42 D-FW Suburbs Ranked by Affordability — See Who’s No. 1 (and Who’s Last)
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Looking to relocate somewhere in D-FW where you can afford to buy a home? Well, a recent ranking of more than 40 suburbs in the Metroplex is giving prospective homebuyers a sense of how things are stacking up in the North Texas market. At a glance, it looks like Collin County is running away with it.
The real estate listing website Zoocasa used several metrics to analyze 42 cities (excluding Dallas and Fort Worth) in area, seeing how they measure up when it comes to average home price; 10-year price growth; median household income; year-over-year population growth; and “walk score,” which is a rating based on walkability and proximity to amenities. The metrics were weighted from most important to least in that order.
Collin County had a very strong showing, with half of the top 10-ranked cities located there. More to the point, the top three were Melissa, Celina, and Princeton — all Collin County cities that managed to strike the right balance between home prices and incomes.
No. 1 Melissa’s average home price of $476,813 is not insurmountable with the city’s median income of $137,875, though lower interest rates wouldn’t hurt. Home prices doubled over the course of the last 10 years, and the population still appears to be growing, clocking a 10% increase year over year.
Celina came in at No. 2 with a slightly less affordable income-to-average-home-price ratio of $155,875 to cover an average of $536,374. For its part, No. 3 Princeton’s average income was $96,766, and the average home price was $316,983.
Of course, the other metrics played a part in shaping the actual rankings up and down, but income and home price are obviously key. You just need to look at the bottom of the list for the case in point.
Coming in at No. 42 is University Park — highly desirable with plenty of residents pulling in big salaries. However, they’re not exactly big enough to balance out against the luxury real estate market. The city’s median household income is over $250,000, but the average home costs about $2.8 million.
The flip side of this dynamic is No. 41 Mesquite. The average home price is pretty attainable at $292,346. However, median income was clocked at $67,333, making ownership less feasible for many residents.
Nevertheless, North Texas has been on a tear the last several years. While limited housing stock has caused some serious affordability issues with a swelling population, the region is proving itself to be a dynamic economic engine. Between all the corporate relocations and other significant investments, D-FW cities are finding themselves on the higher end of all kinds of housing lists these days.
Home price data for Zoocasa’s affordability ranking came from MetroTex Realtors and was as recent as July 2025. Analysts sourced income and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and the walk scores came from WalkScore.com.
