Living in Westlake, Texas is a statement about what you value in residential life — and what you are willing to pay to have it. Westlake is one of the smallest incorporated towns in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, with a population of just 1,543 residents, and one of the wealthiest communities in the entire United States, with an average individual income of $187,283. It is home to Vaquero — widely regarded as the most prestigious private golf club in Texas — and to some of the most architecturally significant and most valuable estate properties in all of DFW.
This guide to living in Westlake, TX covers everything you need to understand about this extraordinary community: its location and geography, the residential experience within Vaquero and the surrounding Westlake estates, the real estate market, the Carroll ISD school system that draws families from across North Texas, the lifestyle amenities within the community and in the broader Southlake-Westlake corridor, and the practical realities of choosing the DFW Metroplex's most exclusive address as your home.
The Marcontell+Gilchrest Group has transacted over $2 billion in successful real estate sales in this market — and Westlake properties are among the most significant in our portfolio. This guide reflects the depth of knowledge we bring to every conversation about what it means to live here.
Westlake is where DFW's most accomplished residents build their finest homes, belong to the most exclusive club in Texas, and raise families in Carroll ISD — the most celebrated school district in the Metroplex. A town of 1,543 people that operates at the scale of a world-class community.
Westlake sits at the geographic heart of the DFW Metroplex — straddling Tarrant and Denton Counties, bordered by Southlake to the east, Trophy Club to the north, Roanoke to the west, and Keller to the south. Its position gives residents immediate access to the full DFW metropolitan area while maintaining the seclusion, the spaciousness, and the quiet that define the Westlake experience. DFW International Airport is approximately 10 miles away — one of the most convenient airport proximities of any DFW luxury community, and a meaningful practical advantage for the frequent business travelers and executives who make up much of Westlake's resident base.
The town is not just wealthy — it is architecturally ambitious. The estates within Vaquero and on the surrounding Westlake lots represent some of the most impressive custom residential architecture in Texas: homes designed by nationally recognized architects, built by award-winning custom builders, on lots measured in acres rather than in square feet. Mature live oak trees canopy the roads. The topography — rolling terrain with limestone outcroppings, cedar draws, and long views — gives Westlake a natural drama that flatland DFW communities cannot replicate.
Living in Westlake, TX means choosing a community where the school district is a point of fierce civic pride, where the golf club membership list reads like a who's who of Texas business leadership, and where the sense of privacy and purpose that defines the best residential communities is present in every carefully planned detail of daily life.
Living in Westlake, TX centers primarily on one residential community that defines the town's identity above all others: Vaquero. Understanding Vaquero is essential to understanding what living in Westlake means — and why buyers from across DFW, across Texas, and from around the world specifically seek out this address.
Vaquero is a private, gated community of approximately 400 estate homesites in the heart of Westlake — built around one of the most acclaimed private golf clubs in the country and designed from the beginning as an integrated lifestyle community where the club, the homes, and the natural landscape are inseparable from each other. The development spans over 800 acres of rolling North Texas terrain — limestone ridges, cedar draws, pond-fed arroyos, and long views across the DFW skyline that make Vaquero one of the most visually dramatic residential communities in the state.
The Vaquero Club itself is the community's heart. Its 18-hole championship golf course — designed by Tom Fazio, widely considered the world's finest golf course architect — is consistently ranked among the top private courses in Texas and among the top 100 in the United States. The clubhouse is a masterwork of Texas Hill Country architecture: limestone walls, wide timber beams, and a members' experience calibrated to the expectations of a clientele that has seen every amenity the world's finest clubs offer. Membership is by invitation only and conveyed with homeownership in certain sections — making the real estate and the club access inseparable.
The homes within Vaquero represent the DFW market's finest custom residential architecture. Architectural styles range from Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean Revival to contemporary Texas Hill Country and transitional modern — all designed at an estate scale, on lots ranging from one to five or more acres, with the natural landscape integrated into every design decision. Many homes feature guest houses, motor courts, resort-caliber pools and outdoor living spaces, private tennis courts, and wine cellars. The level of finish, the quality of materials, and the artistry of construction in Vaquero's homes set a standard that very few communities in Texas can approach.
Beyond Vaquero's gates, Westlake's broader residential landscape includes additional estate-scale properties on larger parcels — some of the last genuinely spacious custom home lots in the DFW mid-cities corridor. These properties attract buyers who want the Westlake address and Carroll ISD school access with the flexibility of a custom build on their own terms, outside of a private club community structure. The rolling terrain throughout Westlake's unincorporated sections provides the same natural drama that makes Vaquero visually distinctive.
The Westlake, TX real estate market occupies the absolute apex of the DFW luxury landscape — a market defined by scarcity, by custom-build quality, and by the extraordinary combination of club access and school access that no other DFW community can offer simultaneously. Understanding this market requires going beyond the standard DFW luxury framework.
Entry-level Westlake ($3.5M–$5M): Smaller estate homes and townhome-scale properties on the periphery of the Westlake market; some with Vaquero membership access, others on broader Westlake lots
Core Vaquero estate market ($5M–$9M): The dominant segment — full custom estate homes on one to three acre lots within Vaquero, representing the canonical Westlake living experience that most buyers seek
Trophy Vaquero estates ($9M–$15M+): The community's most architecturally significant homes — landmark properties on the best lots, with views, custom amenities, and finish levels that set individual DFW price records
Off-market and private transactions: A meaningful portion of Westlake's most significant real estate activity happens privately, between the Marcontell+Gilchrest Group's network and qualified buyers, before properties are ever listed on the public market
Several factors distinguish Westlake's real estate market from every other DFW luxury community:
The Vaquero Club premium: Homes conveying Vaquero Club membership carry a premium that reflects the club's national reputation, its waitlist, and the impossibility of replacing that access at any other North Texas address
Carroll ISD access: The school district serves as a market-sustaining force — buyers who have evaluated every DFW luxury community and identified Carroll ISD as their non-negotiable end up in Westlake by process of elimination
Extreme scarcity: Westlake has 510 households. There is no new supply of comparable scale — when a home comes available in Vaquero, qualified buyers move with purpose
No state income tax: Texas's zero personal income tax, combined with Westlake's positioning as the DFW address for executives and business principals, creates a financially compelling case for high-income buyers from California, New York, and Illinois
Explore currently available properties — browse Westlake, TX homes for sale or contact the Marcontell+Gilchrest Group directly to discuss Vaquero estate opportunities, including off-market listings not publicly available.
Vaquero Club — Texas's most prestigious private golf community, with a Tom Fazio-designed course ranked among the top 100 private courses in the United States
Carroll Independent School District — consistently ranked the #1 school district in the DFW Metroplex, with Carroll Senior High School producing some of the most celebrated academic and athletic outcomes in Texas
A community of extraordinary peers — 1,543 residents, average individual income of $187,283, and a social environment defined by Texas business leadership, entrepreneurship, and accomplishment
Among the most dramatic natural landscapes in DFW — limestone ridges, cedar draws, mature live oak canopy, and long views that make Westlake visually unique in the flatland Metroplex
DFW International Airport 10 miles away — the most convenient airport proximity of any DFW luxury community, a defining practical advantage for executive travelers
No Texas state income tax — a financial advantage that compounds meaningfully for the high-income buyers who make Westlake their address
Equidistant between Dallas and Fort Worth — connected to both cities' employment centers, cultural amenities, and sports venues
Immediately adjacent to Southlake Town Square — walkable luxury retail, acclaimed dining, and entertainment within minutes without leaving the corridor
Extremely low population density — 224 people per square mile, compared to thousands in neighboring DFW communities, preserving the estate-like seclusion that Westlake buyers seek
Custom home architecture at its highest Texas expression — no two homes in Vaquero are alike, and the community's design standards ensure that no mediocre architecture survives the approval process
The lifestyle of living in Westlake, TX is built around a set of priorities that the community's design explicitly supports: privacy, excellence, family, and the particular pleasure of living in a community where your neighbors share those values at an unusually consistent level. It is a lifestyle that operates largely without a traditional commercial main street — Westlake has virtually no retail of its own — but that is enriched by immediate adjacency to Southlake's exceptional commercial corridor and the full DFW Metroplex within 20-30 minutes.
A Westlake morning often begins on the golf course. The Vaquero Club's tee sheet is the social backbone of the community for a significant portion of its residents — early morning rounds before the heat of a Texas summer, or the more leisurely winter rounds that club regulars plan weeks ahead. The club's practice facilities, its member events, its golf tournaments, and the social programming of the dining room and bar create a rhythm of community engagement that newcomers consistently describe as one of Westlake's most unexpectedly rewarding dimensions.
The school calendar structures family life in Westlake with the same force that the club structures social life. Carroll ISD's sports programs — football in particular, where Carroll Senior High School has won multiple state championships — generate a community fervor that unites Westlake and Southlake families in a shared civic identity. Friday night Carroll Dragon football games are as much community events as athletic contests, and the parent involvement culture throughout the district creates genuine friendships across the Westlake resident base.
The community's demographics — median age 46.8, average household size 3.03, predominantly married families with children — reflect a community in its most active family formation phase. This is not a retirement community or a second-home enclave. The people who live in Westlake are here full-time, raising children in Carroll ISD, building businesses, and investing in the community with the energy that comes from choosing the best possible address for the most important years of family life.
Westlake itself has no commercial main street — the town's residential-only character is intentional and protected. The dining and lifestyle amenity infrastructure that serves the Westlake resident's daily life is concentrated primarily in adjacent Southlake, which provides one of the DFW Metroplex's most complete luxury dining and shopping experiences within 5-10 minutes of any Westlake address.
For many Westlake residents, the Vaquero Club's dining facilities are the primary daily dining destination within the community itself. The clubhouse restaurant and bar programs operate at a level of quality and hospitality consistent with the membership's expectations — a full-service dining experience available to members and their guests that serves as the social center of the community's evening life and weekend gatherings.
Southlake Town Square is the primary dining and retail destination for residents living in Westlake, TX — a beautifully designed outdoor mixed-use development that anchors the Southlake corridor with upscale national retailers, acclaimed independent restaurants, and a social environment that makes it a genuine gathering place for the North Texas luxury community. Restaurants including Truluck's, Perry's Steakhouse & Grille, Brio, and Lava Cantina are among the fixtures of the Westlake resident's dining rotation. The Town Square's calendar of events — concerts, seasonal festivals, outdoor markets — provides a year-round entertainment dimension that Westlake's residential-only character cannot supply internally.
Living in Westlake, TX positions residents at the geographic center of the DFW Metroplex's entertainment and cultural offer. The American Airlines Center in Dallas, Globe Life Field and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the Fort Worth Cultural District, the Dallas Arts District, and the full restaurant and nightlife corridors of Uptown Dallas and the Fort Worth Stockyards are all within 30-45 minutes — a DFW centrality that Westlake shares with very few communities of its caliber.
The Vaquero Club golf experience is without parallel in Texas. Tom Fazio's design uses the natural contours of the Westlake terrain — the limestone ridges, the cedar-lined arroyos, the elevation changes — to create a course that feels genuinely connected to North Texas landscape rather than imposed upon it. The course's conditioning, pace of play, and member experience are maintained at a level that consistently earns it placement in national rankings of America's finest private courses. For residents, the ability to play one of the country's great courses within minutes of home is among the most cited pleasures of living in Westlake, TX.
Beyond Vaquero, the Westlake-Southlake corridor supports an active recreational lifestyle. The Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve in Southlake provides 726 acres of protected natural land with trails, ponds, and wildlife observation opportunities that give residents a daily outdoor escape. The extensive trail network connecting Southlake's parks and neighborhoods is accessible for cycling, running, and walking without significant car travel. Multiple private fitness facilities, yoga studios, and specialty athletic training options serve the corridor's fitness-conscious resident base.
For families living in Westlake, TX, Carroll ISD's athletic and performing arts programming creates a social calendar that rivals any dedicated entertainment venue. Carroll Senior High School's football program is among the most celebrated in Texas — multiple state championships, a storied tradition, and a game-day atmosphere at Dragon Stadium that fills to capacity with Westlake and Southlake families who treat Friday night football as the community's most important weekly social event. Basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer, and the performing arts programs generate a year-round schedule of events that keep families engaged and connected throughout the school year.
The DFW entertainment corridor — professional sports, concert venues, cultural institutions, theme parks — is unusually well-distributed around Westlake's central position. Dallas Cowboys games at AT&T Stadium, Texas Rangers baseball at Globe Life Field, Dallas Mavericks and Stars at the American Airlines Center, and the full schedule of arts and performance at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas are all accessible within 30-45 minutes. Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor in Arlington provide family entertainment options within 25 minutes for residents with younger children.
For families evaluating living in Westlake, TX, the schools chapter is often the decisive one — because Carroll Independent School District is, by virtually every measure, the finest public school district in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and access to it is one of the primary reasons buyers choose Westlake over every other DFW luxury community.
Carroll ISD is consistently ranked the #1 school district in the DFW Metroplex and one of the top school districts in Texas — a position earned through exceptional academic outcomes, an unparalleled extracurricular and athletic program, and a community investment in educational excellence that reflects the district's extraordinary parent base. The district's graduation rates, SAT and ACT scores, AP program participation, and college placement outcomes place it at the very top of Texas school district rankings year after year.
Carroll ISD's schools serving the Westlake community include:
Carroll Senior High School (Grades 9-12) — The flagship campus, consistently ranked among Texas's top public high schools; home of the Carroll Dragons, one of the most storied football programs in Texas history with multiple UIL 5A and 6A state championships; strong AP program, nationally recognized extracurriculars
Carroll Middle School and Dawson Middle School (Grades 6-8) — Excellent middle school campuses with strong academic preparation for Carroll Senior High's rigorous environment
Walnut Grove Elementary and Johnson Elementary (Grades K-5) — Well-regarded elementary campuses serving Westlake-area families with strong early childhood and elementary programs
For families who prefer independent education, the Westlake-Southlake corridor provides access to several well-regarded private school options, including Trinity Christian Academy in Addison (one of the DFW area's most academically rigorous independent schools), Covenant Christian School in Colleyville, and several other faith-based and secular private schools within a 20-30 minute drive. The community's Carroll ISD schools are so consistently strong, however, that the private school option is less frequently exercised in Westlake than in many other DFW luxury communities.
Living in Westlake, TX places residents at the absolute premium tier of DFW real estate — and that premium reflects a combination of factors that genuinely cannot be replicated anywhere else in the Metroplex. Housing costs are the primary driver: entry-level Westlake properties begin in the $3.5M–$5M range, and the Vaquero core market operates primarily between $5M and $15M+. Annual property taxes at these price points run $70,000–$200,000+ depending on appraisal methodology and the specific assessed value.
Beyond housing, day-to-day living costs in the Westlake-Southlake corridor run at the premium consistent with a community whose residents have average individual incomes approaching $190,000. Dining at Southlake Town Square, membership dues at Vaquero (a significant annual commitment that comes with homeownership in specific sections), and the operating costs of estate-scale properties — landscaping, pool service, household staff — are meaningful carrying costs that buyers should factor into their total ownership budget. The Texas zero income tax advantage remains one of the most significant financial benefits for high-income buyers, effectively offsetting a substantial portion of the housing cost premium relative to comparable addresses in California, New York, or Illinois.
DFW International Airport: approximately 10 miles (12–18 minutes) — the most important practical advantage for the frequent-flyer executive demographic that defines Westlake's resident base
Southlake Town Square: approximately 4–6 miles (8–12 minutes) — the primary dining, retail, and entertainment destination for daily Westlake life
Downtown Fort Worth: approximately 22 miles (25–35 minutes via SH-114/I-35W)
Downtown Dallas: approximately 30 miles (30–45 minutes via SH-114/I-35E)
Uptown Dallas: approximately 28 miles (30–45 minutes)
Trophy Club: immediately adjacent — 5–10 minutes
Roanoke: approximately 5 miles west — 8–12 minutes
Colleyville: approximately 8 miles southeast — 12–18 minutes
Westlake, Texas is known as one of the wealthiest and most exclusive small communities in the United States — home to the Vaquero Club (Texas's most prestigious private golf community, featuring a Tom Fazio-designed course ranked among the top 100 private courses in America), served by Carroll ISD (the #1 rated school district in the DFW Metroplex), and maintaining one of the highest average individual incomes of any community in Texas at $187,283.
Westlake real estate operates at the DFW market's highest price tier. Entry-level properties start in the $3.5M–$5M range. The core Vaquero estate market runs $5M–$9M for most transactions. The community's most architecturally significant trophy properties reach $12M–$15M+. A meaningful portion of the most significant transactions occur off-market, through the private networks of agents like the Marcontell+Gilchrest Group, before properties ever appear on public listings.
Westlake is served by Carroll Independent School District (CISD) — consistently ranked the #1 school district in the DFW Metroplex and one of the top-rated districts in Texas. Carroll Senior High School is the flagship campus, known nationally for its academic rigor, its exceptional Advanced Placement program, and one of the most celebrated high school football programs in Texas, with multiple UIL state championships.
Vaquero is a private, gated residential community of approximately 400 estate homesites in Westlake, built around the Vaquero Club — a member-only golf and social club featuring an 18-hole Tom Fazio course ranked among the finest private courses in the United States. Membership in the Vaquero Club is conveyed through homeownership in certain sections of the community, making it the most exclusive and most sought-after residential address in the DFW Metroplex.
For buyers who prioritize the combination of the most prestigious private golf club in Texas, the #1 school district in the DFW Metroplex, extreme privacy and low density, custom estate architecture, and airport proximity that is genuinely unmatched in the luxury DFW market, living in Westlake, TX is the definitive answer. It is a small community — only 1,543 residents — that delivers at the scale of a world-class residential experience.
Westlake is approximately 10 miles from DFW International Airport — a 12–18 minute drive under typical traffic conditions. This proximity is one of Westlake's most practically significant advantages for the executive and business traveler demographic that makes up much of the community's resident base, and it is regularly cited as a decisive factor for buyers choosing Westlake over more distant luxury communities in the DFW market.
Buying a home in Vaquero requires working with agents who have deep knowledge of the community, established relationships with current homeowners and Vaquero Club administration, and access to off-market opportunities that never appear on the public MLS. The Marcontell+Gilchrest Group has transacted over $2 billion in Westlake-area real estate and maintains the relationships and the market intelligence to connect qualified buyers with Vaquero properties across the full range of the market — listed, coming-soon, and private.
Living in Westlake, TX begins with a conversation with a team that has earned its place in this market through more than $2 billion in successful transactions across Westlake, Southlake, Colleyville, Trophy Club, and the surrounding DFW luxury corridor. Kelly Marcontell and the Marcontell+Gilchrest Group have been trusted by the Metroplex's most discerning buyers and sellers for over 30 years — and our knowledge of the Westlake market, specifically the Vaquero community, is the kind that only comes from years of active, successful representation at this level.
We know which Vaquero properties are the most architecturally significant. We know which lots have the best views. We know which sellers are considering a move before they've told their neighbors. And we know how to write winning offers in a market where the best properties attract serious competition. That knowledge is our clients' advantage.
Whether you are evaluating Westlake for the first time, ready to begin an active property search, or considering selling a Westlake or Vaquero property, contact us today. Our office is at 1575 E Southlake Blvd, Suite 100 — in the heart of the community we serve.
1,543 people live in Westlake, where the median age is 46.8 and the average individual income is $187,283. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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There's plenty to do around Westlake, including shopping, dining, nightlife, parks, and more. Data provided by Walk Score and Yelp.
Explore popular things to do in the area, including Casi Cielo Coffee, Truss Elixir Manna, and Friends of the Keller Library.
| Name | Category | Distance | Reviews |
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| Dining | 3.66 miles | 6 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Dining | 3.22 miles | 5 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Shopping | 4.29 miles | 7 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Shopping | 4.77 miles | 6 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Active | 1.94 miles | 5 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Active | 2.47 miles | 7 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Active | 4 miles | 25 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Active | 3.25 miles | 10 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 4.2 miles | 5 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 4.04 miles | 6 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 4.03 miles | 8 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 3.25 miles | 5 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 4.72 miles | 8 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
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Westlake has 510 households, with an average household size of 3.03. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Here’s what the people living in Westlake do for work — and how long it takes them to get there. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. 1,543 people call Westlake home. The population density is 224.22 and the largest age group is Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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