Suburbs news

North Dallas neighbor ranks as No. 1 most affordable city in U.S.

McKinney is the most affordable place to live.

Photo courtesy of City of McKinney

A Dallas suburb has landed on top of a new list of the most affordable places to live: McKinney ranked No. 1 based on its relative cost of living and high median household income.

The report by personal finance experts Motley Fool Money, "The 10 Most Affordable Cities With High Salaries and Low Costs of Living," compared hundreds of U.S. cities based on their income-to-expense ratio, where a higher ratio means better affordability. Median income was sourced from U.S. Census data, while cost of living was taken from a 2024 cost of living index from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

McKinney had the highest income-to-expense ratio (1.55) out of every U.S. city on the list to claim the No. 1 spot as the most affordable place to live. According to the report's analysts, McKinney's cost of living index is three points below the national average.

Residents in this Dallas suburb make a median income of $116,654, a staggering 43 percent higher than the national median. That's more than enough to cover the report's estimate of $75,348 for the city's cost of living.

Motley Fool Money says McKinney is alluring for "mid-career Americans."

"The average age [in McKinney] is 37 and the median property value is $440,000, which is about $20,000 higher than the national median home sales price," the report's author wrote. "The largest industries are professional, scientific and technical services, retail, and healthcare."

Plano also earned a spot in the top 10 most affordable places to live, coming in at No. 6 with an income-to-expense ratio of 1.28.

The findings show Plano households make about $108,594 in median annual income to offset an $84,931 cost of living estimate. No wonder residents are happier here than in any other city in Texas.

Plano Arts District Photo by David Downs/Visit Plano

Plano's economy is the strongest factor attracting people to this popular suburb, as well as greater Dallas-Fort Worth's entrepreneurial spirit.

"Toyota Motor North America has its headquarters in Plano, and other large companies have significant footprints there including JPMorgan, JCPenney, and Frito-Lay," the report said.

Plano also excels as one of the best places to raise a family, demonstrating the city's true versatility for both career-focused and family-focused Americans.

Though both McKinney and Plano ranked on the list of the most affordable cities to live, neither appeared in Motley Fool Money's separate ranking of the cheapest places to live. Earning the No. 1 spot in that category was Decatur, Illinois.

The only Texas cities to rank on the list of the cheapest places to live were the Rio Grande Valley cities of Edinburg (No. 3) and Harlingen (No. 6), as well as Amarillo (No. 10) in West Texas.

The top 10 most affordable places to live in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – McKinney, Texas
No. 2 – Morristown, New Jersey
No. 3 – Edmond, Oklahoma
No. 4 – Midland, Texas
No. 5 – Austin, Texas
No. 6 – Plano, Texas
No. 7 – Joliet, Illinois
No. 8 – Kansas City metropolitan area
No. 9 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 10 – Charleston, South Carolina

dallas suburbs mckinney plano rankings

homebuyer power play

Dallas declared one of the top 10 buyer's markets in the U.S. right now

joe daniel price/Getty Images

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The tide has turned for the Dallas housing market, and buyers now have more power than ever to negotiate on their forever home, a new real estate report has confirmed.

Dallas has now become one of the top 10 strongest buyer's markets in the nation with sellers outnumbering buyers by 107 percent, Redfin's newest market trends report found.

Nationally, sellers outnumbered buyers by 58 percent in August 2026, which Redfin says is the largest gap on record. Out of the 49 most populous metros in the U.S., only five are considered seller's markets, and eight are considered "balanced" markets where the number of buyers and sellers are nearly equal.

That leaves the remaining 36 most populated U.S. metros as buyer's markets, which includes the biggest cities in the Lone Star State. In fact, four Texas cities rank among the 10 strongest buyer's markets in the country right now: Houston (No. 3), San Antonio (No. 6), Austin (No. 7), and Dallas (No. 8).

There were 30,854 sellers on the market in Dallas last month, more than double the amount of buyers (14,865). The market's tilt in favor of house hunters allows more legroom to be picky with the increased supply of available housing, while falling demand indicates less competition with other buyers.

"In most markets, buyers should negotiate on price and ask for concessions like repairs or help with closing costs," said Redfin senior economist Asad Khan. "Buyers shouldn’t assume every seller will budge, especially on a desirable home that’s already priced well, but they don’t need to rush into a deal that doesn’t feel right."

For sellers that want to stand out in a saturated market, Redfin suggests they should price their homes competitively and be prepared to negotiate.

A separate Redfin report found mid-September is the best time for Dallasites to buy a home, but other experts say hesitant shoppers have until early October to take the plunge.

Regardless of the timeline, the report warns that the recent surge of available housing is only beneficial for homebuyers that can afford it.

"High housing costs and widespread economic uncertainty have caused many would-be buyers to back off in recent years, creating the imbalance of buyers and sellers we see today," the report said.

The median price of a home in Dallas came out to $408,561 in August, though 79 percent of all home sales in the city sold for below their original asking price.

The top 10 strongest buyer's markets in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Nashville, Tennessee
No. 2 – Miami, Florida
No. 3 – Houston, Texas
No. 4 – Orlando, Florida
No. 5 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 6 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 7 – Austin, Texas
No. 8 – Dallas, Texas
No. 9 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 10 – Phoenix, Arizona

"Nashville, Texas, and Florida are home to robust buyer’s markets partly because they have some of the most active homebuilding pipelines in the country, with newly built homes continuing to hit the market even as demand cools," the report said.

real estate housing market dallas real estate report housing