Rarified air

Number of super-wealthy millionaires in Dallas surged in 2020, report says

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"Very-high-net-worth individuals" are those with a net worth of $5 million to $30 million.

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Not everyone had a bad 2020. A new report says the ranks of the super-wealthy in Dallas expanded impressively last year, with the growth rate surpassing the likes of New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

A study released April 15 by Wealth-X shows Dallas was home to 32,715 "very-high-net-worth individuals" — those with a net worth of $5 million to $30 million — last year. Globally, that puts Dallas in 10th place among cities for the population of super-wealthy people. (New York City ranks first, with 121,610 people falling into that category.)

Even more notable than Dallas’ sheer number of super-wealthy residents, though, is its trajectory in this rarified air.

In just one year’s time, the area’s crowd of very-high-net-worth individuals jumped by 12.6 percent. Only Boston (12.7 percent) and Washington, D.C. (13 percent) saw bigger year-over-year increases among the top 10.

By comparison, the super-wealthy population surged 9.3 percent in New York, 9.8 percent in Los Angeles, and 11 percent in San Francisco.

Wealth-X, which provides data and analysis about wealthy consumers, says its “very-high-net-worth individual” description applies to folks like entrepreneurs, corporate executives, business owners, retirees, and heirs. (The report does not name who they are in Dallas.)

Not to be confused with "ultra-high-net-worth" individuals, those with a net worth of more than $30 million, like Dallas billionaires Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban.

Dallas has plenty of those, too. On Forbes’ most recent list of the world’s billionaires, Dallas-Fort Worth leads Texas metro areas with 27 people in that stratosphere.

In North America, the number of very-high-net-worth individuals rose 7.1 percent from the previous year, largely due to the growth of technology companies, which has created new VHNW individuals, Wealth-X says.

“North America bolstered its status as the world’s leading VHNW region in 2020, recording the most dynamic population growth and wealth gains of any region,” the report says.

Around the world, more than 80 percent of very-high-net-worth individuals are self-made millionaires, according to the report. Eighty-four percent of these individuals are men, and more than 60 percent are 50 to 70 years old.

“The global VHNW population rose by 1.3 percent in 2020 — a resilient performance set against the backdrop of a global pandemic and the deepest contraction in world economic output for a generation.”

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happy go lucky plano

Dallas neighbor dazzles on new list of happiest cities in America

Photo courtesy of Visit Plano

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A new happiness study has ranked Plano one of the happiest cities in America this year, and it once again landed on top as the happiest city in Texas.

Plano has moved up on the list and ranks as the 16th happiest U.S. city in 2026. Last year, it was 17th.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Plano across the three key dimensions:

No. 15 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 22 – Community and environment
No. 72 – Income and employment

Plano and its residents have continued improving their city year after year, whether its through opening new bakeries and restaurants, inviting fun pop-ups for locals, or having a strong job market.

Plano's happiness far outshines the rest of North Texas; according to WalletHub, Irving is the 70th happiest city in the country, the third-happiest in Texas, and the second-happiest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Garland ranked farther behind as No. 92 nationally, and more DFW cities ranked even lower: Grand Prairie (No. 106), Dallas (No. 111), Fort Worth (No. 113), and Arlington (No. 119).

The report additionally found that Dallasites spend the third-most amount of time at work in the nation. The city ranked No. 180 in the national analysis of U.S. cities with the "fewest work hours."

WalletHub also emphasized that money doesn't buy happiness — after a certain point.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Six-figure earners in Plano aren't necessarily as happy as those who don't make as much, as a separate financial study from SmartAsset revealed these big earners are only taking home about $72,653 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 39 – Austin
No. 128 – Houston
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

wallethub plano reports