Highland Park Homes, Schools And Property Tax Basics
May 28, 2026
May 28, 2026
If you are considering Highland Park, you are likely weighing more than just price. You want to understand how the housing stock, local school structure, and property tax picture fit together before you make a move. This guide breaks down the basics in a clear, practical way so you can evaluate Highland Park with confidence. Let’s dive in.
Highland Park is a small, high-value part of the Park Cities just north of downtown Dallas. According to Highland Park ISD, its service area spans 6.21 square miles across Highland Park, University Park, and a small part of North Dallas, serving more than 33,000 residents.
That limited footprint helps explain why homes here are often associated with a supply-constrained market. Dallas Central Appraisal District 2025 detached single-family data show 2,816 parcels in the Town of Highland Park, with a median market value of $3,274,460 and an average market value of $4,403,601.
For buyers, those numbers provide important context. Highland Park is not a broad, entry-level market with wide pricing dispersion. It is a relatively compact area where values tend to be elevated, and even median figures are substantial.
The broader HPISD area includes more than just the Town of Highland Park. In that larger school district area, DCAD reports a median detached single-family market value of $2,819,530 and an average of $3,569,134. That difference matters if you are comparing homes by school boundary versus municipal boundary.
One of the most important details to verify is whether a specific home is inside the Town of Highland Park or simply inside the broader HPISD attendance area. Those are not the same thing.
HPISD includes Highland Park, University Park, and part of North Dallas. That means the school district connection may stay consistent while municipal services, applicable taxing units, and town regulations can differ by address.
Highland Park ISD has eight campuses. The district includes five elementary schools, one intermediate school, one middle school, and one high school.
The five elementary campuses are Armstrong, Boone, Bradfield, Hyer, and University Park. The district also reports more than 440 teachers, and 63% hold master’s degrees.
For the 2025-26 school year, HPISD reported 6,221 students as of May 22, 2026. The Texas Education Agency 2024-25 report card lists 6,327 students, which reflects a different school year.
That difference is not unusual when you compare data published on different reporting calendars. The key takeaway is that HPISD is a relatively compact district serving a defined area with a clear campus structure.
TEA gives HPISD an overall rating of A / 96 for 2024-25. The same report shows an A in student achievement, a B in school progress, and an A in closing the gaps.
The TEA report card also lists a 99.1% four-year graduation rate and 93.0% college, career, or military readiness. For many buyers, these are useful reference points when comparing districts in the Dallas area.
When you buy in the Town of Highland Park, you are not only buying a home. You are also buying into a municipal structure that directly provides several residential services.
The town provides water, sewer, sanitation, recycling, and alarm monitoring services to residences within the town. For many buyers, understanding those direct services is part of evaluating the ownership experience.
Highland Park’s Department of Public Safety combines police, fire, and EMS functions. The town states that the department has been nationally accredited by CALEA since 1988 and includes 57 public safety officers.
The town also maintains 22 park locations and 12 landscaped traffic islands across about 59.3 acres. Lakeside Park is the largest of those spaces at 14.32 acres.
If you are planning renovations, additions, or major updates, town requirements matter. Highland Park’s Community Development department requires permits and inspections for construction.
The town also states that contractors must be licensed in Texas and registered with the town. That is an important detail to verify early if you are buying with plans to remodel.
Texas does not have a state property tax. Instead, property taxes are local, and Dallas Central Appraisal District appraises property for Dallas County taxing units.
In Highland Park, the 2025 DCAD rate sheet lists a combined rate of 1.568071 per $100 of taxable value. That total includes Dallas County, Parkland Hospital, Dallas College, the Town of Highland Park, and HPISD.
Here is the 2025 rate stack for Highland Park from DCAD:
| Taxing Unit | 2025 Rate |
|---|---|
| Dallas County | 0.215500 |
| Parkland Hospital | 0.212000 |
| Dallas College | 0.106575 |
| Town of Highland Park | 0.199296 |
| HPISD | 0.834700 |
| Combined Total | 1.568071 |
HPISD is the largest single component of that tax stack at 0.834700. HPISD also states its tax rate for 2025-26 was reduced by 3.22 cents, from 0.8669 to 0.8347, because property values increased.
That is an important concept for buyers. A lower tax rate does not always mean a lower tax bill if taxable values rise.
In a market like Highland Park, the relationship between market value, taxable value, and exemptions is especially important. Using DCAD’s 2025 median taxable value for detached single-family homes in the Town of Highland Park, $2,271,358, the posted combined rate implies about $35,617 per year in ad valorem taxes.
Using the median market value instead, $3,274,460, the same combined rate implies about $51,346 per year. These are rough estimates, not actual tax bills, but they help show how meaningful the numbers can be.
Tax bills are based on taxable value, not simply the price you paid or a broad market headline. Exemptions can reduce taxable value, and that can have a major effect on annual ownership costs.
For many buyers, this is one of the most important planning areas before closing. It is worth reviewing estimated taxes alongside insurance, maintenance, and any renovation plans so your full ownership picture is realistic.
The Texas Comptroller says school districts must provide a $140,000 residence homestead exemption. The Comptroller also says there is a $60,000 exemption for homeowners who qualify based on age 65 or disability.
Local taxing units may also offer optional residence homestead exemptions up to 20% of appraised value, but not less than $5,000. Homestead applications are generally filed with the county appraisal district.
DCAD states that the 10% homestead cap is removed when ownership changes. That means a property’s taxable value treatment can change after a sale, which is why a seller’s current tax bill may not match your future tax bill.
This is one of the most common areas of confusion for buyers in high-value markets. If you are evaluating affordability, make sure you are modeling taxes based on your expected ownership scenario, not only the current owner’s history.
Before making an offer in Highland Park, it helps to confirm a few address-specific details:
If the appraised value looks too high, timing matters. The Texas Comptroller states that the protest deadline is generally May 15 or 30 days after the notice of appraised value is delivered, whichever is later.
Highland Park combines a small housing footprint, high detached home values, a clearly defined school district structure, and a detailed local tax picture. For buyers, that means strong due diligence matters just as much as finding the right home.
When you compare properties here, it helps to look beyond list price. Municipal boundary, school district coverage, taxable value, exemptions, and renovation rules can all shape the true cost and fit of a property.
If you want a clear, data-driven read on Highland Park or other Dallas luxury markets, Grant Gold brings a high-touch advisory approach backed by local market knowledge and practical transaction guidance.
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