Best PlacesOak Cliff, Dallas, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Oak Cliff, Dallas, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Oak Cliff, Dallas ranks 2,487th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on state finances, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Oak Cliff, Dallas
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Oak Cliff, Dallas' strengths and weaknesses
Where Oak Cliff, Dallas ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$883 a month, better than 78% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 72% of neighborhoods
Where Oak Cliff, Dallas ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Oak Cliff, Dallas
A household needs to earn about $112,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oak Cliff, Dallas home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $86,621, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Oak Cliff, Dallas' effective rate of 1.12%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Oak Cliff, Dallas
Oak Cliff, Dallas runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Oak Cliff, Dallas.
Who works in Oak Cliff, Dallas, and how
Work in Oak Cliff, Dallas centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Oak Cliff, Dallas
Oak Cliff, Dallas has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 70% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Oak Cliff, Dallas and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Oak Cliff, Dallas, month by month
Oak Cliff, Dallas sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 47° | 38° |
| April | 77° | 66° | 56° |
| July | 97° | 86° | 76° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Oak Cliff, Dallas
Dallas Love Field sits about 7 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 8.2 million passengers in 2025, with 91 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Oak Cliff, Dallas
Schools across Oak Cliff, Dallas average a C, better than 37% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Winnetka ElB− · 44% proficient
- Margaret B Henderson ElB− · 42% proficient
- L O Donald ElB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rosemont UpperB− · 42% proficient
- W E Greiner Exploratory Arts AcademyC+ · 37% proficient
- D A Hulcy Steam MiddleC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Trinidad Garza Early College At Mt ViewA+ · 83% proficient
- Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate AcademyA− · 60% proficient
- W H Adamson H SC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oak Cliff, Dallas school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oak Cliff, Dallas measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Oak Cliff, Dallas against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Oak Cliff, Dallas suits
Families
Schools land around the 37th percentile and crime safety beats 72%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 17% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 63% of neighborhoods and it is quieter than 60%.
Common questions about living in Oak Cliff, Dallas
Is Oak Cliff, Dallas a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oak Cliff, Dallas ranks 2,487th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, low taxes, and a stable housing market, and lowest on thin health care access and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oak Cliff, Dallas expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $411,590. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $86,621 median income, cost of living beats 64% of neighborhoods.
Is Oak Cliff, Dallas safe?
Yes, Oak Cliff, Dallas is safer than 72% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $401 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Oak Cliff, Dallas?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 38. That works out to about 119 pleasant days a year, more than 63% of neighborhoods.
Is Oak Cliff, Dallas good for families?
Schools beat 37% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 72%, and childcare runs $883 a month.
Compare Oak Cliff, Dallas with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oak Cliff, Dallas. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oak Cliff, Dallas represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Oak Cliff, Dallas detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oak Cliff, Dallas: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oak Cliff, Dallas: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oak Cliff, Dallas: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oak Cliff, Dallas: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oak Cliff, Dallas detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.