The July 2012 issue of D Magazine (on newsstands now) released the Top 63 Best Suburbs in North Texas, where McKinney came in at number 26, down two spots from 24 in 2011.  Editors looked at several statistics, including population and growth percentage; violent and nonviolent crimes; school test scores; home prices and walkability.

Looking at the numbers, the increase in nonviolent crimes in McKinney, 23.67 crimes per 1,000 residents, stood out as one reason for the drop in rank. Even the violent crime numbers, 1.69 per 1,000 residents, are high compared to the top 10 cities on the list. Of course, all but three of the top 10 have populations under 25,000 people. In fact, when you look at cities with 80,000 people or more, McKinney comes in at number four on the list, with Allen in at number one, Frisco at two and Plano at three. 

Also, the percentage of owner-occupied homes, 71%, was much lower than in the cities that ranked higher, which had owner-occupied homes in the 80-90% range. 

The Top 10 Best Suburbs to Live in North Texas:

1. Parker 
2. Highland Village
3. Highland Park
4. University Park
5. Colleyville
6. Southlake
7. Murphy 
8. Flower Mound
9. Allen 
10. Coppell

Photo: City of McKinney

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