The Best Southwest is a term commonly applied to four

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

suburbs – Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, and Lancaster – in southwestern Dallas County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the four suburbs had a combined population of 168,960. The term "Best Southwest" was first used when the Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, and Lancaster chambers of commerce formed a partnership to improve cooperation between the cities. They formed the Best Southwest Chamber Partnership in 1986, and it was incorporated in 1990. The four municipalities, which are similar in population and form one of the most demographically diverse regions in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, frequently work together on local events and projects.

Major highways

* Interstate 20 * Interstate 35E * U.S. Highway 67 * Belt Line Road ( FM 1382)

Demographics

Best Southwest area demographics based on 2000 census data.American FactFinder
- U.S. Census Bureau.

Racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

Economic characteristics

Population growth history

Education

Colleges and Universities

Northwood University Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution. History Northwood University opened as Nort ...

(Cedar Hill) * Cedar Valley College (Lancaster) - part of the

Dallas College Dallas College is a public community college with seven campuses in Dallas County, Texas. It serves more than 70,000 students annually in degree-granting, continuing education, and adult education programs. Dallas College offers associate degr ...

system

Public schools

Four school districts serve most of the Best Southwest area: * Cedar Hill Independent School District''

(2005-2006 enrollment: 7,972) :Cedar Hill ISD serves most of Cedar Hill as well as small portions of Grand Prairie, Texas, Grand Prairie and Ovilla. The district has 14 campuses (two high schools, a ninth-grade center, two middle schools, three intermediate schools, and six elementary schools). * DeSoto Independent School District''

(2005-2006 enrollment: 8,409) :DeSoto ISD covers most of DeSoto, the Dallas County portion of Glenn Heights, Texas, Glenn Heights, and a small portion of Ovilla. The district has 12 campuses (one

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, a freshman Ccampus, three middle schools, and seven elementary schools - four in DeSoto and one in Glenn Heights). *

Duncanville Independent School District Duncanville Independent School District is a school district based in Duncanville, Texas ( USA). Duncanville ISD serves almost all of the city of Duncanville and portions of DeSoto, Dallas, and Cedar Hill. The district is receiving a high numb ...

''

(2005-2006 enrollment: 12,327) :The largest of the Best Southwest school districts, Duncanville ISD serves Duncanville, part of northwestern DeSoto, and a significant portion of southwest Dallas. The district has 16 campuses (one Duncanville High School, high school, three middle Sschools, three intermediate schools, and nine elementary schools - six in Duncanville and three in Dallas). * Lancaster Independent School District''

(2005-2006 enrollment: 5,822) :A fast-growing district, Lancaster ISD covers most of Lancaster and a very small portion of Hutchins, Texas, Hutchins. The district has nine campuses (one

, one middle Sschool, and seven elementary schools). Other school districts that serve parts of the Best Southwest area include the

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas ( USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the ...

br>
(small portions of Lancaster and DeSoto) and the Midlothian Independent School Districtbr>
which serves the small Ellis County, Texas, Ellis County portion of Cedar Hill.

References

External links

;Best Southwest
Best Southwest OnlineFocus Daily News
* Today Newspapersbr>
- serving the Best Southwest and Grand Prairie (ceased publication in July 2009). ;Cedar Hill
City of Cedar HillCedar Hill Chamber of CommerceCedar Hill Economic Development Corporation
;DeSoto
City of DeSotoDeSoto Chamber of CommerceDeSoto Economic Development Corporation
;Duncanville
City of DuncanvilleDuncanville Chamber of Commerce
;Lancaster
City of LancasterLancaster Chamber of CommerceLancaster Economic Development Corporation
{{coord missing, Texas Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Geography of Dallas County, Texas