Living in DeSoto, Texas
DeSoto
A 75-acre preserve, a city-owned golf club and a Hampton Road rebuild in planning.
What it's like
The short version
DeSoto sits in Dallas County with Town Center as its civic core: city hall, the library, a civic center, a 180-seat auditorium and an outdoor amphitheater. The city keeps 494 acres in 22 parks, trails and recreation facilities, and it owns Thorntree Golf Club.
What's for sale
The three-month median sale price was about $345,000 through September 2026. Hampton Road from Pleasant Run Road to Belt Line Road now has rezoning in place for mixed-use redevelopment.
What it does well
Strong here
- Parks and trails●●○
The city keeps 494 acres in 22 parks, trails and recreation facilities. - Golf●●○
The city owns Thorntree Golf Club, about 157 acres, a five-time PGA Tour stage qualifying course. - Established neighborhoods●●○
First settled in 1847, with a post office by 1881.
The honest part
What to know first
- Walk Score rates the city 23.
- The 2025 combined rate with DeSoto ISD is about 2.44 per $100 before homestead.
Not its strength: walkable, transit options, quiet, small-town pace, a real downtown, lake days, new construction, luxury homes.
Not rated yet: vibrant, big-city energy, restaurants, nightlife, shopping, land and acreage, horses welcome. That means I haven't confirmed it either way, not that it isn't here.
Get outside
- Paul S. Dryer Preserve at Windmill Hill
A 75-acre nature preserve with a soft-surface trail, steep hills and a bridge over Ten Mile Creek. - Thorntree Golf Club
A city-owned club on about 157 acres, used five times as a PGA Tour stage qualifying course for the Byron Nelson. - DeSoto BMX Track
A regional park site in the city parks system.
What's coming
- Rezoning from Pleasant Run Road to Belt Line Road is done. Design is underway on street sections, utilities and traffic for a walkable, mixed-use corridor.
Taxes
2025 combined rate per $100, Dallas County address with DeSoto ISD: city 0.684934, Dallas County 0.215500, Parkland Hospital 0.212000, Dallas College 0.106575, DeSoto ISD 1.225200, Dallas County School Equalization 0.000000. Homestead not applied.
DeSoto ISD serves most of the city, with Duncanville ISD and Dallas ISD in small parts. Duncanville ISD at 1.105700 brings the total to 2.324709, and Dallas ISD at 0.993835 brings it to 2.212844.
School facts
- DeSoto ISD: TEA rating C, 2026
- Duncanville ISD: TEA rating C, 2025
- Dallas ISD: TEA rating B, 2025-26
Take it with you
Want this on paper?
Get the printable DeSoto report sent to your email.
Sources
- 2026 NCTCOG Population Estimates
- Redfin: DeSoto Housing Market
- Dallas County Tax Office: 2025 Tax Rates
- Texas Tribune Schools Explorer: DeSoto ISD
- Duncanville ISD Board Document: 2025 District Accountability Score
- Texas Tribune Schools Explorer: Dallas ISD
- Wikipedia: DeSoto, Texas
- City of DeSoto: Parks and Trails
- City of DeSoto: Paul S. Dryer Preserve at Windmill Hill
- City of DeSoto: Thorntree Golf Club Updates
- City of DeSoto: Hampton Road Project
- Walk Score: DeSoto
- STAR Transit: About