The Best View in Dallas

Reunion Tower gets high-tech redesign and new daytime cafe

Six long years after the observation deck at Reunion Tower closed, it reopens as the re-branded GeO-Deck on Saturday, October 5, with new high-tech and interactive features designed to enhance its bird's-eye view of Dallas.

There is also a new quick-serve restaurant on the middle level called Cloud Nine Cafe.

The deck was closed to the public in 2007. Parts of Reunion Tower and Union Station were renovated in 2008. Five Sixty, the Wolfgang Puck restaurant that's at the top of the tower, opened in 2009.

Named after the geodesic sphere that sits atop Reunion Tower, the GeO-Deck features tricked-up color-changing lights and a floor that looks like a map of the city. A system nicknamed Halo utilizes 30 touch screens that allow visitors to identify landmarks, buildings and other businesses visible from atop the 560-foot tower.

The touch screens also offer the option to view a live video feed via high-definition cameras placed around the sphere, letting visitors zoom in and out on anything they want to see. From now through November, visitors can also view an exclusive video about the JFK assassination featuring witnesses to the tragedy, a good history lesson considering the view the tower offers of the Sixth Floor Museum and Dealey Plaza.

Anyone who bemoaned having to look through the "chain link fence" that existed in the observation deck's previous incarnation will welcome the switch to thin horizontal wire cables. They allow relatively unobstructed views, not to mention easy access for iPhones and cameras.

Cloud Nine Café takes over the old Top of the Dome bar location, with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide the same 360-degree views as the deck.

Cloud Nine will be managed by Wolfgang Puck, with a menu described as "Texas-themed." Dishes include fried green tomatoes, a chicken adobo sandwich and the chocolate tower dessert, a recreation of Reunion Tower with a devil's food cake ball sitting on top of a milk chocolate tower filled with chocolate mousse, with meringue and raspberries at the base.

Cloud Nine is open to the public during the daytime only; at night it switches over to a private event space, available for weddings or parties.

The tower lounge on the entry level has also been redesigned, with new seating areas and walls that complement the decor seen on the GeO-Deck and Cloud Nine.

Tickets for the GeO-Deck range from $8 for kids 4-12 to $16 for adults. They can be purchased ahead of time via the Reunion Tower website or at the tower itself. The deck's opening will be celebrated with a free fireworks ceremony on Friday at 9 pm.

Even the elevator lounge at the base of the tower has been redesigned to give visitors a feel for what they will experience at the top.

Photo by Andrew Bordwin

Even the elevator lounge at the base of the tower has been redesigned to give visitors a feel for what they will experience at the top.

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Money Matters

This is the salary you need to live comfortably in Texas in 2026

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

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A new national report looking at the income it takes to live comfortably in each of the 50 states has revealed Texans need to earn slightly less now than a year ago.

SmartAsset analyzed what a single individual, as well as family of four, must earn to cover minimum basic needs adjusted using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. The resulting estimate represents the annual, pre-tax income needed to live comfortably in every U.S. state.

A single, full-time worker needs to make $90,563 to live comfortably in the Lone Star State, the report found, which is down a meager 0.2 percent from last year ($90,771).

Under the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, that means a single Texas earner would have $45,282 to spend on necessities like housing and utilities, $27,169 for discretionary spending, and $18,113 for emergencies or retirement savings.

Texas ranked 34th nationally in SmartAsset's list of states with the highest income needed for a single adult to live "in sustainable comfort" in 2026. Only five other states — Tennessee, Maryland, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Mississippi — saw a decline in the income needed to live comfortably this year.

For a family of four to live comfortably in Texas, income requirements change significantly, according to the findings. To support a two-child household, a family needs $203,424 in combined total household income to be considered financially stable. This is down slightly from 2025, when SmartAsset reported a family of four in needed $204,922 to live comfortably in Texas.

This is a comfortable lifestyle for a family of four in Texas, according to the report:

$101,712 dedicated to necessities and living expenses
$61,027 dedicated to discretionary spending
$40,685 dedicated to emergencies, savings, or debt repaymen

According to the report, a family of four now needs to make at least $200,000 to live comfortably in 40 U.S. states, a figure that is far out of reach for many American families.

"As housing, grocery, transportation and other essential costs pressure household budgets, earning a six-figure salary no longer guarantees financial comfort in much of the U.S.," the report said. "A single adult now needs at least $80,000 a year to live comfortably in every state, while the threshold exceeds $100,000 in nearly half of states. For a family of four, the income needed to live comfortably is as much as $329,000."

Still, earning the minimum income to live comfortably in Texas doesn't guarantee financial stability in the Lone Star State's major cities. Earlier this year, SmartAsset determined single residents in Dallas need to make nearly $97,000 to qualify as financially stable, while families of four need about $214,500.

texas smartasset reports salaries income finance