Big city living isn’t for everyone–but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There’s the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There’s traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing–pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you’re looking at.
But that’s where the suburbs come in–they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of Plano are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado…
Here are the 10 best suburbs around Plano for 2019:
- University Park (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Highland Park (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Southlake (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Trophy Club (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Colleyville (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Highland (Homes For Sale)
- Argyle (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Flower Mound (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Coppell (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Double Oak (Homes For Sale)
If you happen to be a resident of University Park, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Plano ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Or feel free to check out some more reading about Texas:
Editor’s Note: If you see a slight difference between the best in state rankings and this suburb ranking, it’s because of the methodology. We needed a way to include more places, so we eliminated crime and commute times as criteria for this analysis.
How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Plano for 2019
Figuring out the best ‘burbs around Plano was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- Low unemployment rate
- High Median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data (2013-2017) to research each suburb.
FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Plano.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 70 suburbs to evaluate around Plano.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 70 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the “Best Suburb near Plano.” We’re lookin’ at you, University Park.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
/10
Population: 24,692
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $211,741
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on University Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
University Park is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Plano area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome University Park.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $211,741 a year, which is the 1st highest in the Plano region. And only 310.0% are out of work. Homes average more than $1,193,800 each.
/10
Population: 9,071
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 3)
Median Income: $200,208
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Poverty Rate: 3.1%
More on Highland Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Highland Park is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Plano for 2019.
It ranks 3rd for incomes in the area and only 2.7% of residents lack insurance, good for 3rd best.
/10
Population: 30,090
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $207,917
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 2.0%
More on Southlake: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Here in Southlake, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Plano metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Southlake.
/10
Population: 11,436
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 2)
Median Income: $139,156
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 2.5%
More on Trophy Club: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Trophy Club ranks as the 4th best suburb of Plano for 2019.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Trophy Club and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 25,557
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Median Income: $164,682
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 2.2%
More on Colleyville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is Colleyville.
Colleyville gets kudos for having the 8th most expensive homes in the Plano area, where houses sell for an average of $456,100. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
6. Highland
/10
Population: 17,952
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $128,938
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on Highland: Real Estate
Highland is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 420.0% which is 31st best in the area.
According to online reports, Highland is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Plano area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 3,865
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 4)
Median Income: $117,371
Unemployment Rate: 0.7%
Poverty Rate: 2.2%
More on Argyle: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Argyle.
Argyle schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 25.2 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 71,575
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Median Income: $128,426
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 2.7%
More on Flower Mound: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Flower Mound is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 4.1% of people lack insurance, good for 9th in the area.
/10
Population: 41,138
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $119,936
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Coppell: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Is ‘Everything Better In Coppell?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 3,053
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 2)
Median Income: $138,333
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Double Oak: Real Estate | Data
And rounding out the top ten for 2019 is Double Oak.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Welcome to the Best Plano ‘Burbs of 2019
We said it once and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
So if you’re hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Plano, but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more Texas reading, check out:
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Texas
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Texas
- 10 Safest Places In Texas
Detailed List Of The Best Plano Suburbs
Rank | City | Population |
---|---|---|
1 | University Park | 24,692 |
2 | Highland Park | 9,071 |
3 | Southlake | 30,090 |
4 | Trophy Club | 11,436 |
5 | Colleyville | 25,557 |
6 | Highland | 17,952 |
7 | Argyle | 3,865 |
8 | Flower Mound | 71,575 |
9 | Coppell | 41,138 |
10 | Double Oak | 3,053 |
11 | Keller | 45,357 |
12 | Prosper | 17,107 |
13 | Fate | 10,339 |
14 | Heath | 8,153 |
15 | Copper Canyon | 2,277 |
16 | Frisco | 155,363 |
17 | Murphy | 20,361 |
18 | Allen | 96,865 |
19 | Melissa | 7,682 |
20 | Sunnyvale | 6,077 |
21 | Lavon | 2,832 |
22 | Fairview | 8,473 |
23 | Providence | 7,173 |
24 | Northlake | 2,288 |
25 | Celina | 7,910 |
26 | Sachse | 24,303 |
27 | Corinth | 20,908 |
28 | Shady Shores | 2,834 |
29 | Oak Point | 3,503 |
30 | Bartonville | 2,038 |
31 | Addison | 15,455 |
32 | Mckinney | 164,760 |
33 | Bedford | 49,082 |
34 | Hickory Creek | 4,326 |
35 | Parker | 4,388 |
36 | Lucas | 6,870 |
37 | Grapevine | 51,733 |
38 | Rockwall | 42,316 |
39 | The Colony | 41,388 |
40 | Little Elm | 39,471 |
41 | Richardson | 111,055 |
42 | Rowlett | 60,357 |
43 | Roanoke | 7,442 |
44 | Anna | 11,318 |
45 | Carrollton | 131,240 |
46 | Wylie | 47,855 |
47 | Forney | 17,793 |
48 | Hackberry | 2,246 |
49 | Farmers Branch | 33,808 |
50 | Euless | 54,135 |
51 | Lake Dallas | 7,716 |
52 | Aubrey | 3,126 |
53 | Lewisville | 103,638 |
54 | Lakewood | 59,102 |
55 | Hurst | 38,813 |
56 | Farmersville | 3,440 |
57 | Princeton | 8,947 |
58 | Irving | 235,648 |
59 | Van Alstyne | 3,437 |
60 | Duncanville | 39,636 |
61 | Grand Prairie | 188,664 |
62 | Denton | 131,097 |
63 | Garland | 235,965 |
64 | Dallas | 1,300,122 |
65 | Mesquite | 144,118 |
66 | Cockrell Hill | 4,273 |
67 | Seagoville | 16,089 |
68 | Balch Springs | 25,236 |
69 | Pilot Point | 4,246 |
70 | Hutchins | 5,691 |