Wylie

Nestled on the southern shore of the 21,400-acre Lake Lavon, the City of Wylie is a northeastern suburb of Dallas that offers residents a vibrant and family-friendly place to call home. 

With its start as a stop on the Santa Fe Railway in the 1880s, Wylie has always been a gathering place. In fact, because shops stayed open late to accommodate the railway visitors and business, one of the town’s nicknames became “Wide-Awake Wylie.” The historic downtown continues that tradition of community today with events like the award-winning Bluegrass on Ballard festival and the annual Wylie 500 Pedal Car Race benefiting the Special Olympics.  

Based in Collin County, one of the fastest-growing regions in the state, residents in Wylie do face a longer commute, spending an average of 36 minutes commuting to work. A number of major employers call the area home, including the Fort Worth location of Lockheed Martin, Texas Instruments, American Airlines, and Alcon Laboratories, not to mention the burgeoning tech hub in nearby McKinney. 

Wylie Independent School District, which serves 18,300 students across 20 campuses, earned an “A” rating in 2022 from the Texas Education Agency. GreatSchools rates 95% of the district’s schools above average, with Wylie High School earning a perfect score for its students’ college readiness. The city of over 56,000 also offers more than 70 living options for older residents, with Caring.com reviews giving the facilities above-average ratings, on average. And Wylie’s City Council recently took the next steps to approve a large over-55 senior living complex. –Megan Leonhardt