Is Highland Park, TX a Good Place to Live?
A Neighbor and Realtor's Honest Answer
A home in Highland Park, TX
Table of Contents
- Why Everyone's Talking About Highland Park
- Location: Small Town Feel, Minutes from Downtown Dallas
- The Beauty of Highland Park: Parks, Creeks, and Architecture
- Schools: Why HPISD Is a Top Draw for Families
- Safety and Security in Highland Park
- Lifestyle: Shopping, Dining, and Walkability
- What It's Actually Like to Live Here, A Personal Reflection
- Key Takeaways
- Ready to Move to Highland Park?
Why Everyone's Talking About Highland Park
If you've spent any time researching Dallas neighborhoods, you already know Highland Park keeps coming up, and for good reason. Is Highland Park, TX a good place to live? In short: yes, and it's one of the most sought-after addresses in the entire state of Texas.
My wife, Tiffany, and I have helped clients relocate here from California, Seattle, New York, and Chicago, and almost without fail, the same five reasons come up: location, beauty, schools, safety, and lifestyle. We live here too, so this isn't just a sales pitch. It's the neighborhood we chose for our own family.
"Highland Park isn't just a place people move to; it's a place people plan their entire lives around staying."
Contact us directly if you'd like a private tour of available homes, we know this market block by block.
1. Location: Small-Town Feel, Big-City Access
Highland Park is a compact 2.2-square-mile city tucked between the Dallas North Tollway and Highway 75, bordered by Mockingbird Lane to the north and Armstrong Avenue to the south. Roughly 3,700 homes sit inside this footprint, which is part of what makes it feel more like a private enclave than a typical Dallas neighborhood.
Map of Highland Park, showing its parks and boundaries
What does that mean in practice?
- Less than 4 miles from downtown Dallas, quick access to the Arts District, museums, the Design District, and American Airlines Center (home to the Mavericks, Stars, and major concerts)
- Minutes from Dallas Love Field, ideal for frequent flyers
- 20–25 minutes from DFW International Airport
The Dallas Design District, minutes from Highland Park
You get the walkable, tree-lined charm of a small town with the convenience of a major metro five minutes away. Few neighborhoods in the country pull that combination off.
2. The Beauty of Highland Park: Parks, Creeks, and Architecture
Highland Park is part of the "Park Cities," alongside neighboring University Park, and the name isn't just branding. When developer John S. Armstrong built Highland Park, he set aside 20% of the land for parks, lakes, creeks, and green space, working with Wilbur David Cook, the same landscape architect who designed Beverly Hills.
Today, Highland Park has 12 parks, including:
- Lakeside Park, arguably the most photographed street in Dallas, running along Lakeside Drive across from some of the city's most architecturally significant homes
- Davis Park
- Prather Park
The neighborhood was originally built around Turtle Creek and Hackberry Creek, and that creek-and-canopy landscape still defines the feel of the community today.
The Architecture
Highland Park is home to some of the most architecturally significant estates in Texas, with homes ranging from sleek contemporary builds to timeless English manors. Many were designed by legendary architects like Charles Dilbeck, Hal Thompson, and Frank Welch, names serious buyers of historic and luxury homes will recognize immediately.
A home in Highland Park
3. Schools: Why HPISD Is a Top Draw for Families
For most families relocating to Highland Park, schools are the single biggest driver of the decision, and the numbers back it up.
Highland Park Independent School District (HPISD) carries an Exemplary rating from the Texas Education Agency and is consistently ranked:
- #1 school district in Dallas
- #3 school district in Texas
- #49 school district in America (verify current ranking before publishing)
Bradfield Elementary, part of HPISD
HPISD Schools at a Glance
Elementary (5 total, all rebuilt or renovated in recent years):
- Armstrong Elementary, the first elementary school built in Highland Park
- Bradfield Elementary, completed in 2019
- Boone, Hyer, and University Park Elementary, located in neighboring University Park
Middle/Intermediate: McCulloch Intermediate (grades 5–6), Highland Park Middle School (grades 7–8)
High School: Highland Park High School, ranked in the top 50 out of more than 1,000 Texas high schools
Highland Park is also close to some of the region's top private schools, including Hockaday, Episcopal School of Dallas, St. Mark's School of Texas, and Ursuline Academy of Dallas, giving families flexibility whether they choose public or private education.
Bonus for buyers: Highland Park carries one of the lowest property tax rates in the state, at roughly 2.18%.
4. Safety and Security in Highland Park
Incorporated in 1913, Highland Park is its own self-sufficient municipality, completely independent of the City of Dallas, with its own Town Hall, Town Council, police, fire, and emergency services.
That independence shows up in response times. Highland Park's average emergency response time is under 2.5 minutes, among the fastest in the region.
A few added benefits residents value:
- A dedicated, hyper-local police force focused on a small footprint
- A "vacation watch" program where police monitor and check your home while you're traveling
- The comfort of knowing city services are managed at a scale where officials know the community personally
We've seen firsthand how this plays out for clients; it's one of those things you don't fully appreciate until you've lived somewhere without it.
5. Lifestyle: Shopping, Dining, and Walkability
World-Class Shopping
Highland Park Village, opened in 1931, is widely recognized as America's first outdoor shopping center. Today, it's home to luxury boutiques including Hermès, Chanel, Dior, Fendi, and Brunello Cucinelli, alongside beloved local shops.
Hermès at Highland Park Village
Dining in Highland Park Village
Residents love spots like Café Pacific, Bistro 31, Honor Bar, and Fachini, an upscale Italian spot known for its old-world glamour, tuxedoed servers, and handmade pastas, all within easy walking or biking distance for most homes in the community.
Café Pacific, in Highland Park Village
Dining Near the Knox District
Just on the edge of Highland Park, the Knox District has become one of Dallas's most exciting dining corridors, walkable from most Highland Park homes and a favorite for a night out without getting in the car:
- Georgie, refined modern French from chef Bruno Davaillon
- Le Bilboquet, the Dallas outpost of the beloved New York French bistro
Le Bilboquet, on Knox Street
- Knox Bistro, elegant French dining from the team behind Georgie and Le Bilboquet
- Greenpoint, a chic seafood and oyster brasserie
- Toulouse Cafe and Bar, French-Belgian bistro fare with a lively patio on Knox Street
- Taverna, Northern Italian classics, handmade pasta, and risotto
- Anchor Sushi Bar, sushi, steak, and a standout patio, a Knox Street favorite for date night
Walkability & Social Life
The Katy Trail, a 3.5-mile path, connects Highland Park directly to Uptown, Turtle Creek, and the Arts District, putting you under a 3-mile walk from American Airlines Center. Add in Park House, a social club overlooking Highland Park Village and the historic Dallas Country Club (the oldest country club in Texas), and residents have access to a rich social scene without ever needing to drive.
Dallas Country Club, the oldest country club in Texas
Park House, in Highland Park Village
The patio at Park House, in Highland Park Village
Recreational amenities round things out with 8 tennis courts and a private residents-only swimming pool available to permit holders and their guests.
Highland Park's public swimming pool
What It's Actually Like to Live Here, A Personal Reflection
People ask me all the time what it's really like to live in Highland Park, beyond the school rankings and home values. Here's my honest answer.
Almost every day, my drive home takes me down Lakeside Drive, past the lake, under a canopy of old trees, with some of the most beautiful homes in Dallas on either side. It never gets old. There's a moment, every single time, where the noise of the day just falls away. That's not something you can put on a spec sheet, but it's a big part of why we love living here.
What surprises people beyond the beauty is the sense of community. You run into the same familiar faces at the same parks, the same coffee shops, the same sidelines at your kids' games. It's a small enough place that neighbors actually know each other, but close enough to everything that you never feel cut off from the city.
And then there's the walkability. On a lot of evenings, instead of getting in the car, we'll walk over to the Knox District or Highland Park Village for dinner. That's not something most people expect from a neighborhood this exclusive, but it's one of my favorite things about living here. You get the elegance of Highland Park with the everyday livability of a place built for people, not just cars.
That combination, beauty, community, and walkability, is why I don't just sell homes here. It's why we live here.
Key Takeaways
- Highland Park is a 2.2-square-mile, self-governing city inside Dallas with roughly 3,700 homes
- Less than 4 miles from downtown Dallas, minutes from Love Field, 20–25 minutes from DFW
- 12 parks and 20% of the original land set aside for green space, including the iconic Lakeside Drive
- HPISD is Exemplary-rated, ranked #1 in Dallas and #3 in Texas
- Among the fastest emergency response times in the region, under its own independent police and fire departments
- Home to Highland Park Village, America's first outdoor shopping center, plus a thriving dining scene in both the Village and the neighboring Knox District
- One of the lowest property tax rates in Texas at ~2.18%
Ready to Move to Highland Park?
If Highland Park sounds like it could be a good fit for your family, I'd love to hear from you. Inventory here moves fast, and a lot of it sells off-market before it's ever publicly listed, so it helps to have someone in your corner who knows the neighborhood well.
Please reach out. I'd be honored to help you walk through the current listings, off-market opportunities, and what a home here actually costs street by street.
Contact Brandon Hawkins to schedule a private conversation about your move to Highland Park.
[email protected] | 214-206-7778
