North Texas Is No. 1

New rankings declare Dallas-area first-time homebuyers have it made

Looking to buy? Look in McKinney.

Photo courtesy of Ebby Halliday Realtors

Rents are soaring, so logic says that maybe it's time to buy. But how easy will that be in Dallas-Fort Worth? WalletHub says very, according to its latest rankings of the best and worst cities for first-time homebuyers.

Not only are four of Dallas' suburbs in the top 10, but the top three are all North Texas: McKinney is No. 1, Frisco second, and Allen third. Richardson sneaks in at No. 7, but Denton (No. 11), Carrollton (No. 18), and Grand Prairie (No. 21) also rank highly.

The personal finance site compared 300 cities of varying sizes across across 23 key indicators of market attractiveness, affordability, and quality of life. Broken down into weighted metrics, that means things such as cost of homeowners insurance, median home-price appreciation, recession recovery, job market, and even weather were taken into consideration.

While McKinney's affordability isn't stellar (No. 191), its real estate market (No. 1) and quality of life (No. 7) rankings more than make up for it. With a total score of 68.32 out of 100, McKinney just barely holds onto the lead from Frisco's 68.2 and Allen's 68.15.

Allen ranks second overall for lowest property crime rate, while Laredo has the cheapest cost of living. If you separate the cities by population into large (more than 300,000 people), midsize (150,000-300,000), and small (fewer than 150,000 residents), McKinney still comes out on top for midsize, while Frisco and Allen clean up with first and second for the small category. Fort Worth shows up at No. 5 on the large cities list.

Elsewhere on the list, Plano ranks No. 29, Fort Worth is No. 33, and Garland takes No. 45. Closing out the top 100 are Amarillo (No. 51), Mesquite (No. 72), Austin (No. 86), Arlington (No. 96), Irving (No. 99). Where's Dallas? All the way down at No. 120, which is only slightly better than No. 136 San Antonio and Houston at No. 186.

Not surprisingly, four of the bottom five cities are in California: Santa Monica, Oakland, and Berkeley join Miami Beach, with Santa Barbara coming in dead last.

wallethub rankings bests

hottest zips

Surprising Dallas neighbor ranks among hottest ZIP codes in U.S.

City of Lavon/Facebook

Movers are loving Lavon for its small-town feel and proximity to the big city.

A recent analysis of American relocation trends has revealed the small city of Lavon outside Dallas was one of the top five hottest ZIP code for movers nationwide in October 2025.

Lavon's 75166 ZIP code ranked No. 5 on MovingPlace's new list ranking the U.S. cities with the highest number of new movers per 1,000 current residents during the month of October.

According to the study's data, 961,650 moves took place across the nation last month. Lavon (population: 13,800) saw 10.8 moves per 1,000 residents in October, the fifth highest moving rate out of all U.S. cities.

Lavon is located 32 miles northeast of Dallas in Collin County. It was praised as a highly sought-after locale for movers who want to live somewhere affordable outside Dallas while still reaping the benefits from a community with a small-town feel.

The report also added that Lavon's 75166 ZIP was the No. 1 hottest ZIP code in September, but relocations dipped 7.7 percent from September to October.

"When looking at the top ZIP codes in each state, it’s clear that less populated ZIP codes often show dramatic month-over-month increases, sometimes exceeding 100 percent," the report said. "Larger cities, by contrast, maintain consistently high move volumes without extreme spikes, because their larger populations dampen the impact of individual moves."

These are the top 10 hottest U.S. ZIP codes based on moves per capita in October:

No. 1 – 78616 in Dale, Texas
No. 2 – 34987 in Port Saint Lucie, Florida
No. 3 – 37228 in Nashville, Tennessee
No. 4 – 80019 in Aurora, Colorado
No. 5 – 75166 in Lavon, Texas
No. 6 – 32461 in Inlet Beach, Florida
No. 7 – 10004 in New York, New York
No. 8 – 43137 in Lockbourne, Ohio
No. 9 – 30346 in Atlanta, Georgia
No. 10 – 78656 in Maxwell, Texas

The hottest U.S. ZIP codes by total move volume
Five Texas ZIPs ranked among MovingPlace's separate analysis of the top 10 hottest U.S. ZIP codes based on total move volume.

McKinney's ever-popular 75071 ZIP code ranked No. 5 on the list after gaining 298 new residents last month, only 72 residents shy from No. 1-ranking Washington, D.C.'s new resident count.

This North Dallas suburb also previously ranked as the No. 8 most popular ZIP for movers during the first five months of 2025.

The report said McKinney's most attractive qualities are its safety, its high-performing schools, and its proximity to outdoor recreational activities. it also helps that the suburb consistently ranks as the No. 1 hottest housing market in America, and it frequently tops lists comparing the best cities for renters or the most affordable cities in the U.S.

The top 10 hottest American ZIP codes in October based on total move volume were:

No. 1 – 20002 in Washington, D.C.
No. 2 – 78130 in New Braunfels, Texas
No. 3 – 78641 in Leander, Texas
No. 4 – 77433 in Cypress, Texas
No. 5 – 75071 in McKinney, Texas
No. 6 –32256 in Jacksonville, Florida
No. 7 –77493 in Katy, Texas
No. 8 – 85142 in Queen Creek, Arizona
No. 9 – 98052 in Redmond, Washington
No. 10 – 28269 in Charlotte, North Carolina

suburb real estate housing market moving mckinney dallas