The best-connected suburb on US-75, with five DART rail stations, including a one-seat ride to DFW.
Curious how Richardson stacks up against nearby options? Let's talk through current inventory, new-build timelines, and off-market opportunities tailored to you.
Richardson is a mature inner-ring suburb of about 118,000 people (ACS 2024 1-year) that straddles the Dallas-Collin county line. It is a genuine employment center in its own right (State Farm’s CityLine campus, AT&T, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Texas Instruments, Cisco, Fossil Group, Lennox International and the University of Texas at Dallas all sit inside the city), and it is the only suburb on this corridor with real rail. Four DART Red Line stations, Orange Line service at peak, and since October 2025 the Silver Line, which runs straight to DFW Airport. The city is close to an even owner/renter split (50.2% homeownership), which is unusual out here and reflects both UT Dallas and the apartment stock around CityLine.
Mature mid-century neighborhoods plus transit-oriented mixed-use districts at CityLine and Galatyn Park
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.
Richardson’s premier established neighborhood, built around Canyon Creek Country Club and its 18-hole golf course.
A long-standing residential area in Richardson, named for the creek that runs through this part of the city and the park along it. It is established suburban housing on generous lots under mature trees, of the era when Richardson grew alongside the technology employers on its northern edge.
The city’s original postwar neighborhood, developed in the 1950s just west of US-75 and next door to the CORE District.
An established neighborhood adjacent to the Richardson Heights area on the older, southern side of the city, next to the Heights Park and Recreation Center.
An established Richardson neighborhood named for the creek that runs through the city and on into Garland. It is conventional established suburban housing on settled streets with mature trees, with creek greenbelt and trail access nearby.
The J.J. Pearce area is the residential district around J.J. Pearce High School in northern Richardson, and it carries a market identity of its own: buyers shop it by name because they are shopping the high school.
On the Collin County side of Richardson, and therefore served by Plano ISD, not Richardson ISD. Worth knowing before you tour.
A 186-acre transit-oriented district at US-75 and the President George Bush Turnpike, anchored by State Farm’s regional hub and by Raytheon. Housing sits across several communities alongside 40-plus restaurants and retailers, a Whole Foods, a hotel and two parks. The CityLine/Bush DART station puts the Red Line, peak-hour Orange Line and the Silver Line, which opened in October 2025 and runs west to DFW Airport, at the district’s front door.
Understanding Richardson'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
118,217
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate (table B01003).
Median household income
$104,379
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate (table B19013), margin of error ±$11,114.
Median age
33.8 years
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate (table B01002). Young for this corridor, largely because UT Dallas’ 30,000+ students live inside the city.
Homeownership rate
50.2%
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate (table B25003): 22,619 owner-occupied of 45,022 occupied units, close to an even owner/renter split.
Bachelor’s degree or higher
57.1%
US Census ACS 2024 1-year estimate, population 25+ (table B15002).
Berkner High School and STEM AcademyHigh
The STEM Academy is part of the campus’ official district name.
Richardson High SchoolHigh
Home of RISD’s Arts, Law and Sciences Magnet; pathways include culinary arts, theater and tech theater, visual arts, communications, robotics, law, science and computer science.
J.J. Pearce High SchoolHigh
A Richardson ISD comprehensive high school.
Westwood Junior High SchoolMiddle
Richardson ISD’s Math, Science and Leadership Magnet.
Richardson West Junior High SchoolMiddle
Richardson ISD Arts and Technology Magnet.
Arapaho Classical MagnetElementary
Richardson ISD elementary magnet with a classical curriculum.
Hamilton Park Pacesetter MagnetElementary
Richardson ISD elementary magnet.
Math/Science/Technology (MST) MagnetElementary
Richardson ISD elementary magnet.
Moving to Richardson 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 Richardson plan comes together smoothly.
Get a free comparative market analysis to discover what your home is worth in today's Richardson 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 Richardson 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.
Richardson 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 · 20 campuses in town
Collin County · 4 campuses in town
Dallas County · 1 campus in town
Richardson also has campuses run by Evolution Academy Charter School, Winfree Academy Charter Schools. Open-enrollment charters admit by application and lottery from a wide area, so buying a particular house never assigns a child to one.
Plano ISD · Grades K-5
Richardson ISD · Grades K-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Plano ISD · Grades K-5
Richardson ISD · Grades K-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Plano ISD · Grades K-5
Plano ISD · Grades K-5
Richardson ISD · Grades PreK-6
Richardson ISD · Grades 7-8
Richardson ISD · Grades 7-8
Richardson ISD · Grades 7-8
Richardson ISD · Grades 9-12
Evolution Academy Charter School · Grades 9-12
Cedar Hill ISD · Grades 9
Richardson ISD · Grades 9-12
Richardson ISD · Grades 9-12
Winfree Academy Charter Schools · Grades 9-12
Richardson homes are taxed by 5 separate governments, and the combined 2025 adopted rate is 2.18% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Richardson ISD | 1.105200 | 51% |
| City of Richardson | 0.542180 | 25% |
| Dallas County | 0.215500 | 10% |
| College district | 0.106575 | 5% |
| Hospital district | 0.212000 | 10% |
| Combined | 2.181455 | 100% |
Starts at the Richardson median single-family value.
No exemption
$9,930
What an investor or second-home owner pays.
With homestead
$7,896
Effective rate 1.7347% of market value.
You keep
$2,034
Per year, once the exemption is filed and granted.
| Unit | Exemption | Taxed on | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richardson ISD | $140,000 | $315,200 | $3,484 |
| City | none adopted | $455,200 | $2,468 |
| County | $91,040 | $364,160 | $785 |
| College district | $91,040 | $364,160 | $388 |
| Hospital district | $91,040 | $364,160 | $772 |
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 Richardson 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 Richardson 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 Richardson, Texas.
Two. Richardson ISD serves the Dallas County portion of the city, which is most of it. Plano ISD serves the Collin County (northern) portion, including the Breckinridge area. Confirm which one an address falls in before you tour; it is the single most common surprise in this city.
No. Richardson ISD’s magnet lineup does not include International Baccalaureate, and no RISD campus appears on the IB organization’s member list. Plano ISD, which serves Richardson’s Collin County side, does run an IB Diploma Programme, and that is likely where the confusion comes from. Locally, Garland ISD runs an IB magnet at Garland High School.
It is the best on this side of the Metroplex. Four DART Red Line stations (Spring Valley, Arapaho Center, Galatyn Park, CityLine/Bush), Orange Line trains at peak, and the Silver Line regional rail, which opened October 25, 2025 and gives you a one-seat ride from CityLine/Bush or UT Dallas to DFW International Airport. Richardson was the first Dallas suburb DART rail ever reached, back in 2002.
Redfin put the median sale price at about $455,000 in January 2026; MLS-derived sources had it nearer $475,000 by March 2026. Treat roughly $455K-$476K as the working band and price against current comps. The figures move month to month and the sources use slightly different definitions.
State Farm’s CityLine campus, AT&T, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (headquartered here), Texas Instruments, Cisco, GEICO, Fossil Group, Lennox International, Methodist Richardson Medical Center, the University of Texas at Dallas and Richardson ISD. Ericsson is often listed by mistake, but its North America headquarters is in Plano, not Richardson.
Mature and mixed. Mid-century neighborhoods like Richardson Heights and Canyon Creek sit alongside dense, transit-oriented districts at CityLine and Galatyn Park. It is close to an even owner/renter split, it has a real downtown-scale employment base, and it has a university in the middle of it. It feels less like a master-planned suburb and more like a small city.
Richardson is built out. Growth here is infill and redevelopment (CityLine, Galatyn Park, Lennox’s new R&D center) rather than greenfield subdivisions. If you want new construction on a new street, look north in Collin County.
The Eisemann Center for Performing Arts, the Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival each May at Galatyn Park, the Cottonwood Art Festival every May and October, CityLine’s restaurants and retail, and the parks: 417-acre Breckinridge Park with about 4.5 miles of trail, and the roughly 51-acre Spring Creek Nature Area hardwood preserve.
Have more questions about Richardson? Contact Mali at yourealtordfw@gmail.com or call (972) 408-6939.