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Westlake, Texas

Westlake is a suburb of about 2,100 people in Tarrant County, Texas, in the Dallas area. It's growing fast: its population is up 25% since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Dallas, is about 29 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townSuburb of Dallas

Population
2,057
up 25% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$2,000,000 or more
Tarrant County prices up 5.5% since 2022
Household income
$250,000 or more
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Dallas area
103.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Baylor Medical Center at Trophy Club
To Dallas
29 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Westlake to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Westlake itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byBaylor Medical Center at Trophy Club is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDallas is about 29 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 Westlake 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

Westlake 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 25% 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
$2,000,000 or moreU.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 5.5%Tarrant County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$3,500 or more a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$250,000 or moreU.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
51%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 5.5% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, not Westlake 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
2,0572020: 1,645
Median age
46.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%

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
Professional and business services (23%); schools, health care and social services (23%); finance, insurance and real estate (21%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
41%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Baylor Medical Center at Trophy Club, Trophy Club, TX, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

5 public schools in Westlake, run by Northwest Isd and Westlake Academy Charter School.

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
97%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
99%U.S.: 91%

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
97°F
Days 90°F or hotter
108 a year
Nights at or below freezing
45 a year
Rain and melted snow
39.8 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
625 feet

Weather stations: Ft Worth Alliance Ap (7 miles away) and Roanoke (2 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: Flower Mound, Dallas.

Tarrant 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 Westlake's history on Wikipedia.

Know Westlake?

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

  • DISH, TX525 people, 12 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.