Golden years

Bucolic Dallas-Fort Worth neighbor named 2nd best retirement spot in Texas

Granbury is the second best place to retire in Texas, says a new report.

Photo courtesy of Visit Granbury

If you’re hunting for a place to retire in Texas, you might want to consider pointing your car about an hour southwest of Dallas-Fort Worth.

A recent study by personal finance website SmartAsset ranks Granbury among the top 10 places in Texas for retirees. The lakeside Hood County community nabs the No. 2 spot on the annual list.

SmartAsset judged each city on these factors:

Burden from income and sales taxes.
Doctor’s offices per 1,000 residents.
Recreation centers per 1,000 residents.
Retirement centers per 1,000 residents.
Share of seniors in the population.

SmartAsset weighted each factor equally, and them came up with a total score for every city.

It's not the first time Granbury has made the list, or landed in the No. 2 spot.

What makes it a top place for retirees to settle down? Seniors make up 30 percent of the city's population, and the tax rate of 14.3 percent is among the lowest on the list. While there are only 5.2 doctors' offices per 1,000 residents, Granbury boasts 2.9 recreation centers and 0.6 retirement centers per 1,000 people. Total score: 46.89.

Five cities in the Houston metro area among the top 10 places in Texas for retirees. Katy landed at No. 1, with Richmond at No. 5, Tomball at No. 6, Humble at No. 8, and Webster at No. 10.

Katy’s score of 53.88 edges out Granbury for first place. The Houston suburb performed best in two categories: doctor’s offices per 1,000 residents (17.3) and recreation centers per 1,000 residents (4.1).

However, seniors make up just 14.1 percent of the city's population, compared with Granbury's 30 percent — Granbury wins that all-important category by a landslide. (In fact, Granbury has the highest percentage of seniors of all the top cities in Texas.)

The SmartAsset ranking comes on the heels of a December 2021 list by AARP that named Fort Worth a top place to retire; before that, Dallas madeForbes' list. A year ago, Travel + Leisurenamed Dallas-Fort Worth to its best-places-to-retire list.

Here are SmartAsset’s top 10 cities in Texas for retirees, including the score for each place:

Katy — 53.88
Granbury (Dallas-Fort Worth) — 46.89
Woodway (Waco metro area) — 43.52
Fredericksburg (Hill Country) — 43.49
Richmond — 40.94
Tomball — 40.09
Burnet (northwest of Austin) — 39.85
Humble — 38.27
Boerne (San Antonio metro area) — 34.17
Webster — 33.96

rankings lists bests

Turkey Day news

Dallas eats up top-5 rank on list of best cities for Thanksgiving

Photo courtesy of Razzoo's

undefined

Dallas is sitting at the head of the table as one of the best places in the country to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, a new study has revealed.

Dallas ranked No. 5 out of 100 of the largest U.S. cities in WalletHub's annual "Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving" report, published November 12. The city made a huge leap over its 2023 ranking as No. 17, and remains the highest-ranking Texas city.

The study analyzed each city based on 18 metrics to determine the best places for Thanksgiving, such as the number of pumpkin patches per capita, the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, the number of volunteer opportunities, the average weather forecast, and more. The metrics were then organized into five overall categories to determine the rankings.

The category that Dallas ranked the highest in was the number of celebrations and traditions (No. 2), and the average weather forecast during the holiday period (No. 9), while the lowest-ranked category was for safety and accessibility (No. 82). Other categories that determined Dallas' overall ranking were affordability (No. 60), and a "giving thanks" rank (No. 26).

Dallas restaurants are getting prepared for their big Turkey Day feasts, and CultureMap has rounded up a thorough list of all of the local restaurants hosting holiday feasts, from brunch to dinner.

"The best cities for celebrating Thanksgiving all have an abundance of high-quality restaurants and places to buy festive decorations, and their residents get very excited for the holiday based on their Google search history," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

By Thanksgiving on November 28, Dallas will be fully decked for the December holidays. Dallasites who will have extended family in town during Thanksgiving weekend can take in of all the marvelous Christmas lights brightening the city. Dallas-Fort Worth goes all out for the most wonderful time of year.

Across North Texas, three Dallas-area cities also made big improvements from their 2023 rankings. Irving moved up 10 spots to claim No. 19 this year, and Garland jumped up 21 spots on the list as No. 34. Arlington made the biggest improvement in the region, moving from No. 78 last year to No. 55 this year.

Meanwhile, Plano and Fort Worth slipped in the rankings, falling into No. 44 and No. 45 in 2024, respectively. Plano previously ranked No. 38 in 2023, and Fort Worth was No. 36.

San Diego, California (No. 1) topped the overall list of best places to go for Thanksgiving this year, followed by its Golden State neighbors San Francisco (No. 3) and San Jose (No. 4). Atlanta, Georgia (No. 2) rounds out the top five.

dallas fort worth thanksgiving wallethub rankings