Ovilla, Texas
Ovilla lies on Red Oak Creek in the rolling blackland prairie south of Dallas, straddling the line between Dallas and Ellis counties about 17 miles south of downtown Dallas and 16 miles south of Grand Prairie. One of the older settlements in the area, it began as a rural farming community and grew slowly after being bypassed by the railroads, remaining a small town before suburban growth reached it from the north. Today it is a low-density residential city set among pastures and wooded creek bottoms on the southern edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 4,808
- Change from 2020 base
- +13.7%
- Land area
- 5.8 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Dallas County and Ellis County
Place type, county footprint, and land area use the Census Bureau's January 1, 2025 geography. Population uses Vintage 2025 estimates through July 1, 2025; change compares that estimate with the April 1, 2020 estimates base. Geography file | Population file
Ovilla crosses county lines, so the appraisal district and tax office depend on the parcel address. School, city-limit, MUD, PID, and other special-district lines can be different too. Start with the full county list below instead of treating one county as the answer.
Official routes
Use the office for the parcel address; a mailing city is not always the governing city.
County context
What to know around Ovilla
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Ovilla.
County History
Dallas County Was Created in 1846
Texas formed Dallas County on March 30, 1846, from parts of Nacogdoches and Robertson counties, and the city of Dallas became county seat after a close vote in 1850.
Property Tax Basics
Who Appraises Your Property in Dallas County
The Dallas Central Appraisal District sets the value of your property each year, and that value drives your tax bill.
County Origin
Ellis County was carved from Navarro County in 1849
Texas created Ellis County on December 20, 1849, probably naming it for Richard Ellis, who led the 1836 convention that declared Texas independence.
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