Best PlacesUniversity Park, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the University Park area, 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.
University Park ranks 9th of 2098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on an educated workforce and lowest on an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in University Park
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.
University Park's strengths and weaknesses
Where University Park ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 100% of cities
- Household income$206,438 median, better than 99% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of cities
- School gradeA+, better than 98% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of cities
Where University Park ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 19% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 31% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 32% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 33% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in University Park
A household needs to earn about $472,000 a year to comfortably buy the median University Park home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $206,438, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment and a 6.8% 30-year fixed rate. The rate updates weekly from Freddie Mac; property tax uses University Park's effective rate against the median home value.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first ten 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 University Park
University Park runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for University Park.
Who works in University Park, and how
Work in University Park centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in University Park
University Park has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of cities and more parkland per resident than 79% of cities. The map and measures below show how they vary by area.
What the weather is like in University Park, month by month
University Park sees roughly 117 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 38. Spring and fall carry most of the comfortable stretch.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 47° | 38° |
| April | 78° | 67° | 58° |
| July | 97° | 87° | 79° |
| October | 82° | 70° | 61° |
Flying in and out of University Park
Dallas Love Field sits about 3 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 University Park
Schools across University Park average an A, better than 98% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Bradfield ElA+ · 82% proficient
- University Park ElA+ · 75% proficient
- Hyer ElA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- Highland Park MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
- Mcculloch Intermediate SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- J L Long MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Highland Park H SA+ · 88% proficient
- Woodrow Wilson H SB · 49% proficient
- Thomas Jefferson H SC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every University Park school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
University Park 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 University Park against the other 2097 cities.
Who University Park suits
Families
Schools beat 98% of the country. Compare neighborhoods on the map for the best fit.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 23% already work from home.
Common questions about living in University Park
Is University Park a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, University Park ranks 9th of 2098 cities. It scores highest on an educated workforce, high incomes, and population health, and lowest on an overheated housing market and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is University Park expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,679,751. The overall cost of living runs about 36% above the national average. Set against a $206,438 median income, cost of living beats 97% of cities.
Is University Park safe?
University Park is safer than 55% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $343 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in University Park?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 38. The area gets its pleasant stretches in spring and fall.
Is University Park good for families?
Schools beat 98% of cities, and safety is best away from the urban core. Home prices are usually the catch in the strongest school areas.
Compare University Park with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to University Park. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in University Park 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.
University Park detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for University Park: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in University Park: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of University Park: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in University Park: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
University Park 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.