buying in the big city

Here's how Dallas ranks among best cities for first-time homebuyers

13103 Halwin Circle, Dallas home for sale

This beautiful home in Dallas is on the market for just under $400,000.

Photo courtesy of Zillow

As Dallas continues rapidly expanding and the local housing market struggles to find its footing, a new WalletHub analysis has revealed it is the 51st best large U.S. city for first-time homebuyers, and the No. 7 best big city in Texas.

WalletHub's study ranked 300 U.S. cities across 22 metrics based on affordability, quality of life, and the status of each city's real estate market, including factors like active listings per capita, homeownership rates for millennials, and more. Cities were ranked overall and based on population size: Large cities with more than 300,000 residents; midsize cities with populations between 150,000-300,000 people; and small cities with fewer than 150,000 people.

Palm Bay, Florida ranked as the No. 1 best housing market for first-time homebuyers regardless of city size. Meanwhile, the report determined Tampa is the best large city for first-time buyers.

Dallas ranked No. 84 in the report's "real estate market" category out of all 300 cities, and it unfortunately didn't earn stellar rankings in the quality of life (No. 253) or affordability (No. 249) categories.

On the bright side, Dallas has the second-highest rate of new home construction in the nation, which should help first-time homebuyers navigate the sea of listings on the market. Additionally, the median sale price for a Dallas home came out to $446,774 at the end of May, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.

In the overall rankings — regardless of city size — Dallas landed as the 237th best place for first-time homebuyers out of all 300 U.S. cities.

13 Dallas-Fort Worth cities ranked higher than Dallas in the overall list, including:

No. 73 – McKinney
No. 98 – Frisco
No. 118 – Grand Prairie
No. 125 – Denton
No. 130 – Allen
No. 132 – Plano
No. 143 – Fort Worth
No. 159 – Carrollton
No. 172 – Richardson
No. 176 – Garland
No. 186 – Arlington
No. 201 – Irving
No. 214 – Mesquite

According to the National Association of Realtors, only 24 percent of all home purchases in the nation were made by first-time buyers in 2024, down from 32 percent in 2023.

"Buying a home for the first time is a very stressful and difficult process, especially when housing prices are through the roof and interest rates have risen sharply in the past few years," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "The best cities for first-time home buyers not only are affordable both in terms of buying a house and living there afterward, but they also have a lot of housing choices as well as low crime rates and good schools."

Elsewhere in the Metroplex, Fort Worth was declared the second-best big Texas for first-time homebuyers, and the 27th best in the large U.S. cities category. Arlington ranked as the fifth best Texas city, and 38th best in the big city category.

Here's how other Texas housing markets fared in the report's ranking of the best large cities for first-time homebuyers:

No. 19 – Austin
No. 31 – El Paso
No. 37 – Corpus Christi
No. 39 – San Antonio
No. 56 – Houston

real estate housing market first time homebuyers wallethub dallas

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