Lucas is a city located in Collin County east of Allen and south of Fairview in Texas. Prior to 1837, there were basically no settlers in the county. It was the badlands back then.

Lucas really got its start around 1837 when the government began to grant headrights—plots of land around 640 acres for a family and about half that for a single person. The beneficiary was required to settle and cultivate the land. Lucas was named after Gabriel H. Lucas, who opened and managed a store in 1870.

The settlement grew slowly. In fact, in 1947, the population of Lucas was just 100. There were only two stores, two churches, and one school. Even when the town was incorporated as a city in 1970, the population was still just 1,500. By 1984 it reached 8,000.

For history buffs, one attraction of note would be the Fitzhugh Cemetery located at the back of Forest Grove Christian Church. You will find the gravestones of the early settlers of the area. You will even find the grave of Peter Lucas, who died in 1858. He was the father of Gabriel Lucas.

Lucas is a good place to find job opportunities. At 3.3%, the unemployment rate here is lower than the country’s average of 3.9%. But the job growth rate is projected to hit 48.6% over the next 10 years. That’s significantly higher compared to the country’s average of 33.5%.

While the sales tax here is higher at 8.3% compared to the US average of 7.3%, there’s no income tax in the city, which more than makes up for the difference. Most residents in Lucas are making a decent living as the average income is $119,000 per household. This is higher than the US average which is $54,000.

In the city, the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.

There are plenty of schools in Lucas and, in fact, it is being served by the six independent school districts of Allen Independent School District, Lovejoy IDS, McKinney IDS, Plano IDS Princeton IDS, and Wylie IDS.

Your kids are in good hands considering that the schools that serve Lucas recently ranked sixth in Dallas and Lovejoy Independent School District ranked third.

What to Do in Lucas

There are nice parks in Lucas and they offer a safe refuge for residents and visitors who enjoy being at one with nature. If you are lucky, you might spot a fox or two at Forest Creek Park.

Lucas is still a small suburb and there’s no shopping mall to speak of. However, they do have a Walmart Supercenter, which has everything that you could ever want as far as items from grocery, hardware, baked goods, pharmacy, and money transfers.

However, Allen is just 11 minutes away. Most of the residents here go to The Village at Allen, which is an outdoor shopping complex that offers much more than your average Walmart. Also, there’s a Premium Outlet located along Stacey Road in Allen, which also features a lot of dining options.

Another 11 minutes to the north, there’s an even bigger complex, the Fairview Town Center. There are a lot of restaurants in the center, including BoomerJack’s Grill & Bar and AKa Hibachi & Sushi.

There’s also the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center where kids can soak up information about these birds of prey. Seventeen minutes north, you can visit the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, which features wildlife, as well as educational exhibits. It’s a good way to commune with nature while also teaching kids about their responsibility as the earth’s stewards.

If you want a rush of adrenaline, head up to Speedzone just 30 minutes away on Malibu Drive. You can go head-to-head with your friends on the 300-horsepower dragsters. Their website claims that it’s the only place in 1,000 miles where you experience the thrill of going zero to 60 in under 3.5 seconds! They also boast that SpeedZone’s Top Eliminator Dragsters take you faster from start to finish than a Dodge Viper GTS, Porsche 911 Carrera, or a Ferrari 360 Modena!

If you prefer something a little slower, you can try Go Karting on a specially designed circuit.

Lucas, TX Real Estate

The median value of listed homes in Lucas is upwards of $500,000. That’s more than the average home value in Texas, which is at $283,000. In fact, the property prices in Lucas are right up there among the more expensive among the Dallas suburbs, topped only by Highland Park, Southlake and University Park, where most of the million-dollar homes are erected.

This is a very desirable neighborhood to live in and much less expensive than areas like Silicon Valley or New York.

A good majority of the homes here are quite new as they were built in the past 25 years. This is understandable, of course, considering that in the mid-80s, a good part of the land was still prairie.

Lucas offers the right mix of living in a burgeoning city, with plenty of amenities and conveniences, while still retaining that small town feel. If you want a change of pace, downtown Dallas is just 31 miles away.

Many families move here for the schools and Lovejoy is among the best in the entire state.

Nowadays you have larger homes, commercial complexes, condos and apartments, and new buildings being built everywhere you look in Lucas. In fact, Lucas has been included in one of the most desirable suburbs in Dallas and Fort Worth area.

You will be hard-pressed to find homes for less than the $300,000. It would be difficult, but not impossible if you work with a homegrown realtor who knows the area like the back of their hand.