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Parker, Texas

Parker is a suburb of about 6,500 people in Collin County, Texas, in the Dallas area. It's growing fast: its population is up 17% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Dallas, is about 20 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townSuburb of Dallas

Population
6,462
up 17% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$859,600
Collin County prices up 5.9% since 2022
Household income
$229,080
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Dallas area
103.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Allen, TX
To Dallas
20 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.1% above the U.S. average in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 3.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town10 public schools: 7 elementary, 1 high school and 2 other.
  • A hospital close byTexas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen in Allen, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDallas is about 20 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Parker meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Parker runs into the built-up area around Dallas (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Boom town. The population is up 17% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$859,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 5.9%Collin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$229,080U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$10,000 or more a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
31%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
103.1U.S. average = 100 (the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 5.9% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, not Parker alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
6,4622020: 5,527
Median age
44.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
63%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%
College students
9%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Finance, insurance and real estate (19%); manufacturing (19%); schools, health care and social services (16%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen, Allen, TX, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

10 public schools in Parker, run by Plano Isd and Allen Isd.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Texas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
90%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
36°F
July average high
94°F
Days 90°F or hotter
93 a year
Nights at or below freezing
35 a year
Rain and melted snow
39.8 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
612 feet

Weather stations: Richardson (8 miles away) and Lavon Dam (8 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen, Allen, Dallas.

Collin County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Parker's history on Wikipedia.

Know Parker?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Seis Lagos, TX (unincorporated)1,391 people, 3 miles
  • St. Paul, TX994 people, 4 miles
  • New Hope, TX687 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.