Why is Denton's median income so much lower than the rest of Denton County?

Students. Roughly 62,453 people are enrolled at university here, in a city of about 165,986 - more than a third of the population. Student households report very low incomes and they sit inside the city's median, which is why Denton reads $80,908 (ACS 2024) while Denton County as a whole reads $117,164. It is a statistical artifact of a college town, not a measure of what working families here earn.

Is Denton, TX affordable?

It is the most affordable market covered on this site. The median sale price runs about $385K-$390K at roughly $185 per square foot, under Lewisville's ≈$399,761 and far under Frisco's ≈$688K. Homes average one offer and about 65 days on market, so there is real negotiating room. The trade-off is the location: Denton is the far northern edge of the metro.

Is Denton a good place to buy a rental property?

It has the strongest structural rental demand of any city in this guide set, for an obvious reason: roughly 62,453 university students need somewhere to live every year, and that demand does not depend on the housing cycle. It is also the cheapest entry point covered here. The caveats are the ones every student-market landlord learns - turnover is annual, wear is higher, and summer vacancy is a real line item. Underwrite it honestly rather than on the headline rent.

How far is Denton from Dallas?

Denton sits at the top of the I-35 corridor, where I-35E and I-35W split toward Dallas and Fort Worth. That gives it something unusual - a genuine choice of which downtown you commute to - but both are a real drive from the northern edge of the metro. If your job is in the Plano or Frisco corridor, Denton is the wrong end of the metroplex.

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Guide • Denton

Living in Denton, Texas

Denton is the county seat of Denton County, a city of about 165,986 people spread across 96.9 square miles at the northern edge of the metro. It is also a college town: roughly 62,453 university students are enrolled here, more than a third of the city's population. That single fact explains most of its statistics. Its median household income reads $80,908 (ACS 2024) - the lowest of any city covered here and far under Denton County's own $117,164 - largely because tens of thousands of student households sit in that median, not because Denton is poor. It is the most affordable market on this site (≈$385K-$390K) and it has a rental demand engine no other suburb here can claim.

Snapshot

A university town first and a suburb second - and its numbers only make sense once you know that.

Price Snapshot

Sources disagree on direction: Redfin's recent read was ≈$390K, up 0.7% year over year, while another tracker had ≈$384,905 over the last 30 days, down 4.4%. Both put it under Lewisville's ≈$399,761, making Denton the most affordable median covered here, at ≈$185/sq ft (down 4.1% YoY). Homes average 1 offer and about 65 days on market. For context, the Texas median was ≈$343,779 in May 2026. Approximate; ask for current comps with an as-of month.

Commute

Denton sits at the northern end of the I-35 corridor, where I-35E and I-35W split toward Dallas and Fort Worth respectively - which makes it one of the few places in the metro with a genuine choice of which downtown to commute to. That is also the honest catch: it is the far northern edge, so both are a real drive. It is the wrong end of the metro for the Plano and Frisco job corridors.

Why Denton Works For Buyers

A student population of roughly 62,453 - over a third of the city - which drives a rental market unlike anything else in this guide set
County seat of Denton County, with a genuine historic courthouse square that predates the metro's growth
96.9 square miles at a density of about 1,712 people per square mile - large and low-density, with room the built-out suburbs do not have

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