North Texas School Districts Among The Wealthiest in Texas

North Texas is home to seven of the state's top 10 wealthiest school districts. Given the wealth of many of the region's ZIP codes, perhaps this shouldn't come as much a surprise. 

The Houston Chronicle analyzed median income data for school districts provided by The American Community Survey, which tallied median household income data from the last five years of the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Highland Park Independent School District and Carroll Independent School District are tied for first place in Texas. Both districts have a median household income higher than $250,000. The census caps incomes at $250,000, but the two districts were the only ones in the state to meet the threshold. Highland Park ISD serves 6,437 students, and Carroll ISD has 8,292, according to the American Community Survey.

Park Cities, the unincorporated Dallas enclave that attends Highland Park ISD, is known for being one of Texas's most expensive zip codes. Southlake, a city served by Carroll ISD, has topped several real estate lists for its multi-million dollar palatial homes.

The next North Texas district on the list was Proper ISD in fourth place with a median income of $169,000. Prosper has recently been a hotspot for development and is known for being the neighborhood choice for Dallas’ professional athletes, like Dak Prescott. The district has the highest enrollment of all the top 10 richest school districts by 15,000,  serving 28,467 students.

Argyle ISD and Lovejoy ISD take place five and six. The median household incomes are $167,000 in Argyle ISD and $159,000 in Lovejoy ISD. In eighth place is Sunnyvale ISD, with a median household income of $157,000. The small town, on the far east side of Dallas County, is the smallest North Texas district with only 2,317 students.

Taking 10th place is Coppell ISD, with a median income of $155,000 and 13,414 public school students. Coppell ISD found itself in the headlines this week for another reason: Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the district for allegedly "illegally teaching critical race theory."

Dallas ISD is the lowest-ranked district in Dallas County. The median household income is $67,0000, and the district has 139,246 students from 240 schools. Lake Worth ISD, in Tarrant County, has the lowest ranking of all North Texas school districts, falling to 871 out of 957 school districts. The district has a median income of $46,000 and serves
3,238 students.

The school district with the lowest median income in the state is Silverton ISD, located in the panhandle. The median income in the school district is $34,000 and consists of one school with an enrollment of 223 students.