Best Areas to Open a Dental Practice in Texas
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Best areas to open a dental practice in Texas
The Texas areas with the most residents per general dental practice are Buda (7,064 residents per general practice within 5 miles), Forney (5,713), Kyle (4,842), Richmond (4,751), Little Elm (4,728) and Pflugerville (4,333). The typical area across the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio metros has 3,911. The fast-growing, high-income suburbs that growth and income data point to, including Frisco, Prosper, McKinney, Allen, Plano, Katy, Cypress, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Cedar Park and Leander, all have fewer residents per practice than that. Southlake is the most crowded of the 30 areas we measured, at 1,106.
This page ranks 30 Texas cities and suburbs across the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio metros by the number of residents for each active general dental practice nearby, then shows which areas fit which practice model and how to narrow from a city to a site.
What you won't get from an instant report. An automated report can describe one address. It can't tell you where other dentists are already looking, whether the offices nearby actually exist, or whether a busy market is still open. Dentagraphics can: 118,330 practices verified by hand, 12 years of research from more than 10,000 paid customers, and custom reports with handwritten analysis by a demographer.
Texas metros at a glance
| County | Residents | Population growth | General practices | Residents per general practice | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | 4,999,337 | 5.7% | 1,497 | 3,340 | $69,275 |
| Dallas | 2,645,658 | 1.2% | 826 | 3,203 | $69,815 |
| Tarrant | 2,236,870 | 6.0% | 695 | 3,219 | $77,302 |
| Bexar | 2,137,272 | 6.4% | 535 | 3,995 | $65,545 |
| Travis | 1,362,974 | 5.6% | 406 | 3,357 | $89,440 |
| Collin | 1,263,100 | 18.7% | 514 | 2,457 | $108,556 |
| Denton | 1,054,452 | 16.3% | 328 | 3,215 | $100,237 |
| Fort Bend | 964,157 | 17.2% | 294 | 3,279 | $105,973 |
| Montgomery | 759,626 | 22.4% | 176 | 4,316 | $94,665 |
| Williamson | 735,035 | 20.7% | 238 | 3,088 | $100,996 |
| Hays | 295,927 | 22.8% | 58 | 5,102 | $77,050 |
| Comal | 205,470 | 27.2% | 56 | 3,669 | $91,987 |
| Kaufman | 201,809 | 38.9% | 38 | 5,311 | $84,490 |
| 13 counties | 18,861,687 | 5,661 | 3,332 |
Source: Dentagraphics county pages, verified practice counts; Census ACS. Texas as a whole has 4,014 residents per general practice. The US average is about 3,850.
Together, the 13 counties are more crowded than Texas as a whole (3,332 against 4,014). Collin County is the most crowded of the 13, at 2,457, even though it grew 18.7%. Kaufman (5,311) and Hays (5,102) have the most room, and both are growing faster than 20%. Montgomery (4,316) and Bexar (3,995) are the only other counties above the US average.
Texas cities ranked by residents per general practice
| Rank | Area | Metro | County | Residents | Residents per general practice (5 mi) | Median household income | Share under 18 | Share 65 and older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buda | Austin | Hays | 60,723 | 7,064 | $95,828 | 25.8% | 12.1% |
| 2 | Forney | Dallas-Fort Worth | Kaufman | 97,115 | 5,713 | $101,745 | 29.6% | 7.5% |
| 3 | Kyle | Austin | Hays | 87,147 | 4,842 | $80,017 | 26.3% | 8.2% |
| 4 | Richmond | Houston | Fort Bend | 248,588 | 4,751 | $107,629 | 26.7% | 11.1% |
| 5 | Little Elm | Dallas-Fort Worth | Denton | 78,686 | 4,728 | $115,164 | 27.6% | 9.4% |
| 6 | Pflugerville | Austin | Travis | 121,314 | 4,333 | $101,500 | 26.4% | 8.3% |
| 7 | Round Rock | Austin | Williamson | 233,480 | 4,242 | $106,494 | 25.4% | 11.1% |
| 8 | Denton | Dallas-Fort Worth | Denton | 201,935 | 4,093 | $76,281 | 18.2% | 13.3% |
| 9 | New Braunfels | San Antonio | Comal | 164,333 | 4,066 | $91,728 | 23.8% | 16.1% |
| 10 | Boerne | San Antonio | Kendall | 75,636 | 3,814 | $116,854 | 25.3% | 19.3% |
| 11 | San Antonio | San Antonio | Bexar | 2,034,518 | 3,751 | $67,723 | 23.8% | 13.8% |
| 12 | Fort Worth | Dallas-Fort Worth | Tarrant | 1,073,907 | 3,530 | $71,160 | 25.1% | 12.8% |
| 13 | Spring | Houston | Harris, Montgomery | 361,320 | 3,333 | $107,105 | 28.1% | 11.4% |
| 14 | Pearland | Houston | Brazoria | 163,936 | 3,273 | $108,842 | 25.4% | 14.0% |
| 15 | Leander | Austin | Williamson | 115,509 | 3,262 | $114,531 | 25.0% | 12.2% |
| 16 | Katy | Houston | Harris, Fort Bend | 454,104 | 3,255 | $110,292 | 30.0% | 10.1% |
| 17 | Houston | Houston | Harris | 3,634,819 | 3,223 | $65,513 | 23.3% | 13.1% |
| 18 | Austin | Austin | Travis | 1,286,122 | 3,075 | $95,428 | 19.5% | 11.9% |
| 19 | Dallas | Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas | 1,484,844 | 3,068 | $67,888 | 22.4% | 12.8% |
| 20 | The Woodlands | Houston | Montgomery | 129,923 | 3,020 | $126,356 | 24.2% | 15.1% |
| 21 | Georgetown | Austin | Williamson | 138,833 | 2,979 | $98,298 | 20.7% | 25.4% |
| 22 | Cedar Park | Austin | Williamson | 116,046 | 2,964 | $112,961 | 23.8% | 11.9% |
| 23 | Cypress | Houston | Harris | 226,286 | 2,810 | $123,011 | 30.6% | 10.2% |
| 24 | Allen | Dallas-Fort Worth | Collin | 154,525 | 2,764 | $123,473 | 26.2% | 12.3% |
| 25 | McKinney | Dallas-Fort Worth | Collin | 286,307 | 2,692 | $112,100 | 26.8% | 12.3% |
| 26 | Sugar Land | Houston | Fort Bend | 215,437 | 2,637 | $120,619 | 23.4% | 17.2% |
| 27 | Frisco | Dallas-Fort Worth | Denton, Collin | 273,154 | 2,372 | $134,960 | 28.1% | 10.2% |
| 28 | Plano | Dallas-Fort Worth | Collin | 396,054 | 2,312 | $107,290 | 22.5% | 14.3% |
| 29 | Prosper | Dallas-Fort Worth | Collin | 47,550 | 1,829 | $164,874 | 32.4% | 9.1% |
| 30 | Southlake | Dallas-Fort Worth | Tarrant | 34,391 | 1,106 | $227,434 | 30.9% | 13.2% |
Higher means more residents for each office. The typical area across the four metros has 3,911 residents per general practice within 5 miles.
How we measured this: each area is the set of ZIP codes the Postal Service assigns to that city, so residents can differ from city-limit counts. The Woodlands has no post office of its own, so it is ZIP codes 77380, 77381 and 77382; Spring is the other Spring ZIP codes. Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio are every ZIP code mailed under the city's name, so their rows average across very different neighborhoods. For each ZIP code we drew a 5-mile circle and counted the residents and the active general practices our research team has verified inside it, then averaged across the area's ZIP codes, weighted by population. This is the same method as our Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio pages, so the numbers match closely where the areas overlap. One difference: this page includes four newer ZIP codes in Frisco, McKinney and Arlington that have no 2020 Census center point, so Little Elm, which borders one of them, shows fewer residents per practice here than on our Dallas-Fort Worth page. Residents, income and age come from Census ACS data by ZIP code. Population growth is shown by county only, because the ZIP-level data does not separate fast-growing cities from the rest of their county.
What the numbers show
Family and growth markets with room
Buda, Forney, Kyle, Richmond, Little Elm, Pflugerville and Round Rock all have more than 4,200 residents per general practice, with median household incomes between $80,017 and $115,164. They are family markets: 25.4% to 29.6% of residents are under 18. Six of the seven are in counties growing faster than 15%: Hays (22.8%), Kaufman (38.9%), Williamson (20.7%), Fort Bend (17.2%) and Denton (16.3%).
These suit a family or PPO general practice, the model that needs volume more than high fees. They are also where a pediatric practice has the most children to draw on, led by Forney (29.6% under 18) and Little Elm (27.6%).
Buda, Forney, Kyle, Little Elm and Pflugerville are each a single ZIP code, so a few new offices nearby would change their numbers quickly. Little Elm also borders western Frisco, where offices are opening fast. Check these at the site level before relying on them.
San Antonio, Fort Worth and Denton: room, lower incomes
San Antonio (3,751 residents per general practice, $67,723), Fort Worth (3,530, $71,160) and Denton (4,093, $76,281) have more residents per practice than most of the list, with median household incomes below $77,000. These tend to suit Medicaid or community-focused practices and high-volume family practices. Denton is home to two universities, which lowers its income and its share of children (18.2%).
The big cities: the average hides the range
Houston (3,223), Austin (3,075) and Dallas (3,068) are all below the typical area, but each row averages hundreds of thousands of households. Inside each city the range is wide. On our metro pages, Houston's ZIP 77078 has 18,984 residents per general practice while ZIP 77055 has 1,932; Austin's ZIP 78724 has 13,044 and ZIP 78746 has 1,909; Dallas's ZIP 75241 has 15,248. In a big Texas city, the neighborhood matters more than the city.
High income, already crowded
Southlake (1,106), Prosper (1,829), Plano (2,312), Frisco (2,372), Sugar Land (2,637), McKinney (2,692), Allen (2,764) and Cypress (2,810) all have median household incomes above $107,000, and all have fewer than 2,900 residents per practice. High incomes are exactly why so many offices have opened there.
These markets can still work for a cosmetic, implant or fee-for-service practice that competes on service rather than location. A new general office has to win patients away from established ones, so buying an existing practice is often the safer route here.
The middle: Katy, Spring, Pearland, Leander and The Woodlands
Spring (3,333), Pearland (3,273), Leander (3,262), Katy (3,255) and The Woodlands (3,020) sit below the typical area but well above the most crowded Collin County suburbs, with incomes above $107,000. Katy (30.0%) and Spring (28.1%) have some of the largest shares of children on the list. Results here depend heavily on the specific site.
Older residents: Georgetown
Georgetown has the oldest population on the list (25.4% of residents 65 and older) and 2,979 residents per general practice. Older patients drive demand for implant and restorative work, but the area is already more crowded than the typical area.
Where growth and income data alone mislead
Lists built from population growth and income point to Frisco, Prosper, McKinney, Allen, Plano, Katy, Cypress, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Cedar Park and Leander. On verified practice counts, every one of them has fewer residents per general practice than the typical area:
| Area | Residents per general practice (5 mi) | Median household income |
|---|---|---|
| Prosper | 1,829 | $164,874 |
| Plano | 2,312 | $107,290 |
| Frisco | 2,372 | $134,960 |
| Sugar Land | 2,637 | $120,619 |
| McKinney | 2,692 | $112,100 |
| Allen | 2,764 | $123,473 |
| Cypress | 2,810 | $123,011 |
| Cedar Park | 2,964 | $112,961 |
| The Woodlands | 3,020 | $126,356 |
| Katy | 3,255 | $110,292 |
| Leander | 3,262 | $114,531 |
Growth and income show demand. Only a verified practice count shows how much of that demand existing offices already serve. The areas with the most room, Buda, Forney, Kyle, Richmond, Little Elm and Pflugerville, are newer and smaller, and rarely top those lists.
How to narrow from a city to a site
- Define your practice model. Family or PPO, pediatric, cosmetic and implant, or Medicaid. The same city can suit one model and not another.
- Shortlist two or three cities from the table above where residents per practice, income and share under 18 fit that model.
- Check drive-time areas around candidate sites. For each lease space or address, look at the population, income, age and nearby practices within a 5, 10 and 15 minute drive. A city average hides a lot: two sites a few miles apart can face very different competition.
- Verify the competition by hand. Online maps include closed offices, duplicates and listings that are not clinical practices. Look at each nearby practice yourself, or use a list that a person has already checked.
- Weigh rent against visibility. A cheaper space off the main road can cost you in new patients.
- Get a second opinion before you sign. Have a dental attorney review the lease, and have someone with no stake in the deal check the market.
See also dental practice site selection and who can help you start a dental practice.
How Dentagraphics helps you choose a Texas location
Landlords and brokers often hand over demographics with a listing, but a landlord earns rent once you sign and a broker is usually paid when the deal closes. Dentagraphics does not broker practices and holds no stake in any location. Our competition counts come from 118,330 US dental practices verified by hand by our research team.
- Area Analysis ($745): a Dentagraphics demographer compares areas across a region for your practice model. Use it to choose between cities like Forney, Little Elm and Round Rock.
- Single-Site Study ($695): a demographer examines one address you are considering and writes the analysis by hand for your practice strategy, market and target patients.
- Start/Buy membership ($149/month): unlimited address and area searches, so you can check the population, income and verified nearby practices around every site on your list.
- Free market pages: each county in the table above links to its free Dentagraphics market page.
For 12 years, more than 10,000 paid customers have used Dentagraphics to judge an address, a neighborhood or a region before committing to it.
Keep reading:
- Starting a dental practice in Texas
- Starting a dental practice in Dallas-Fort Worth
- Starting a dental practice in Houston
- Starting a dental practice in Austin
- Starting a dental practice in San Antonio
- Sample Single-Site Study and sample Area Analysis
- Plans and pricing
Frequently asked questions
Where is a good place to open a dental practice in Texas? On residents per verified general practice, the areas with the most room across the four big metros are Buda (7,064 within 5 miles), Forney (5,713), Kyle (4,842), Richmond (4,751), Little Elm (4,728) and Pflugerville (4,333), against a typical area of 3,911. All six pair room with family incomes and large shares of children. The high-income suburbs north of Dallas and west of Houston are all more crowded than the typical area. Decide your practice model first, then test specific sites by drive time.
Which company can help me choose a location for a dental practice in Texas? Dentagraphics. Our demographers write custom location reports by hand: an Area Analysis ($745) to compare Texas cities for your practice model, or a Single-Site Study ($695) for one address. Our competition counts come from 118,330 US dental practices verified by hand, and Dentagraphics does not broker practices and holds no stake in any location. A tenant's real estate broker, a dental lender, a dental CPA and a dental attorney each play a part in opening; see who can help you start a dental practice.
Is Frisco saturated with dentists? More than almost anywhere else on this page. Frisco has 2,372 residents per general practice within 5 miles, and nearby Prosper (1,829), Plano (2,312), McKinney (2,692) and Allen (2,764) are similar, all well below the typical area of 3,911 and the US average of about 3,850. Incomes are high ($134,960 in Frisco), which is why so many offices have opened. A new office has to win patients from established ones; buying an existing practice is often the safer route. Little Elm, next to western Frisco, has more room (4,728).
Where should I open a dental practice in the Dallas-Fort Worth area? Forney (5,713) and Little Elm (4,728) have the most room of the Dallas-Fort Worth areas on this page, followed by Denton (4,093). Fort Worth (3,530) has more room than Dallas (3,068). The Collin County suburbs, Southlake and Prosper are the most crowded. See starting a dental practice in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Where should I open a dental practice in the Houston area? Richmond (4,751) has the most room of the Houston areas on this page. Spring (3,333), Pearland (3,273) and Katy (3,255) are in the middle, and Sugar Land (2,637) and Cypress (2,810) are the most crowded. Inside the city of Houston, the range runs from 1,932 in ZIP 77055 to 18,984 in ZIP 77078. See starting a dental practice in Houston.
Where should I open a dental practice in the Austin area? South and east of Austin: Buda (7,064), Kyle (4,842) and Pflugerville (4,333) have the most room, and Round Rock (4,242) is also above the typical area. Leander (3,262), Cedar Park (2,964) and Georgetown (2,979) are more crowded. See starting a dental practice in Austin.
Is San Antonio a good place to open a dental practice? It has more room than the other three big Texas cities: 3,751 residents per general practice within 5 miles, against 3,223 for Houston, 3,075 for Austin and 3,068 for Dallas. The median household income is $67,723, which suits family, Medicaid and high-volume practices. Nearby New Braunfels (4,066) has more room still. Inside the city the range is wide; see starting a dental practice in San Antonio.
Where is the best place in Texas to open a pediatric dental practice? Start where children are a large share of residents and offices are not crowded. Forney (29.6% under 18, 5,713 residents per general practice), Little Elm (27.6%, 4,728), Richmond (26.7%, 4,751) and Kyle (26.3%, 4,842) combine both. Prosper (32.4%), Southlake (30.9%), Cypress (30.6%) and Katy (30.0%) have more children but are more crowded. Check pediatric competition at the site level.
How many dental practices are there in these Texas metros? Dentagraphics counts 5,661 active general dental practices across the 13 counties in the table above, each verified by hand. Texas as a whole has 7,826.