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Compare towns

Lucas vs Allen

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: size (13.2× in Allen) and street grid (4.7× in Allen).

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Lucas, TXHomes around $1.06MTexas · 8,351 people
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Allen, TXKnown for its schoolsTexas · 110,265 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $3,260 more a month in Lucas

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Lucas$6,490/mo
Typical home $1.06M (Zillow) · tax rate 1.06%+ · Housing →
Allen$3,230/mo
Typical home $485K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.69% · or rent about $1,932/mo · Housing →

The difference: $3,260 a month, about $39,200 a year, between Lucas and Allen.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value; “+” means the Census top-codes that town’s bill at $10,000, so its real rate is higher.

Where they are

Lucas and Allen share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

LucasAllenLucasAllen
Lucas ↔ Allen5.4 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
268 Lucas residents work in Allen (7.3% of its workers)
Work & commute in Lucas →
Report cards

Lucas places higher on 11 of 19 TX lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Texas ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
LucasAllen
Snow a year0″3″
January low34°F—
July high92°F—
Growing season (days)254d—
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)63rd60th
Outdoors & history
LucasAllen
Conserved land10.3%6.5%
Settled—1953
National Register places—1
Famous people born here2—
Community
LucasAllen
Library hours a week—61 hrs
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

LucasAllen
People
Population 8,351Lowest 110,265Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +47.3%Highest TX: +15.9% +24.2%Lowest TX: +15.9%
Median age 45.7±3.5Highest 28% above TX 38.4±0.9Lowest 8% above TX
Kids under 18 25.9%±4Highest TX: 25% 25.4%±1.6Lowest TX: 25%
Lucas and Allen are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 10.3%±2.4Lowest TX: 13.4% 11.4%±0.9Highest TX: 13.4%
Allen and Lucas are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 65.1%Highest TX: 33.8% 57.5%Lowest TX: 33.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.3%±2.2Lowest TX: 6.2% 6.8%±0.9Highest TX: 6.2%
Allen and Lucas are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $221,364±$51kHighest 182% above TX $130,901±$8kLowest 67% above TX
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $941,900±$71kHighest 232% above TX $464,100±$8kLowest 64% above TX
Rentmedian gross, monthly — $1,932±$59 38% above TX
Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+Highest at least 136% above TX $7,844Lowest 85% above TX
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 100%±13.7Highest TX: 51.7% 53.9%±5.7Lowest TX: 51.7%
Below poverty line 1.3%Lowest TX: 13.8% 6.1%Highest TX: 13.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 92.3%Highest TX: 62.6% 69.4%Lowest TX: 62.6%
Typical home builtmedian year 2005Highest 13 yrs newer than TX 2003Lowest 11 yrs newer than TX
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 30 minHighest 10% above TX 28 minLowest 5% above TX
Work from home 31.2%±10.5Highest TX: 14.4% 26.7%±1.8Lowest TX: 14.4%
Lucas and Allen are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 3.1%Lowest 10.7%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 15.3 miHighest 13.3 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.54Lowest 0.70Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Dallas (20%)Dallas (20%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 7% work in AllenFew work in Lucas
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 10.3%Highest 6.5%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 9.5 miLowest 11.5 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.4 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Lowest 44Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 24.9Lowest 118Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #3 of 583 in TX#52 of 583 in TX
School district LOVEJOY ISDALLEN ISD · PLANO ISD
High school in town Lovejoy H SAllen H S
Students per teacherat that high school 16.1Lowest 19.8Highest
Texas average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Lucas neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Lucas’s Town Square.

Allen neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Allen’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Lucas and Allen

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Lucas

Towns like Lucas

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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