Prime real estate

These 5 Dallas-area neighborhoods are some of the best places to live in Texas

Quality of schools, crime rates, housing trends, job market, and amenities were all factors.

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Spring is here, which means it's home shopping season, and this might help narrow down your search.

Real estate review site Niche compiled information from its users and data from the U.S. Census Bureau to grade neighborhoods and suburbs on factors including quality of schools, crime rates, housing trends, job market, amenities, and more. After all that calculating, five Dallas-area neighborhoods were named among the 10 best places in all of Texas to live for 2019.

Coming in at No. 2, Timberbrook in Plano gets an overall A-plus rating from Niche. The neighborhood (population 5,744) scores mostly As (public schools, housing, being good for families, jobs, diversity, and health and fitness) and some Bs (outdoor activities, nightlife, weather, and commute). The median home value is $291,230, median rent is $390, and the median household income is $116,008.

Timberbrook also earns the title of America's 22nd best place to live. "Living in Timberbrook offers residents a suburban feel and most residents own their homes," Niche says. "In Timberbrook there are a lot of restaurants and parks. Many families live in Timberbrook, and residents tend to have moderate political views."

In the No. 3 spot is Preston Highlands. The far north Dallas neighborhood, which has a population of 4,312, also scores mostly As (public schools, housing, begin good for families, jobs, cost of living, diversity, and health and fitness) and some Bs (outdoor activities, nightlife, weather, and commute).

Preston Highlands' median home value is an affordable $181,854 and the median household income is $97,668. Niche touts the area's restaurants, coffee shops, and parks and notes that "many families and young professionals live in Preston Highlands and residents tend to have moderate political views."

For 2019, Richardson boasts the most neighborhoods in the Texas top 10. Canyon Creek South comes in fourth; Clear Spring Place ranks fifth; and Canyon Creek North is the ninth. All three excel in the major categories Niche identifies, with the exception of Clear Spring Place earning a C in commuting.

Canyon Creek South has a median home value of $346,091 and a median household income of $129,016.

Clear Spring Place and Canyon Creek North are more affordable alternatives, with home values of $240,600 and $291,804 and household incomes of $90,347 and $100,718, respectively.

These neighborhoods are home to a well-regarded city, according to Niche, which ranks Richardson as America's sixth best city for retirees, seventh best to buy a house, and 12th best city to live and raise a family. Richardson also ranks in the top 30 nationwide for its public schools and inviting environment for young professionals.

The title of best place to live in Texas goes to the sought-after San Antonio neighborhood of Terrell Hills. The rest of Texas' top 10 list includes three Houston suburbs, Greatwood (No. 6), Cinco Ranch (No. 8), and New Territory (No. 10), and one Austin neighborhood: the Triangle at No. 7.

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safe suburbs

Dallas neighbor is proclaimed the second safest city in the U.S.

City of Frisco TX - City Hall/Facebook

Frisco residents feel right at home in the second-safest city in America.

One of Dallas' buzziest suburbs is also one of the safest in the U.S.: It's none other than Frisco, which was declared the No. 2 safest city in America for 2025 in a new study by personal finance advisors MoneyGeek.

The website's experts used an unusual metric: They looked at FBI crime statistics from 2023 to determine the cost of crime in 292 U.S. cities with populations over 100,000 residents.

The estimated cost of crime — otherwise known as the "societal cost of crime per resident" – was a mere $287 in 2023 in Frisco. That cost per capita is far lower than the national crime cost, which was $2,178 per resident.

The report also analyzed the city's violent crime and property crime rates per 100,000 residents, and Frisco again came through with flying colors, logging the third-lowest rate of violent crime in 2023, or only 86 crimes committed for every 100,000 residents.

The city didn't fare as well on property crime rate: There were 1,357 property crimes committed in 2023, the 40th lowest rate out of all 292 U.S. cities. It's still better than most places in the country, and way better than Oakland, California, which had the highest property crime rate in the nation with 10,117 crimes committed per 100,000 residents.

Finally, MoneyGeek determined each city's total cost of crime, which the study defines as the "economic losses attributed to crime and its cost to society (individuals, community and nationally) in millions."

In this metric, Frisco had the 11th lowest total crime cost, which came out to more than $65.5 million in 2023.

While some of these statistics may seem damning, Tulane University associate professor of political science Geoffrey T. Dancy warns it is unwise to make assumptions about a city based solely on its crime rates.

"We live in an unequal society," said Dancy in the report. "One often overlooked indicator of that inequality is who gets to engage in the politics of safety. Those who are objectively safe often fear crime and act on it in the counterproductive policies they support. Those who are actually victimized by crime and terrorized by gun violence pay the price and are rarely heard."

Other safe Texas cities in the report include Houston (No. 13), Plano (No. 18), Sugar Land (No. 20), McKinney (No. 22), Round Rock (No. 26), Grand Prairie (No. 42), and League City (No. 48).

In a comparison of just large U.S. cities, Arlington ranked as the No. 12 safest nationally with crime costs amounting to $1,515 per capita.

The top 10 safest American cities for 2025 are:

No. 1 – Ramapo Town, New York
No. 2 – Frisco, Texas
No. 3 – Irvine, California
No. 4 – Fishers, Indiana
No. 5 – Lakewood Township, New Jersey
No. 6 – Cary, North Carolina
No. 7 – Pembroke Pines, Florida
No. 8 – Elk Grove, California
No. 9 – Surprise, Arizona
No. 10 – Sterling Heights, Michigan

In a separate MoneyGeek analysis of the safest small cities in each state, Sachse (located 26 miles northeast of downtown Dallas) came out on top over all other tiny Texas towns with populations between 30,000 and 100,000 residents. In the national comparison, Sachse is the 40th safest small city in America.

For the purpose of the study, violent crime rates were determined based on the number of murders and non-negligent manslaughters, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults per 100,000 residents; and property crimes were defined as the rates of burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft offenses per 100,000 residents.

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safe suburbs

Dallas neighbor is proclaimed the second safest city in the U.S.