Cowtown Pride

Fort Worth trounces all of Texas to win title as most country-minded city in America

Fort Worth knows how to get in the country state of mind better than any other big city in America.

Photo courtesy of Fort Worth CVB

Fort Worthians (Fort Worthers?) can add a point to their side of the Dallas-Fort Worth scoreboard as it appears that Cowtown is the most "country-minded" big city in America, while Dallas sits at the bottom of a lengthy list of Texas cities.

In a Facebook study by the real estate site Estately.com, Fort Worth ranked No. 1 among the 50 largest U.S. cities. The website looked at 10 topics it deemed "country" such as country music, fishing, hunting, NASCAR, firearms, barbecue, cowboy boots, pickup trucks, rodeos and sweet tea and then ranked the cities based on the percentage of Facebook users in those towns who liked them. Pretty straightforward.

Dallasites love pickups fourth most but ranked 37th for firearms, which put a big dent in being country. Is it really a pickup without a shotgun rack? Fort Worth knows it isn't.

Fort Worth took the top spot in pickup trucks, with top five finishes for firearms, barbecue, cowboy boots, rodeos and sweet tea. In fact, NASCAR was the only subject in which Fort Worth didn't place in the top 10.

But Fort Worth isn't the only country-minded city in Texas. In fact, San Antonio came in second, thanks to a top rodeo ranking, and El Paso landed at No. 5, with top spots for hunting and cowboy boots. The third and fourth spots went to Tulsa and Oklahoma City, respectively.

Arlington was the only other Texas city to earn the "real country" label reserved for the top 15. It ranked No. 11 due to a fondness for pickup trucks and cowboy boots.

The bigger, more "cosmopolitan" Texas cities did not fare as well. Houston and Austin took the 16 and 17 spots, respectively, while Dallas limped into last place among Texas towns at No. 26. However, it's all good enough for a "somewhat country" moniker.

It should be noted that Dallasites love pickups fourth most but ranked 37th for firearms, which put a big dent in being country. It's like, is it really a pickup without a shotgun rack? Fort Worth knows it isn't.

As for the least country-minded cities in America, it's a veritable collection of Yankees and California hippies. Boston, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and New York City placed 46 through 49. In dead last is San Francisco, which ranked 50th or close to it in every category but rodeos. Apparently those Yankee eyes have never eyed the prize that some people call manly footwear.

Here is the complete list of the 15 most country-minded cities in America:

Fort Worth, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
El Paso, Texas
Wichita, Kansas
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Nashville, Tennessee
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jacksonville, Florida
Arlington, Texas
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Louisville, Kentucky
Indianapolis, Indiana
Kansas City, Missouri

unspecified

Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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