You Probably Think This Plate Is About You

Houston trumps Dallas in Texas personalized license plate sales

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, in association with My Plates, recently released a list of the top-selling specialty license plates of 2013. The black “Lone Star” plate — sold to 10,595 Texas motorists — was the best seller of the year.

It has been the No. 1 selling plate for four years in a row, and it is the state's fastest-selling license plate, with more than 46,000 sold in less than five years. The second most popular plate — the black “Texas 1845” — came in a rather distant second, with 4,400 sold. In fact, the black Lone Star plate sold more than the next four plates combined.

The Houston Texans plate took top honors in the sports team category — and No. 6 overall — with more than double the sales of the Dallas Cowboys plate.

Rounding out the top five behind the black Lone Star and Texas 1845 plates are the black “T for Texas,” black “Small Star” and pink “Lone Star” varieties.

No Dallas-specific plates cracked the top 10, and the Dallas Cowboys plate ranked only second among sports teams. The Houston Texans plate took top honors in that category — and No. 6 overall — with more than double the sales of the Cowboys plate. Apparently, Houstonians support their football team even when they place last in the NFL.

As for college license plates, Texas A&M University's plate — No. 9 overall with 850 sold — retained its spot as the No. 1 best-selling college or university plate in the state for the second year in a row. A different variation of the Aggie plate held down the No. 2 spot, followed by Texas Tech and the University of Texas. Just further proof that Aggies love their school more than anyone else.

Speaking of Aggie pride, last fall, Houston attorney and Texas A&M regent Tony Buzbee paid $115,000 to use “12thman” on an A&M license plate. Buzbee then gave the plate to 2003 graduate Dan Moran, a decorated war veteran, for exemplifying the spirit of the 12th Man by living “a life of honor, courage and commitment – all hallmarks of Aggie leadership.”

Personalized license plates have been available in Texas since 1965, but My Plates changed the market since taking over the state's specialty plate program in 2009. In four years, the online retailer has sold more than 173,000 plates to Texas drivers, adding more than $20 million to the state's general revenue fund.

The Houston Texans plate ranked No. 6 overall and No. 1 among sports teams in the top-selling personalized plates of 2013.

No. 6 top 10 Texas license plates 2013 Texans-7EX4NS

Photo courtesy of MyPlates.com

The Houston Texans plate ranked No. 6 overall and No. 1 among sports teams in the top-selling personalized plates of 2013.

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salary news

This is the salary it takes to be a top 1 percent earner in Texas

Wealth, top 1 percent earners in Texas, income threshold

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

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To be one of the highest earners in Texas has become a little easier in 2025: According to a new financial analysis from SmartAsset, Texans have to make $743,955 to qualify as a top 1 percent earner in the state.

If that sounds like a lot, it's still $18,000 less than 2024, when you had to pull in $762,090 a year.

To determine the income needed to be in the top 1 percent of earners, SmartAsset analyzed 2022 IRS data for individual tax filers (the most recent year where data was available), and income was adjusted to May 2025 dollars.

The national average income it takes to be considered a part of this exclusive group comes out to $731,492. The income needed to be in the top 1 percent decreased in nearly every state except for North Dakota, Florida, and Oklahoma.

Connecticut leads the nation with the highest income threshold needed to be in the top 1 percent, with residents needing to make nearly $1.06 million annually to qualify. Connecticut is the only state where residents need to make $1 million to be considered a top 1 percent earner. Only 16,917 Connecticuters currently fit the bill for the designation.

A total of 128,130 Texans currently make enough money to be considered one of the highest earners statewide. That's 2,002 more people than in 2024. Though the report doesn't provide information as to where these top earners live, it's entirely possible some are living in Dallas-Fort Worth. After all, the metro's population has now surpassed 8.44 million residents.

For aspiring Texans who want to make it among the top 5 percent of earners in the state, they would have to make $284,661 a year to qualify. There are 640,648 Texans who currently make enough money to be considered top 5 percent earners, the report said.

"Nearly 1.5 million households across the United States now rank among the top 1 percent of earners, according to the latest tax return data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)," the report said. "Economic conditions, tax policies and cost of living vary significantly from state to state, resulting in wide disparities between what it takes to become a top 1 percent earner across the nation."

For Dallasites who want to make enough money to be considered "middle class," the yearly salary ranges between $49,478 and $71,359, according to a separate 2025 SmartAsset report.

The top 10 states with the highest thresholds to be considered in the top 1 percent of earners in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Connecticut ($1,056,996)
No. 2 – Massachusetts ($965,170)
No. 3 – California ($905,396)
No. 4– New Jersey ($901,082)
No. 5 – New York ($891,640)
No. 6 – Florida ($859,381)
No. 7 – Washington ($819,101)
No. 8 – Colorado ($772,989)
No. 9 – Wyoming ($771,369)
No. 10 – Texas ($743,955)

texas income salaries smartasset reports wealthiest people