The private vs public debate in DFW is heated. Here's the data-driven take.
Private school costs in DFW (annual tuition):
- Hockaday (Dallas, girls) — $30,000-35,000. Source: hockaday.org
- St. Mark's (Dallas, boys) — $30,000-35,000. Source: smtexas.org
- Parish Episcopal — $20,000-28,000. Source: parishepiscopal.org
- Jesuit College Prep (Dallas, boys) — $20,000-22,000. Source: jesuitcp.org
- Fort Worth Country Day — $22,000-28,000. Source: fwcd.org
- Trinity Valley (Fort Worth) — $18,000-24,000. Source: trinityvalleyschool.org
- Parochial/Catholic schools — $6,000-12,000. Much more affordable.
What private gets you:
- Smaller class sizes (12-18 vs 22-30)
- More resources per student
- College counseling starts earlier
- Network/connections (real talk)
What top public districts deliver:
- AP/IB programs rivaling any private school (Plano West IB, Carroll ISD)
- Sports and extracurricular programs private schools can't match (public school funding + scale)
- Diversity of experience
- $0 tuition
The math:
- K-12 private: $200,000-450,000 per child
- That money invested in a 529 plan at 7% return: $300,000-700,000 for college
- Or: buy a house in Southlake Carroll ISD ($600K) and get the education "free"
Sources:
- School websites for tuition
- Niche.com for rankings
- TEA for public school accountability data
No right answer here. What did you choose and why?