City · Dallas County, Texas

University Park, Texas

University Park is a city in Dallas County, Texas, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area. It has 25,155 residents. University Park, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 54 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,159 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #114 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on bachelor's degree or higher (high), median household income (high) and adult smoking (low). It ranks worst on home price to income ratio (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and property crime rate (high).

54Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,159 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #114 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 25,155 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 6,818.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 4874492

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety15#13,293/15,637
Economy96#634/15,631
Housing25#11,163/14,977
Health82#2,869/15,609
Healthcare73#4,286/15,650
Environment6#14,565/15,453
Education57#6,681/15,649
Infrastructure100#14/15,650
Community21#12,420/15,651
Leisure & amenities53#7,396/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where University Park, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Dallas County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Bachelor's degree or higher · high90.8%
100/100Texas 33.8%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Median household income · high$250,001
100/100Texas $79,723United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Adult smoking · low6.5%
98/100Texas 15.3%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · low6.3%
98/100Texas 19.4%United States 15.6%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Broadband subscriptions · high99.1%
98/100Texas 91.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Poor or fair health · low10.2%
97/100Texas 23.2%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Home price to income ratio · high7.4×
4/100Texas 3.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.500
5/100Texas 0.478United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Property crime rate · high2,372 /100k
6/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDallas County value
High ozone days · high9 days
8/100Texas 7 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDallas County value
Hot days · high102 days
9/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDallas County value
Median Air Quality Index · high53
10/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDallas County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent as share of incomeImproving
38.8% (2015-2019) → 29.4% (2020-2024)
−9.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
57.6% (2015-2019) → 48.2% (2020-2024)
−9.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
5.8× (2015-2019) → 7.4× (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
New homes permittedWorsening
2.9 /1k (2021) → 2.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−28%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
87.8% (2015-2019) → 90.8% (2020-2024)
+3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Average commute timeImproving
19.6 min (2015-2019) → 17.3 min (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, University Park, Texas improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+11%$224,485 → $250,001
Broadband+1.1 points98.0% → 99.1%

Declined1

Price / income+1.7×5.8× → 7.4×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of University Park, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.6 min2015-2019	17.3 min2020-2024	−2.3 min	Within the margin of error	74%
Bachelor's degree or higher	87.8%2015-2019	90.8%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Broadband subscriptions	98.0%2015-2019	99.1%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Improved	12%
Effective property tax rate	1.15%2015-2019	1.25%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	7%
High school diploma or higher	99.6%2015-2019	99.0%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Home price to income ratio	5.8×2015-2019	7.4×2020-2024	+1.7×	Declined	7%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5032015-2019	0.5002020-2024	−0.003	Within the margin of error	53%
Median household income	$224,4852015-2019	$250,0012020-2024	+11%	Improved	18%
Poverty rate	3.9%2015-2019	4.7%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Rent as share of income	38.8%2015-2019	29.4%2020-2024	−9.4 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Rent-burdened households	57.6%2015-2019	48.2%2020-2024	−9.4 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Unemployment rate	3.5%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.7%2015-2019	3.5%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	37%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like University Park, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of University Park, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, University Park, Texas itself moved +6.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

25,155 residents (±62)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

6,964 households (±267)

University Park, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k5.4%†374
$25k–50k6.4%†447
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

6,964 households (±267)

University Park, Texas
Texas share

Own83%5,794
Rent17%1,170

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

10,470 workers (±495)

University Park, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone64%6,707
Carpool2.8%†297
Public transit0.4%†42

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Dallas County, the county holding most of University Park's residents.

Dallas County has 71,182 employer establishments, 270 for every 10,000 residents (1.09× the US rate of 248; 1.24× Texas's), with 1,648,702 paid employees at an average annual pay of $80,015. The Census Bureau also counts 312,744 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 71,182; 312,744 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 270; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 1,648,702
Average annual pay: $80,015; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Dallas County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	6,867	26	1.25×About typical	94,638	$71,707	11,541
Restaurants and other eating places	5,390	20.4	1.11×About typical	110,804	$26,252	2,027
Lessors of real estate	4,048	15.3	1.25×About typical	37,117	$93,374	26,231
Specialty trade contractors	3,139	11.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	61,980	$72,103	24,766
Limited-service restaurants	2,514	9.5	1.19×About typical	51,478	$22,111	597
Offices of physicians	2,412	9.1	1.41×More than typical	24,101	$135,732	2,303
Legal services	2,360	8.9	1.66×More than typical	20,305	$160,257	2,888
Computer systems design and related services	2,293	8.7	2.01×More than typical	48,458	$123,287	2,893
Management, scientific and technical consulting	2,266	8.6	1.28×More than typical	34,193	$123,075	10,028
Full-service restaurants	2,092	7.9	1.03×About typical	51,472	$30,947	986
Construction of buildings	1,485	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	23,873	$126,571	10,676
Offices of dentists	1,476	5.6	1.39×More than typical	10,757	$54,647	807

Rank places for an industry Open Dallas County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 2,637,393 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in University Park, Texas: $68.15 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.7M; −96% vs FY2025
Per resident: $68.15; US $1,994
Sole-source: 92%; US 30%
Single offer: 8.4%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

National Archives and Records Administration$1.4M84%
Federal Railroad Administration$134.8K7.9%
Social Security Administration$101.4K5.9%
Offices, Boards and Divisions$45.6K2.7%
Drug Enforcement Administration$7,1010.4%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

2MFY2017
2.3MFY2018
2.2MFY2019
4.6MFY2020
3.2MFY2021
2.4MFY2022
2.2MFY2023
33.6M

Top industries (NAICS)

Investigation and security services · 5616$1.1M67%
Facilities support services · 5612$284K17%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$134.8K7.9%
Offices of physicians · 6211$104.3K6.1%
Legal services · 5411$45.6K2.7%
Business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations · 8139

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in University Park, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

University Park, Texas's figures are part of those of Dallas County, TX ($27.2B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: University Park is mostly in Dallas County.

See federal money in Dallas County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

University Park, Texas is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Dallas County43100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX52

Other cities and towns in Dallas County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4874492

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends