Homestate Glory

Lone Star State outpaces nation in growth, and one North Texas city leads pack

If you feel like Texas cities are growing at record speed, it’s because they are: the Lone Star State dominates WalletHub’s new rankings of the fastest-growing U.S. cities — from small to large.

A couple of Texas cities in particular came out on top. Mission (near McAllen), which took the No. 1 spot on the overall list and the small-city rankings, and Irving, which landed at No. 2 overall and No. 1 among midsize cities.

It appears that Alamo Drafthouse picked a good spot for its third Dallas-area theater, in Irving’s coming-soon Music Factory complex.

To identify the cities that have “expanded the most rapidly in socio-economic terms” between 2008 and 2013, WalletHub researchers analyzed 516 U.S. cities of varying sizes. Data was divided into two categories: socio-demographic landscape and jobs and economic development.

Within those groups were metrics such as population growth, educational attainment growth (increase in people earning bachelor’s degrees or higher), uninsured rate decrease, median household income growth, and unemployment rate decrease.

WalletHub categorized cities based on the following population sizes: large (more than 300,000), midsize (100,000-300,000) and small (less than 100,000). It ranked the cities within these categories and overall.

Among large cities, Texas had four of the top 10: Austin (No. 1), Fort Worth (No. 2), San Antonio (No. 5) and Corpus Christi (No. 6). Looking beyond the top 10, El Paso landed at No. 13, and Houston came in at No. 17.

Dallas proper fell outside the top 20 on the big-city list, at No. 26. Overall it ranked No. 113.

The Lone Star State stood out in the midsize city rankings, claiming 10 of the top 20 spots: Irving (1), San Angelo (5), Grand Prairie (6), Frisco (9), Killeen (10), Round Rock (11), Odessa (12), Midland (13), College Station (14) and Waco (20). Texas also had six of the top 20 in the small-city rankings: Mission (1), Edinburg (2), Pharr (4), League City (8), Bryan (11) and Allen (13).

Austin also nabbed a spot among the top 10 on the overall list, at No. 8. Speaking of the overall rankings, Texas took 11 of the top 20 spots, and four belong to North Texas: Irving (1), Fort Worth (14), Grand Prairie (17) and Frisco (No. 20).

Irving ranks No. 2 on a new list of fast-growing cities.

Las Colinas business district in North Irving

Irving CVB Facebook

Irving ranks No. 2 on a new list of fast-growing cities.

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

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Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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