The 10 Richest Cities in Texas in 2026

Three Texas cities rank in the top five wealthiest cities in the entire country by median household income. That is not a typo. Southlake, University Park, and West University Place all hit the ACS ceiling of $250,001 and land at positions three, four, and five on the national list, trailing only two small California communities. For a state whose identity is more often associated with oil money and sprawling metros than concentrated elite wealth, the income profile of Texas's richest cities is genuinely surprising - and the Census data behind it tells a specific story about old Dallas money, Houston's inner-loop enclaves, and a new generation of DFW suburbs that have quietly become among the wealthiest communities in the country.

All income and home value figures below come from the CensusEasy highest income cities ranking, based on 2024 ACS data.

1. Southlake - $250,001 median household income

Southlake sits between Fort Worth and Dallas, straddling the two metros along the DFW Airport corridor, and it has become one of the wealthiest communities in America by any measure. Median household income is at the ACS ceiling of $250,001, median home value is $1,014,500, and the poverty rate of 1.5% is among the lowest in Texas. The city of 31,175 people grew rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s as Carroll ISD, one of the most consistently high-performing school districts in Texas, drew wealthy families willing to pay for homes in the attendance zone. The median age of 43.1 reflects an established community of older families and empty nesters rather than a young professional influx. Income has grown 90% since 2000, which in real terms means Southlake households have accumulated wealth at a pace that has left most of the country behind.

2. University Park - $250,001 median household income

University Park is one of two small cities completely surrounded by Dallas - the so-called Park Cities - and it is one of the most expensive residential markets in Texas with a median home value of $1,861,800. Income has grown 169% since 2000, the fastest rate of any city on this list and a reflection of the compounding wealth effect in a neighborhood where home equity has appreciated dramatically over two decades. The poverty rate of 4.7% is somewhat elevated for a city at this income level, which reflects the presence of Southern Methodist University's campus within city limits and the student population it brings. At a median age of 29.4 - the youngest on this list by a significant margin - University Park skews young partly because of SMU enrollment and partly because it attracts young professional families paying top dollar to get into Highland Park ISD.

3. West University Place - $250,001 median household income

West University Place is Houston's equivalent of the Park Cities: a small, self-governing enclave completely surrounded by Houston proper, with its own police force, fire department, and school district, and a median home value of $1,472,000. The city of 15,158 residents sits inside Loop 610 in one of the most desirable locations in the Houston metro, close to the Texas Medical Center, Rice University, and the Galleria. Poverty is 1.7% and the median age of 41.2 reflects the established professional and executive families that have made West U, as locals call it, one of the most sought-after addresses in Texas for decades. Income has grown 91% since 2000.

4. Highland Park - $250,001 median household income

Highland Park is the other Park City, sitting adjacent to University Park and sharing the same Highland Park ISD. The median home value of $1,989,900 is the highest on this list and the second highest of any city in Texas, just below the ACS ceiling. At a median age of 44.9 - the oldest on this list - Highland Park is old Dallas money in the most literal sense: a community where generational wealth has accumulated over a century of high home values in a location that has never been affordable and never needed to be. The poverty rate of 7.0% is the highest on this list, which again reflects a specific phenomenon rather than economic distress - a handful of residents in financially difficult circumstances in a city where the median home costs nearly $2 million. Income has grown 67% since 2000.

5. Bellaire - $244,015 median household income

Bellaire is Houston's second inner-loop enclave on this list, adjacent to West University Place and similarly surrounded by Houston proper. Median home value is $1,037,500, poverty is 2.4%, and the median age of 43.1 mirrors Southlake's established family demographic. Income growth of 172% since 2000 is the highest on this list in percentage terms and reflects a neighborhood that was already well off in 2000 and has since doubled in real wealth as Houston's professional class has competed fiercely for the limited housing stock inside Loop 610. Bellaire's Bellaire High School is part of Houston ISD rather than an independent district, which differentiates it from the Park Cities and West U, but the school's reputation has historically been strong enough to sustain demand.

6. Parker - $229,080 median household income

Parker is the first entry from the DFW outer suburbs, a small city of 6,462 people in Collin County northeast of Plano with a median home value of $859,600 and a poverty rate of 5.4%. Unlike the inner-loop Houston enclaves and Park Cities, Parker is a newer community built primarily in the 2000s and 2010s around large-lot single-family homes rather than a dense established neighborhood. Income has grown 125% since 2000, reflecting how dramatically Collin County's wealth profile has shifted as corporate relocations and high-earning remote workers have moved into the northern DFW suburbs. The median age of 44.1 is consistent with the established family demographic that dominates the outer Collin County market.

7. Lucas - $221,364 median household income

Lucas sits just north of Parker in Collin County and has an almost identical demographic profile: median home value of $941,900, poverty rate of 1.3% (the lowest on this list), and a median age of 45.7. At 8,896 residents it is a small community built around large residential lots that attract high-earning families looking for space without sacrificing access to the Collin County school districts and the employment base along the US 75 and Dallas North Tollway corridors. Income has grown 121% since 2000.

8. Heath - $220,828 median household income

Heath sits in Rockwall County east of Dallas along Lake Ray Hubbard, and it represents a slightly different version of the DFW suburban wealth story. The median home value of $766,900 is lower than the Collin County entries above it partly because Rockwall County is further from the primary employment corridor, but the income of $220,828 and poverty rate of 2.0% place it firmly in the same wealth tier. The community grew substantially in the 2000s and 2010s as the lake-adjacent lifestyle and lower land costs relative to northern Collin County attracted buyers willing to trade commute time for space and views. Income has grown 123% since 2000.

9. Belterra - $219,727 median household income

Belterra is the only Austin-area city on this list, a master-planned community in Hays County southwest of Austin that was developed in the 2000s and has grown into a community of 6,978 residents with a median home value of $773,400 and a poverty rate of just 1.5%. The median age of 37.9 is the youngest on this list outside University Park, reflecting a community of younger families attracted to the Lake Travis ISD school district and proximity to Austin's tech employment base. As Austin's housing market has become increasingly expensive, communities like Belterra have absorbed high-earning households that want access to the metro but can't or won't pay central Austin prices.

10. Colleyville - $218,328 median household income

Colleyville sits between Fort Worth and the DFW Airport in Tarrant County, and at 25,727 residents it is the largest city on this list outside Southlake. Median home value is $784,900, poverty is 2.5%, and the median age of 46.4 is the highest on this list, reflecting a long-established affluent community that predates the current DFW suburban wealth boom by several decades. Colleyville has been one of the wealthiest cities in the Fort Worth metro since the 1980s. Income has grown 86% since 2000, a strong number but more modest than the Collin County entries above it, consistent with a community that was already wealthy and has appreciated from a higher starting point.

What Texas wealth looks like in the data

Nine of the ten cities on this list have median home values above $750,000, and five are above $1 million. All ten have poverty rates below 8%, and seven are below 3%. The geographic pattern is clear: Dallas's Park Cities and inner-loop Houston enclaves dominate the top four, old-money DFW suburbs like Southlake, Bellaire, and Colleyville fill the middle tier, and newer Collin County communities like Parker and Lucas represent the next generation of Texas wealth accumulation.

The no-income-tax environment that Texas offers makes these income figures directly comparable to pre-tax income in high-tax states. A household earning $250,001 in Highland Park keeps more of that than a household earning the same amount in California or New York, which partially explains why Texas has attracted enough high-earning migration to land three cities in the national top five. You can compare any of these cities directly using the Compare tool, or explore the full Texas income ranking on the rankings page.