Plano vs Frisco: prices, property tax, schools and commute

Plano vs Frisco at a glance

Plano vs Frisco and nearby cities: typical home values

Zillow Home Value Index (Zillow's typical home value: the middle of the market, all home types, smoothed and seasonally adjusted), September 2026. City figures cover each city's limits.

Home prices in Plano vs Frisco

The gap is $142,417, about 29%: Zillow's typical home value is $640,131 in Frisco against $497,714 in Plano (September 2026). With Freddie Mac's 30-year average at 7.4%, that gap alone adds roughly $890 a month in principal and interest at 10% down, before tax and insurance.

Typical home value in Plano and Frisco

Both cities are down this year, by 3.86% in Frisco and 3.33% in Plano. Over five years they've grown at almost the same pace (16.16% and 15.12%), which means the Frisco premium buys a newer house but hasn't bought faster growth.

How far Frisco and Plano are below their peaks

The timing differs. Frisco's typical value peaked at $708,535 in July 2022 and is now about 10% below it. Plano's peak came later, at $545,864 in May 2024, and it's about 9% below. So a Plano listing priced off 2024 sales is the one to push on: the market under it has moved.

What each budget buys in Plano and Frisco

At $500,000, you're near Plano's typical home and well below Frisco's. At $650,000, you're at Frisco's typical home, or in Plano's 75024 ZIP ($628,592) near Legacy. Above $800,000, Plano gives you Deerfield ($800,944) or Kings Ridge ($820,827), and Frisco gives you newer construction. The city table above adds Allen, McKinney and Richardson for comparison.

Property tax in Plano vs Frisco

The rates are close, so your tax difference comes almost entirely from the price. All figures are adopted tax year 2026 rates for a Collin County home (Collin CAD's entity list); the full math, due dates and exemptions are on our Plano property tax rates page.

Tax rates by unit in Plano and Frisco

The school district is the biggest line in both cities, and Frisco ISD's rate is the main reason Frisco's total is about 2.5 cents lower.

Example tax on a typical Plano and Frisco home

On each city's typical home, the 2026 rates give about $8,476 a year in Plano and $10,739 in Frisco before exemptions, and about $6,476 and $8,614 with a homestead exemption. So Frisco's lower rate still leaves you paying about $2,100 more a year, because the house costs more. The Plano tax calculator runs your own price.

Homestead and over-65 exemptions in Plano and Frisco

Both cities take 20% off a homestead's value for city tax, and both school districts take $140,000 off for school tax, plus $60,000 more for owners over 65 or disabled. The one real difference: Frisco's city over-65 exemption is $80,000 and Plano's is $40,000. Filing rules are on our Texas homestead exemption page.

Denton County side of Plano and Frisco

Both cities reach into Denton County, where the county's proposed 2026 rate is $0.183394 (not confirmed as adopted), so a west-side address can have a different total. Check the parcel's own bill before you compare two houses.

Plano vs Frisco monthly cost on a typical home

Prices and rates mean more as a monthly payment. This example uses each city's typical value, 10% down, a 30-year loan at Freddie Mac's 7.4% average and the 2026 Collin County tax rate before exemptions. It leaves out insurance and HOA dues, which vary by house, and mortgage insurance, which varies by lender.

What the Plano and Frisco gap means each year

The difference is about $1,076 a month, or close to $12,900 a year, plus $14,242 more at closing for the down payment. A homestead exemption lowers both tax lines, by a similar amount in each city, so it narrows the gap only slightly. For your own price, use the calculator linked above and get an insurance quote on the specific house.

When paying more for Frisco makes sense

If you'd otherwise buy an older Plano house and spend heavily on a roof, windows and systems in the first few years, part of that monthly gap comes back. Ask your inspector for the age of each major system before deciding the new house is the more expensive one.

School districts: Plano vs Frisco

Compare districts, not schools, and never trust a listing's school field. The Texas Education Agency's 2025 ratings, released in August 2025, gave Frisco ISD an A (90) and Plano ISD a B (82), as reported by the Dallas Regional Chamber.

Plano ISD in 2025

The district serves about 100 square miles of southwest Collin County, 66 of them inside the City of Plano, plus parts of Richardson, Dallas, Allen, Murphy and other cities. Community Impact reported that of its 71 rated campuses in 2025, 23 received an A and 28 a B.

Frisco ISD in 2025

With a score of 90, Frisco ISD came in eight points above Plano ISD. If the district rating is the main reason you're choosing Frisco, look up the specific campuses an address feeds into on the TEA's TXschools.gov site, because a district score averages many schools.

District lines between Plano and Frisco

District boundaries don't match city limits. Some west Plano addresses are outside Plano ISD: Kings Ridge, in the Denton County part of Plano, points to Lewisville ISD. Our Plano school districts guide lists the districts and their address finders.

Plano vs Frisco commute to Dallas and Legacy

This is Plano's clearest advantage. As one of 13 DART member cities, it pays DART's 1% sales tax and gets the trains; Frisco isn't a member, so it has no DART rail.

DART rail from Plano

Parker Road Station is served by the Red and Orange lines and has 2,020 free parking spaces. The Silver Line, which opened on October 25, 2025, runs 26 miles from Shiloh Road in Plano to DFW Airport. A Plano buyer working in Dallas can choose the train; a Frisco buyer drives.

Driving from Frisco

From Frisco, the Dallas North Tollway (NTTA tolls) is the main route south, and SH-121 runs east to west across the north side of both cities. Our Plano to Dallas commute page compares the routes and tolls.

Legacy campuses between Plano and Frisco

The Legacy district is inside Plano, and it's where JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual, Frito-Lay at 7701 Legacy Drive and AT&T's future headquarters at 5400 Legacy Drive sit. For a Legacy job, a south Frisco home and a northwest Plano home can both be short drives, so the commute may not decide it. See which campus is where on our Plano employers page.

Plano vs Frisco new construction and housing age

Here's what the Frisco premium mostly buys: newer houses. There's little land left in Plano, and its long-range plan, Plano Tomorrow, says the city will reserve its remaining undeveloped land for high-quality development and gives skilled employment priority over new housing on it. New Plano homes appear mainly as infill and redevelopment.

Buying new construction near Plano

The bigger new subdivisions are in Frisco and farther north in Prosper (typical value $760,369) and McKinney ($472,867). A new build brings a builder warranty, and you'll have to check builder incentives, HOA dues and any special district tax yourself. Our new construction near Plano page lists what to check.

Buying an established Plano home instead

You trade a lower price for more inspection risk. Budget for the roof, the HVAC and the foundation, and use the TREC contract's option period to have them inspected before you're committed.

Which is nicer, Frisco or Plano?

Start with Plano, and switch to Frisco for one of two reasons: you want a new house, or Frisco ISD's A rating is worth about $1,076 a month to you. Without one of those, Frisco's premium buys you the same commute to Legacy and no train.

When Plano fits

• Your budget is near Plano's typical $497,714 rather than Frisco's $640,131.
• You work in Dallas and want DART rail, or the Silver Line to DFW Airport.
• You'd rather update an established house than buy new. The catch: budget for the roof, HVAC and foundation.

When Frisco fits

• You want new construction, which Plano has little room for.
• You weight Frisco ISD's 2025 A (90) over Plano ISD's B (82).
• You'll drive anyway, so rail doesn't matter. The catch: about $12,900 a year more on the typical home.

Choosing between Plano and Frisco in Collin County

Run this list before you book tours in both cities.

1. Write down the office address. If it's Legacy, draw a 15-minute circle; it will cover parts of both.
2. Set your all-in monthly budget at 7.4% and today's prices. If Frisco's typical home doesn't fit, focus on Plano.
3. Decide new or established. That one answer usually picks the city.
4. Look up the district for every shortlisted address in the district's own finder.
5. Estimate the tax on each address with the correct county and district rates.

Touring Plano and Frisco in one trip

If you fly in for a weekend, see the Frisco and northwest Plano homes on the same day, since they sit on either side of the Legacy area, and keep the east Plano homes near the rail stations for a separate morning. Drive each route to the office at the hour you'd commute, not on a Sunday afternoon, and stop at the nearest grocery store and park to judge the errands, too.

When you've narrowed it to Plano, our Plano neighborhoods compared page sorts the eleven areas by price and commute.