The value play on the DART Blue Line, and the one district in North Texas with no attendance zones.
Curious how Garland stacks up against nearby options? Let's talk through current inventory, new-build timelines, and off-market opportunities tailored to you.
Garland is a city of about 250,000 (ACS 2024 1-year), the largest on this side of Dallas County and by some distance the most affordable. It is a working, lived-in city rather than a master-planned one: a median household income of $75,797, a downtown square listed on the National Register, and 2,880 acres of parkland. Two DART Blue Line stations put downtown Dallas within a rail ride. And Garland ISD does something no neighboring district does: it has no attendance zoning at all. Residents may apply to any school in the district, which changes how you shop for a house here.
Established, affordable neighborhoods around a historic downtown square, with light rail into Dallas
Summers are hot and sunny with highs in the mid-to-upper 90s°F. Winters stay mild - expect 50°F afternoons mixed with the occasional cold snap. North Texas averages 229 sunny days, roughly 41 inches of rain, and minimal snow each year.
Match your wish list - from walkable districts to gated communities - with these buyer favorites. Mali can share recent closings, HOA nuances, and off-market conversations for each pocket.
North Garland, next to Firewheel Town Center; includes Firewheel Farms and Provence at Firewheel.
Camelot sits in northwest Garland (75044) right against the Richardson city line, in Dallas County. It is a 1970s–80s brick-and-ranch neighborhood on big, mature lots, and its defining feature is a split school-district line: depending on the street, a Camelot home falls in Richardson ISD or Garland ISD.
An established Garland neighborhood with a registered homeowners association, which matters here because much of Garland’s older housing stock has none. Conventional single-family streets with mature trees, in a city offering some of the most attainable detached housing inside the President George Bush Turnpike.
An established neighborhood with a registered HOA on the western side of the city toward the Richardson line. Position is the point: west Garland is closest to the Telecom Corridor and US 75, and it is where the Richardson ISD portions of the city are concentrated.
An established neighborhood with a registered HOA: conventional single-family housing on settled, tree-lined streets, with Lake Ray Hubbard on one side and the Richardson employment corridor a short drive on the other.
An established neighborhood with a registered HOA, of the conventional single-family type that makes up most of Garland’s residential stock. Neighborhoods with an active association tend to hold their streetscape better than those without, which is worth weighing in a city this size.
Twelve homes on 11th Street between Avenues B and D, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017; period of significance 1913-1960.
The National Register district around the square: 52 commercial and public buildings, the oldest dating to 1897, and a two-block walk from the Blue Line station.
An established southeast Garland neighborhood (75043) off Broadway and Centerville, tucked between the Duck Creek greenbelt and Lake Ray Hubbard. Large conventional brick homes on generous lots - the kind of square footage and yard new construction elsewhere in DFW no longer prices within reach. Redfin reported a median sale price near $375K over the trailing 12 months as of July 2026, down about 11% year over year, so a prepared buyer still has real negotiating leverage here.
Understanding Garland's community composition helps buyers match lifestyle preferences with neighborhood character. The figures below reference recent American Community Survey estimates and city planning reports.
Total population
250,571
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate (table B01003).
Median household income
$75,797
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate (table B19013), margin of error ±$3,995.
Median age
32.4 years
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate (table B01002). The youngest city on this corridor.
Homeownership rate
57.8%
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate (table B25003): 47,064 owner-occupied of 81,428 occupied units.
Children under 18
26.9%
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate (table B01001); a notably high share of kids.
Garland High SchoolHigh
Hosts Garland ISD’s International Baccalaureate magnet and the Academy of Fine Arts magnet.
North Garland High SchoolHigh
Hosts the Math, Science & Technology magnet and the Accelerated Math & Science magnet.
Lakeview Centennial High SchoolHigh
Hosts a Collegiate Academy and the Classical & Career magnet, the continuation of the Vial-to-Brandenburg classical track.
Naaman Forest High SchoolHigh
Hosts a Collegiate Academy.
Rowlett High SchoolHigh
A Garland ISD campus; hosts the Air Force Junior ROTC magnet.
South Garland High SchoolHigh
A Garland ISD comprehensive high school.
Classical Center at Brandenburg Middle SchoolMiddle
Classical magnet: a traditional honors curriculum emphasizing Latin and literature, plus piano, dance, gymnastics and fine arts.
Classical Center at Vial Elementary SchoolElementary
Classical magnet offering an enriched curriculum with writing and publishing, piano, art, theatre and leadership. Qualifying 6th graders feed automatically into Brandenburg.
Moving to Garland means lining up the right vendor team, understanding seasonal weather shifts, and comparing neighborhoods before touring. Mali guides you through scouting trips, remote video tours, and negotiation strategy so your Garland plan comes together smoothly.
Get a free comparative market analysis to discover what your home is worth in today's Garland market.
Every North Texas suburb brings unique advantages. Whether you're weighing school ratings, commute times, or neighborhood character, Mali will map your priorities against current market inventory.
Every public campus inside Garland city limits, with the letter grade and score the Texas Education Agency published for it in 2025. Enrolment and grades come straight from TEA's accountability download and the federal school directory, so nothing here is a third-party score that nobody refreshes.
Garland is split across 3 school districts. Two houses on the same street can feed different districts, and boundaries in this corridor get redrawn most years as new campuses open. Confirm the assignment for the exact address with the district before you write an offer - and if the school is a reason you are buying, ask Mali to put the district's written confirmation in your file.
Dallas County · 50 campuses in town
Dallas County · 2 campuses in town
Dallas County · 1 campus in town
Garland also has campuses run by International Leadership of Texas (iltexas), Harmony Public Schools - North Texas, Texas College Preparatory Academies. Open-enrollment charters admit by application and lottery from a wide area, so buying a particular house never assigns a child to one.
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK
Garland ISD · Grades K-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades K-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades K-5
Harmony Public Schools - North Texas · Grades PreK-6
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades K-5
Texas College Preparatory Academies · Grades PreK-8
International Leadership of Texas (iltexas) · Grades K-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Garland ISD · Grades PreK
Mesquite ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades K-5
Garland ISD · Grades K-5
Garland ISD · Grades PreK-5
Garland ISD · Grades 6-8
Garland ISD · Grades 6-8
Garland ISD · Grades 6-8
International Leadership of Texas (iltexas) · Grades 6-8
Garland ISD · Grades 6-8
Garland ISD · Grades 6-8
Garland ISD · Grades 6-8
Garland ISD · Grades 6-8
Garland ISD · Grades 6-8
Garland ISD · Grades 6-8
Garland ISD · Grades 9-12
Harmony Public Schools - North Texas · Grades 7-12
International Leadership of Texas (iltexas) · Grades 9-12
Garland ISD · Grades 9-12
Garland ISD · Grades 9-12
Garland ISD · Grades 9-12
Garland ISD · Grades 9-12
Garland ISD · Grades 4-12
Garland homes are taxed by 5 separate governments, and the combined 2025 adopted rate is 2.39% per year of appraised value. That is the number before any exemption and before the special districts below - which is why the figure on a listing page and the figure on your first tax bill are so rarely the same.
| Taxing unit | Rate per $100 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Garland ISD | 1.170900 | 49% |
| City of Garland | 0.689746 | 29% |
| Dallas County | 0.215500 | 9% |
| College district | 0.106575 | 4% |
| Hospital district | 0.212000 | 9% |
| Combined | 2.394721 | 100% |
Starts at the Garland median single-family value.
No exemption
$6,981
What an investor or second-home owner pays.
With homestead
$4,809
Effective rate 1.6497% of market value.
You keep
$2,172
Per year, once the exemption is filed and granted.
| Unit | Exemption | Taxed on | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garland ISD | $140,000 | $151,500 | $1,774 |
| City | $32,065 | $259,435 | $1,789 |
| County | $58,300 | $233,200 | $503 |
| College district | $58,300 | $233,200 | $249 |
| Hospital district | $58,300 | $233,200 | $494 |
Every school district in Texas must exempt $140,000 of a homestead's value. Cities, counties and college districts may each adopt up to 20% on top, and several here adopt nothing at all - which is why this has to be worked out one unit at a time rather than netted against the combined rate. Year one is billed at full market value; the 10% appraisal cap starts the January after your exemption is granted.
Dallas County has 4 special districts levying their own rate on top of everything above - 4 Municipal Utility Districts. Adopted 2025 rates run from 0.18 to 1.00 per $100. At the top of that range a district adds more than half again the entire Garland stack, and none of it is reduced by a homestead exemption.
These follow subdivision boundaries, not city limits, so two houses a mile apart in Garland can differ by a full point. They are most common in newer master-planned communities, because that is what the bonds paid to build.
A Public Improvement District is not a taxing unit. It is an assessment a city levies on the specific parcels that benefited from the roads, water and amenities its bonds paid for - set per parcel, absent from every rate table and every listing-site tax estimate, and not reduced by a homestead exemption because it is not a tax. It typically runs the life of the bonds, often 20 to 40 years, and can frequently be paid off in a lump sum. In a new-build community that is the difference between the budget you built and the payment you owe, and the option period is when you find out.
HOA dues are a private contract with the neighbourhood association. They are not on the tax bill, not collected by the county, not deductible, and not touched by any exemption - and a community can have an HOA and a MUD and a PID at once, which is the combination that catches people out. Ask for the dues, the transfer fee, the reserve study and any special assessment in writing, and read them alongside the tax bill rather than instead of it.
Answers to common questions about living, buying, and relocating to Garland, Texas.
Garland ISD serves most of the city, and also Rowlett and Sachse. Small portions of Garland fall into Richardson ISD, and parts of the city extend into Dallas ISD and Mesquite ISD. There is no Rowlett ISD or Sachse ISD. Confirm the district on the specific address.
None, and that is not a mistake. Garland ISD has no attendance zoning. It is open enrollment district-wide: residents may apply to any GISD school, regardless of where in the district they live. So unlike Plano, Allen or Frisco, you are not buying a zone when you buy a house here. It also means “good schools” and “expensive neighborhood” are decoupled in a way they are not anywhere else on this corridor.
Yes. Garland High School hosts Garland ISD’s International Baccalaureate magnet and its Academy of Fine Arts. North Garland has Math, Science & Technology and Accelerated Math & Science magnets; Lakeview Centennial has a Collegiate Academy and the Classical & Career magnet; Naaman Forest has a Collegiate Academy; Rowlett High has the Air Force Junior ROTC magnet. The Classical Centers at Vial (elementary) and Brandenburg (middle) form a feeder classical track. The district also runs Early College High School and P-TECH.
Yes. Garland is a DART member city with two Blue Line light rail stations, both open since November 2002: Downtown Garland at 5th & Walnut, two blocks north of the square, and Forest/Jupiter on Forest Lane east of Jupiter Road, which serves the industrial corridor. DART also runs the South Garland Transit Center for buses.
Redfin readings across the first half of 2026 fall roughly in the $275K-$287K band for median sale price, softening over that window. It is comfortably the most affordable city on this corridor: the median household income here is $75,797 (ACS 2024) against $126,370 in Allen, and the housing market reflects that. Treat the band as approximate and price against current comps.
Garland ISD and the City of Garland are the largest, and the city retains a real manufacturing base: Kraft Heinz, Sherwin-Williams, Epiroc and Resistol Hats (Hatco). Note that Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Garland is sometimes still listed, but it closed in February 2018, and the facility on Marie Curie Drive is now the Garland VA Medical Center.
Lived-in rather than master-planned. It is the largest city on this side of Dallas County, young (median age 32.4), with a National Register downtown square, a working industrial corridor, 63 parks, and Lake Ray Hubbard on its southeastern edge. You buy here for value and for rail access, not for new construction.
The Granville Arts Center by the square, with the 720-seat Brownlee Auditorium, a 200-seat theatre and the art deco Plaza Theatre, home of Garland Summer Musicals. Spring Creek Forest Preserve, roughly 230 acres of old-growth oak forest with eight-plus miles of trail between dirt and pavement. Firewheel Town Center for shopping. Lake Ray Hubbard for the water. And the historic downtown district itself, 52 buildings dating back to 1897.
Have more questions about Garland? Contact Mali at yourealtordfw@gmail.com or call (972) 408-6939.