Far North Dallas

Welcome to Far North Dallas

The band of fast-growing suburbs stacked up the tollways north of the city, where nationally ranked schools, master-planned neighborhoods, and corporate campuses have pulled hundreds of thousands of families out past the old county line.

Overview

Far North Dallas runs from about 15 to 30-plus miles up from downtown, most of it in Collin County, with Carrollton straddling Dallas, Denton, and Collin counties on the western edge. US-75, the Dallas North Tollway, the Sam Rayburn Tollway, and the President George Bush Turnpike are the spines that tie it together. This is one of the fastest-growing corners of the country: Collin County added nearly 43,000 residents in the year ending July 2025, second only to Houston's county. Housing runs a wide band, from 1970s and '80s brick ranches near century-old rail squares to brand-new estate lots in master-planned communities, with prices from the low $400,000s in Carrollton and Allen up to the high $600,000s in Frisco. It fits families who want schools, space, and newer homes and will trade a short Dallas commute for them.

Neighborhoods in Far North Dallas

• Carrollton — Built around a century-old railroad square, with three DART rail stations and one of North Texas's biggest Korean shopping districts. Settled single-family blocks and the most reachable prices in the group, split across several school districts.
• Plano — The suburb that pulled Toyota, JPMorgan Chase, and Liberty Mutual north to Legacy West. An older, more affordable east side and a newer, pricier west side, mostly on strong Plano ISD.
• Frisco — "Sports City USA," with the Cowboys' headquarters at The Star, PGA Frisco, an MLS stadium, and a new Universal kids park. The newest construction and the top prices here, spread across a dozen Frisco ISD high school zones.
• McKinney — The Collin County seat, with one of the best-preserved courthouse squares in Texas ringed by master-planned communities. One of the fastest-growing cities in the country, about 30 miles up US-75.
• Allen — A family town with one high school the whole city rallies behind on Friday nights, 80-plus miles of creek trails, and master-planned neighborhoods anchored by the Premium Outlets.

What Sets It Apart

Schools are the regional story. Plano, Frisco, Allen, and McKinney ISD all carry strong reputations, but the map is a patchwork, and a single mailing address can sit in one district while the house next street over sits in another. Allen is the exception, one high school for the whole city. Everywhere else the line moves block to block, so the district is the first thing to pin down, not the last.

Lifestyle skews master-planned: big trail networks, restored downtown squares, and major sports and retail anchors within a short drive. Commuting is another honest trade-off. These are car cities. DART rail reaches Carrollton on the Green and Silver lines, but north of there the light rail thins out fast, and McKinney and Frisco have none. Plan on the tollways.

The HGROUP Take

Choosing inside Far North Dallas comes down to budget against how new you want it. Carrollton, east Plano, and Allen hand you more house for the money and established, tree-lined blocks. Frisco and west Plano put you in the newest construction at the top of the price band. McKinney splits the difference with square footage and a real town center, but the longest daily commute.

The one rule that holds across every city here: confirm the exact school district and campus by street address before you make an offer. That is the mistake that costs buyers in this region. If you want schools, space, and a newer home, and you can live with driving, this is the part of DFW to look.

Local Resources

• Collin County — county services, tax and property, elections
• North Central Texas Council of Governments — regional planning, transportation, and demographics
• DART — transit and rail (service concentrated in Carrollton within this region)