 169-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 15 Georgetown (Austin), 166-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 17 Conroe (Houston), 162-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs
No. 18 Hutto (Austin), 158-to-100 ratio for move-ins vs. move-outs

rankings lists

Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

politics