Faring best economically

Black residents thrive most in this diverse Dallas suburb, study shows

Grand Prairie ties with Virginia Beach, Virginia, as the place where Black Americans fare best economically.

Photo courtesy of Austin Board of Realtors

By at least one measure, Grand Prairie ranks as the best U.S. city for Black Americans.

In a study released February 5 in conjunction with Black History Month, personal finance website SmartAsset puts Grand Prairie in a tie with Virginia Beach, Virginia, as the place where Black Americans fare best economically. SmartAsset took into account six factors in analyzing 129 of the largest U.S. cities: median Black household income, Black homeownership rate, share of Black adults with a bachelor’s degree, share of business owners who are Black, Black participation in the workforce, and Black poverty rate.

“Nationwide, when it comes to wealth and personal finance success, Black Americans have struggled more compared to the rest of the population. ... In some parts of the country, however, economic outcomes for Black Americans are more favorable,” the study says.

According to the study, Grand Prairie boasts the fourth highest Black workforce participation rate (79.9 percent) and the lowest Black poverty rate (less than 5 percent) among all 129 cities in the study. Additionally, more than one-third of Black adults in Grand Prairie hold a bachelor’s degree (ranked sixth out of 129), and the median Black household income exceeds $63,000 (ranked 10th out of 129).

Close to 23 percent of Grand Prairie’s nearly 195,000 residents — or more than 44,000 people — identify as Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Statewide, almost 13 percent of residents are Black. Niche.com ranks Grand Prairie as DFW’s sixth most diverse suburb.

Among the top 25 cities in the SmartAsset study, Dallas-Fort Worth claims six spots. The other DFW city in the top 10 is Garland, ranked seventh.

SmartAsset says the Black homeownership rate in Garland is the fifth highest in the study (50.98 percent), while the Black workforce participation rate comes in at No. 11 (75.8 percent). It also ranks in the top 15 for median Black household income ($60,030) and the share of Black adults with a bachelor’s degree (32.5 percent). However, Garland’s poverty rate for Black residents (23.7 percent) is the worst of any city in the top 10.

Nearly 15 percent (about 36,000) of Garland’s roughly 240,000 residents are Black, the Census Bureau says.

The four other DFW cities in the top 25 are:

Arlington, No. 11. Its Black homeownership rate (32.74 percent) far surpasses that of Plano (20.54 percent) and Irving (17.91 percent).
Plano, No. 12. Among the top 25, it nabs the highest share of Black adults with a bachelor’s degree (48.4 percent).
Irving, tied for No. 14 with Nashville. Of the DFW cities in the top 25, it ranks third for Black household income ($60,672).
Fort Worth, No. 25. At 24.8 percent, Cowtown exceeds the national average (22.5 percent) for Black adults with a bachelor’s degree.

Outside DFW, only one Texas city appears in the study’s top 25 (El Paso, at No. 16).

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family values

Dallas sees Texas' biggest one-year jump in cost of raising kids

Courtesy of SmartAsset/iStock

Raising a child in Dallas will cost parents over $23,000 this year.

Raising a child is not an easy or inexpensive feat, and a new study has determined Dallas parents are saddled with the second-highest costs for childrearing in Texas, with expenses jumping higher than any other metro statewide since 2025.

SmartAsset's latest report, "Cost of Raising a Child in Major U.S. Metros – 2026 Study," calculated year-over-year changes in the annual cost of raising a child (factoring in childcare, additional housing costs, food, transportation, medical costs and other necessities) in the 48 largest U.S. metro areas. MIT's Living Wage Calculator was used to compare the living costs of a household with two working adults and one child to that of a childless household with two working adults.

Childrearing costs in Dallas-Fort Worth have grown 4.5 percent since last year, totaling $23,340 for a family of three in 2026. That's over $1,000 more than what it took to raise a child in 2025, and it's $1,414 higher than what it took in 2024.

This is how SmartAsset broke down the cost for raising a child in Dallas:

Cost of childcare: $10,736
Cost of food: $1,826
Other expenses: $10,778

Though Dallas has the second-steepest costs for raising a child in Texas, the metro is actually much more affordable than most other places in the U.S.: DFW ranked 39th in SmartAsset's national list of cities with the highest childrearing costs in 2026, making it the 10th most affordable U.S. metro for raising a family.

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont in California topped the list with the highest childrearing costs in the U.S., at $43,171. The cost for raising a child in this California metro soared nearly 11 percent higher since last year.

Memphis, Tennessee ranked dead last as the most affordable U.S. metro for raising a child in 2026. Families will spend less than $20,000 to raise a child in Memphis, only 3.24 percent more than what was needed in 2025.

Raising a child in other Texas metros
It may come as no surprise that Austin is the most expensive place to raise a child in Texas, and it appeared as the 31st most expensive U.S. metro for families. Parents will spend nearly $25,000 to raise a child in the state's capital city, which is $703 higher than it was a year ago.

Meanwhile, San Antonio-New Braunfels is the most affordable metro in the Lone Star State for raising a family, and it's the third-most affordable place for raising a child nationwide. San Antonio parents will spend $21,393, or $448 more than last year, on their childrearing costs.

Houston also ranked among the top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for raising a child, landing in 7th place nationally, with childrearing costs adding up to $22,605 in 2026. That's only $737 more than last year.

The top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for raising a child in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Memphis, Tennessee ($19,922)
No. 2 – Nashville, Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee ($21,216)
No. 3 – San Antonio-New Braunfels ($21,393)
No. 4 – Birmingham, Alabama ($21,684)
No. 5 – Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, Virginia ($22,314)
No. 6 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia ($22,470)
No. 7 – Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ($22,605)
No. 8 – Richmond, Virginia ($22,658)
No. 9 – Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky ($23,270)
No. 10 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ($23,340)

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