Dallas Top 5 Suburbs: A Local Realtor's Rankings for 2024
As a real estate agent serving Dallas, Texas for the last 10 years, I've had the chance to explore and get to know many of the surrounding areas. Whether you're thinking about moving to Texas or just curious where your city stacks up, here are what I believe are Dallas's top five suburbs.
Watch the full video breakdown:
Quick Answer: What Are the Best Suburbs in Dallas?
The best suburbs in Dallas for 2024 are Frisco (#1), Plano (#2), Southlake (#3), Coppell (#4), and Allen (#5). These cities offer excellent schools, strong housing markets, and distinct lifestyle advantages, with median home prices ranging from $530,000 to $1,300,000. Each suburb serves different priorities—from Frisco's explosive growth to Southlake's luxury to Coppell's central location.
5. Allen, Texas
Median Home Price: $540,000 | 963 Homes Sold (2023)
What Put Allen on the Map
Allen is really well known for having a highly rated school district. But the other thing that put Allen on the map is its $60 million high school football stadium for the Allen Eagles—and that was before everybody else started building $50, $60, $80 million high school football stadiums.
The Layout and Housing Market
Allen is split in half by Highway 75. On the east side of 75, you'll find a little bit older housing, and on the west side of 75, you'll find newer housing, newer neighborhoods, and more master-planned communities.
Allen is not a big housing market, and the city itself isn't super big either. With just shy of 1,000 homes sold last year, there's opportunity here—but it's limited compared to the larger suburbs on this list.
What to Do in Allen
When you think about things to do in Allen, the commercial aspects are relatively new too. There are a lot of mixed-use developments:
Watters Creek - shopping and dining
Allen Premium Outlets - major retail destination
The Farm - newer development
The Commuter Reality
When I think about Allen, it's very much a commuter city. There are some big employers there, but not a lot of major corporate headquarters. Most residents work elsewhere in the metroplex.
Pros and Cons
Allen is very family-centric. If that's important to you, it's a pro. If it's not important to you, it's a con, and you may want to look at one of the other opportunities coming up on this list.
4. Coppell, Texas
Median Home Price: $625,000 | 340 Homes Sold (2023) | Population: 42,513
Location, Location, Location
The story of Coppell is location. It is really centrally located inside the DFW metroplex:
Easy to get to Fort Worth
Easy to get to Plano
Easy to get to Dallas
Even up to Denton
What I also like about Coppell is it feels very residential. It's not split up by highways because the highways are all surrounding it. It also doesn't have any major roads that chop up the city, so it has a very residential, small-town feel when you're there.
Schools Drive the Market
Big story with Coppell: schools. Another highly rated school district—I think it's even rated top three in the state of Texas. Schools put Coppell on the map, and that's certainly part of the story here. It's a family-centric town. If you value education, you're probably really going to be invested in the Coppell ISD school district.
Housing Realities
If you wanted to live in Coppell, the median sold price last year was $625,000, and just 340 homes sold—so not even one a day. It's a small city. You'll find a lot of the homes are a little bit older. There are parts of Coppell that are newer, but Coppell is largely built out.
Airport Access is Unbeatable
If you're a person who travels for work or likes to travel often, Coppell has great access to the airport—maybe not even 10 minutes away. You're right there at DFW Airport. So not only is Coppell great for access to the metroplex, but it's easy to get anywhere in the world.
It's a True Suburb
With this being a list of top five suburbs, I will say Coppell very much feels like a suburb. It's the place you come to live. You likely commute to work, albeit not very far. I don't want to rag on Coppell because it's a great community, but it very much is a suburb—not a standalone city with its own major employment base.
3. Southlake, Texas
Median Home Price: $1,300,000 | 398 Homes Sold (2023)
Premium From the Ground Up
Southlake is a very affluent city with a very premium feel about it. If you want to buy a house here, the median price last year was $1.3 million—so you've got to have a healthy budget to live there.
It's going to feel elevated, feel premium all throughout the city. Simple things like the traffic circles, the monument stones, the signage—it all has a very elegant feel about it.
Southlake Town Square: The Centerpiece
Then you have Southlake Town Square, which is where City Hall is, but also mixed-use dining, retail, even some hotels there. That in itself is a destination. If you live in the DFW metro area, you may just want to go over and spend an afternoon at Southlake Town Square.
But to live in Southlake, you have access to all that premium dining and shopping right next door, which is pretty awesome.
The Apple Store Factor
Of all the cities on the list today, Southlake is the only one that has an Apple Store. I feel like that in itself is a status symbol to have in such a small little town.
Schools and Airport Access
Like all the cities on the list, Southlake has great schools—it's part of the story of living in Southlake. The other great thing: super close to DFW Airport. Easy access to get to the whole world from Southlake.
The Downsides (There Aren't Many)
Downsides of Southlake? There really aren't a lot, but it is expensive—so you've got to have a healthy budget if you actually want to live in Southlake.
One thing that's peculiar to me: You have 1709 (or Southlake Boulevard) that splits the city in half. That's really where you're going to find all of your commercial and dining—on that one main road. So it's kind of a "main road town," and the rest of it feels very residential. Could be good or bad depending on how you look at it.
I would say this though: If you have the budget for it, I would definitely have Southlake on your list of places to live.
2. Plano, Texas
Median Home Price: $532,250 | 2,056 Homes Sold (2023) | Population: ~300,000
A City Unto Itself
Now I know if you've been watching the channel a while, you thought for sure I was going to have Plano as number one. And Plano is a great city—no question about it.
But here's the thing I want to make a point of: While it's a great suburb, it is a city unto itself. Plano is nearly 300,000 people. Stacking it up to other cities in the US, it would start to be on the list of major cities—I believe it's the same size as Orlando.
You May Never Need to Leave
The thing about Plano is if you live in Plano, you may never need to leave Plano. You have:
Fortune 500 companies (Toyota, Frito-Lay)
Top retail and dining
Great housing and shopping
It's all there in Plano
Master-Planned Excellence
The thing about Plano is it's really well thought out. I would call it a master-planned city. Decades ago, the city became very proactive about how they manage growth and thought out Plano.
For instance: Every house in Plano is walking distance to a park. I think that's great. I live in Plano and love walking Arbor Hills all the time. There's been a lot of intentionality about it.
Constant Improvement
Plano is the largest suburb on this list—it's a good-sized city. One of the things that's been great about Plano is the attitude of constant improvement. They call it "Plano, the City of Excellence."
Places where that shows up:
Legacy West - premium shopping, retail, even $2 million condos
East Plano redevelopment - the city has plans to redevelop parts of the city by 75
It's a dynamic, constantly improving city, and I like that about it.
Want deeper insights into Plano's market trends? Check out our Plano Market Intelligence Report.
The Downsides
One downside of living in Plano: It's big. Like I said, it's a city. It does have an aging population. A lot of people have moved to Plano and not left. Homes are a little older—most homes here were built in the 80s or 90s. There are just a handful of newer homes available.
By the way, if you want to live in Plano, the median sold price last year was $530,000—so a little more expensive than the metro area overall. But it's a healthy housing market. Last year, over 2,000 homes sold, so there are a lot of opportunities to live in Plano.
1. Frisco, Texas
Median Home Price: $691,902 | 2,210 Homes Sold (2023)
Why Frisco Takes #1
If you're familiar with DFW, or you live here, or you're thinking about living here, you've probably heard of Frisco. It's an award-winning city.
The story of Frisco is fast growth. In the last decade, the amount of change in Frisco is just remarkable.
Master Planning at Scale
Frisco is a master-planned city, and the city itself has been very proactive about growth. They've invited in and had big wins:
PGA headquarters relocating to Frisco
Universal Theme Park coming to Frisco
Stonebriar Centre - great retail area
The Star in Frisco - a really dynamic, urban-feeling mixed-use development
Sports City USA
Now Frisco is a sports city:
The Star is the true home of the Dallas Cowboys
Home of FC Dallas (MLS soccer)
Home of the Dallas Stars (NHL practice facility)
PGA headquarters
If you like sports, Frisco might be the city for you.
The Housing Market
If you want to live in Frisco, it's a pretty competitive housing market. Median price last year was $690,000. And 2,200 homes sold, so there's a lot of opportunity to get into Frisco.
Much of that was new construction. A lot of homes have been coming online. Sooner or later, we're going to see new construction peter off in Frisco because they will run out of big pieces of land to develop.
The Intentionality Factor
With Frisco being a master-planned community, it is very well thought out, and there's a lot of intentionality to the city. I love that about it.
The Downside: It's Very New
If I was thinking about downsides, Frisco is very new. So everything feels new, and in some ways, it feels a little bit corporate or even sterile because it doesn't have that established charm that you would find in an older community.
Who Frisco Is For
I will say Frisco is very family-centric. When I think of Frisco, I think of families. But I would say anybody could live there—nobody would feel uncomfortable in Frisco because it is a pretty large city.
Common Questions About Dallas Suburbs
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All five suburbs on this list have excellent schools, but Coppell ISD is rated top three in Texas, and both Frisco ISD and Plano ISD consistently rank among the state's best. Allen and Southlake also have highly rated districts that attract families specifically for education quality.
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Choose Frisco if: You want newer homes, love sports and entertainment, and don't mind a more corporate feel. Choose Plano if: You prefer established neighborhoods with mature trees, want Fortune 500 employment nearby, and value a city with decades of infrastructure investment. Frisco feels like the future; Plano feels like home.
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Southlake is the most affluent suburb on this list with a median home price of $1.3 million—nearly double Frisco and Plano. The entire city has a premium aesthetic, from traffic circles to Southlake Town Square, and it's the only city on this list with an Apple Store!
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Coppell and Southlake both offer exceptional airport access—often less than 10 minutes to DFW terminals. This makes them ideal for frequent travelers or anyone who values easy access for business or leisure travel.
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Coppell offers the most central location with easy highway access to Fort Worth, Dallas, Plano, and Denton. Plano also has excellent positioning. Allen is more of a commuter city with fewer local employers. Southlake, Frisco, and Planoall have significant local employment, reducing commute needs.
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Frisco (2,210 sold) and Plano (2,056 sold) have the largest, most active housing markets. Coppell (340 sold) and Southlake (398 sold) are much smaller markets with limited inventory. Allen (963 sold) falls in the middle.
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All five suburbs are family-centric, but Allen, Coppell, and Frisco are particularly focused on families with school-age children. Southlake attracts affluent families, while Plano appeals to a broader demographic including young professionals and retirees.
City Comparison: At-a-Glance
| City | Median Price | Homes Sold | Best For | Watch Out For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frisco | $691,902 | 2,210 | Growth, sports, new construction | Corporate feel, premium prices |
| Plano | $532,250 | 2,056 | Established neighborhoods, local jobs | Aging infrastructure, older homes |
| Southlake | $1,300,000 | 398 | Luxury, premium lifestyle | High prices, limited inventory |
| Coppell | $625,000 | 340 | Central location, airport access | True suburb, limited local amenities |
| Allen | $540,000 | 963 | Schools, family focus | Commuter city, smaller market |
Ready to Find Your Perfect North Texas Home?
My team and I would love to be your real estate resource of choice. Whether you're drawn to Frisco's momentum, Plano's maturity, or Southlake's exclusivity, we'll help you find the right fit for your lifestyle, budget, and long-term goals.
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About the Author: Matt Haistings is a real estate broker associate with Compass Real Estate, specializing in the Dallas-Fort Worth market with 10+ years of local expertise. Based in Plano, Matt helps families navigate North Texas relocations with data-driven market intelligence.
This article was last updated February 2024 with current median home prices and market data.
