University Park is one of the most affluent suburbs in the state, as well as the most highly educated, according to a recently compiled analysis from Business Insider,
Data gleaned from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that among adults aged 25 and up in the Dallas suburb, 87.2% a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. In Texas, this is the highest percentage of any community with more than 1,000 residents.
The specific information used to formulate the analysis is from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates from 2012 to 2017. Business Insider offered no justification for University Parks’ No. 1 position among the most highly educated municipalities in Texas, or for its ranking of No. 8 in the U.S.
Communities that tout the high education or prosperity of their residents, perhaps through brochure printing, attract more families and individuals with those qualities, as well as businesses offering high-end services
A very likely explanation for its elevated ranking among highly educated communities is its proximity to Southern Methodist University, which is partly in Dallas and partly in University Park. Due to its location as well as its livability, a significant number of the over 760 faculty members at SMU – of whom almost three quarters have a PhD – live here.
No surprise that in 2018, Niche.com, an education website, placed University Park at No. 3 on its list of places with the best public schools in Texas.
