North Dallas
Welcome to North Dallas
The city's established, leafy quarter, four to six miles north of downtown, where century-old estates, gated compounds, and the country's first shopping center all sit within a few minutes of each other.
Overview
North Dallas reads as the high-end, tree-lined side of the city, and the housing is almost all single-family. The range underneath that is real. On the west side of Preston Hollow, a smaller original ranch can run around $400,000. Push into the estate sections and you're at $12 million and up, while the two Park Cities hold tight medians between roughly $2.4 and $4 million. There is very little condo, loft, or rental stock here, so entry is expensive across the board. One thing to get straight up front: the school district changes as you move across the region. Preston Hollow is Dallas ISD, while Highland Park and University Park are their own incorporated town with their own district. It fits buyers who want space, top schools, and a central address, and don't mind driving for everything.
Neighborhoods in North Dallas
- Preston Hollow — Big wooded lots and gated estates about six miles north of downtown, served by Dallas ISD (not Highland Park ISD, a common mix-up). The widest price range in the region, from around $400,000 for a smaller original ranch to $12 million and up in the estate section. Spread out and car-dependent, with no walkable core.
- Highland Park — An incorporated town of its own, just over two square miles tucked inside Dallas, with Turtle Creek, century-old estates, and Highland Park Village, the first self-contained shopping center in the country. Highland Park ISD, and one of the tightest, priciest single-family markets in Texas (median list near $4 million in mid-2026).
- University Park — The other Park City, built around SMU across about three and a half square miles, with Snider Plaza and tree-lined streets. Also Highland Park ISD, with a median sale around $2.4 million in 2025.
What Sets It Apart
The biggest variable in North Dallas is the district line, and it moves. Preston Hollow sits in Dallas ISD with feeder patterns that shift street to street, plus one of the densest private-school corridors in the city (St. Mark's, Ursuline, and Hockaday just north). The Park Cities sit in Highland Park ISD, one of the most sought-after districts in Texas, where every student feeds the same Highland Park High School. Lifestyle across the region is residential and leafy, heavy on parks along Turtle Creek and light on nightlife, with everyday retail at Highland Park Village, Snider Plaza, Preston Center, and NorthPark. Commutes downtown run four to six miles by the Dallas North Tollway or North Central Expressway (US-75), but plan on driving. The honest read: the block matters more than the zip.
The HGROUP Take
Choose North Dallas by the district first, then the block. Want the top-rated schools and walkable parks? Look at the Park Cities, but go in knowing inventory is thin, prices are high, and a lot of what trades is a lot with an older house on it, priced for the rebuild. Want space, privacy, and mature trees with a wider price range? Preston Hollow, but confirm the exact Dallas ISD zone, because it changes street to street. Either way, pull the attendance zone by address before you fall for a listing, and in Preston Hollow check a home's storm and insurance history after the 2019 tornado.
Local Resources
- Dallas Regional Chamber — regional economy, business, and relocation resources
- DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) — rail and bus service across the wider Dallas area
- VisitDallas — citywide events, dining, and things to do
- Northaven Trail — the 9.3-mile paved trail running across North Dallas
