Choosing Between Highland Park and Frisco, TX: 2026 Real Estate Comparison
The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex doesn't hand you a single answer. Which suburb works for you depends entirely on what you're trading off - price bracket, architectural character, and how far you're willing to sit from downtown Dallas. The pros and cons of living in Highland Park, TX often center on its location just four miles north of the city center. Frisco is a newer expansion built out primarily in Collin County, considerably further north. Two different eras, two different price points, two genuinely different kinds of life.
If you're weighing Highland Park vs. Frisco, the gap becomes obvious fast. Mid-2026 median prices are separated by roughly two million dollars. Everything else - taxes, home age, inventory, commute - flows from that core difference.
Housing Market Overview and Home Prices
The median home price in Highland Park sits at about $2,720,000 as of mid-2026. Homes move in roughly 15 days on average, about 33% sell above asking, and you're looking at around 44 active listings at any given time - representing a 4.9-month supply. That's not a panicked seller's market, but it's not slow either.
Frisco tells a different story. Over the three months ending June 2026, the median sale price there came in around $675,000, down 2.1% from the same period in 2025. Highland Park, by comparison, was essentially flat at -0.4% year-over-year.
Architectural Styles and Home Ages
The housing stock in each location is a direct product of when it was built. Highland Park's median construction year is 1977, but the character of the town runs older than that - about 27.5% of homes were built before the 1940s, with another 8% added by 1949. You're looking at 1920s through 1940s architecture set along mature, tree-canopied boulevards. These aren't starter homes dressed up to look established. They actually are.
Frisco is a master-planned suburb. The bulk of the inventory was built from the 1990s onward, built to absorb regional growth rather than developed organically over decades. If you want recent construction, Frisco is where you'll find it. If you want a historic estate with actual age behind it, you're shopping in Highland Park.
Property Taxes and Ongoing Expenses
Texas property taxes are not a footnote - they're a real line item, and they differ meaningfully between these two cities. Highland Park's city property tax rate runs about $0.199 per $100 of assessed valuation. That's the lowest municipal rate of any city in Dallas County.
Frisco's city rate for the 2026 fiscal year is roughly $0.425 per $100 of assessed value - more than double Highland Park's city rate. That said, the city rate alone doesn't tell you what you'll actually pay. Both sets of homeowners are also paying county and school district levies on top of the municipal number, and Frisco residents specifically pay additional rates to Collin County and Frisco ISD.
Total Effective Tax Burden
A lower city rate doesn't automatically produce a lower tax bill - and in Highland Park, that's worth sitting with for a moment. When you apply any reasonable effective rate to a multi-million-dollar home, the dollar amount becomes substantial regardless of how competitive the municipal percentage looks on paper. Estimates place Highland Park's effective rate somewhere between 1.09% and 3.1%, depending on the assessment methodology used. Pull the actual tax history on any specific property you're considering before you make assumptions.
Location and Tollway Proximity
Highland Park falls entirely within Dallas County, its southern boundary sitting just north of Mockingbird Lane. The Dallas North Tollway runs along its eastern edge, which gives residents a direct shot into the city center. Four miles is four miles.
Frisco is further north, primarily in Collin County. If your office is downtown Dallas, that distance matters - it's a longer commute, full stop. Buyers with jobs in the northern suburbs may find Frisco's location more practical. Buyers who need to be in the city regularly tend to think about Highland Park differently once they've driven the route a few times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much higher is the average price per square foot in Highland Park compared to neighborhoods in Frisco?
Price-per-square-foot averages fluctuate by property, so a single number won't hold. What the data does show clearly is the median gap: about $2,720,000 in Highland Park versus roughly $675,000 in Frisco.
How does the commute to downtown Dallas from Frisco compare to living in Highland Park?
Highland Park is four miles north of downtown Dallas. Frisco is further north in Collin County, which translates to a noticeably longer drive to the city center.
Are property taxes different between Highland Park and Collin County cities like Frisco?
Yes. Highland Park's city tax rate is roughly $0.199 per $100 of assessed value - the lowest in Dallas County. Frisco's city rate for the 2026 fiscal year is roughly $0.425 per $100. Both figures are just the city portion; county and school district rates apply on top of each.
If I want a newly built luxury home on a large lot, am I better off looking in Frisco or Highland Park?
Frisco. Most of its housing inventory was built from the 1990s onward, and it's a master-planned suburb designed to accommodate that kind of growth. Highland Park's median construction year is 1977, and a significant share of its homes predate World War II.
Does Highland Park real estate hold its resale value better than Frisco during a housing market slowdown?
Mid-2026 data shows Highland Park prices nearly flat, down 0.4% year-over-year. Frisco's median sale price over the same period dropped 2.1%. The margin isn't dramatic, but the direction is consistent with what you'd expect given the two markets' different price points and buyer pools.
