Dallas was named one of the smartest cities in the world by the IESE Business School in Spain.
Photo by Matt Pasant
Dallasites have long known that our fair city stacks up well against other major metropolitan areas, and now we have more than mere bravado to back it up. According to the IESE Business School's annual Cities in Motion Index, Dallas is one of the best cities in the world.
Dallas comes in at No. 13 out of 135 on the list, ranking behind only three other U.S. cities: New York City (No. 3), Philadelphia (No. 11) and Los Angeles (No. 12). Tokyo took top honors, with cities like London, Zurich and Paris rounding out the top five.
IESE Business School based its "smart cities" rankings on 50 indicators along 10 different dimensions. Those dimensions include governance, public management, urban planning, technology, environment, international outreach, social cohesion, mobility and transportation, human capital (ability to attract talent), and economy.
Dallas ranked high in human capital (No. 5), economy (No. 6) and governance (No. 10), but issues with social cohesion (No. 67) and public management (No. 74) prevented it from rising higher on the list. It's the fourth year in a row that Dallas has claimed the No. 13 slot in the annual survey.
The only other Texas city to make the list was Houston, coming in at No. 25.
Dallas' inflation has cooled off after it was last saddled with the highest inflation rate nationally in January 2024.
Inflation has been one of the biggest hot-button issues in the country in 2025, but a new study says inflation not impacting Dallas nearly as much as it is other U.S. cities.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranked as the metro with the smallest inflation problem in the U.S. in WalletHub's new report, "Changes in Inflation by City."
The report analyzed the impact of inflation across 23 major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using Consumer Price Index data from the latest month available and compared to data from two months prior. The analysis also factored in inflation data from last year to better track both short- and long-term inflation changes.
Dallas saw only a 0.10 percent increase in its local inflation rate when compared to two months prior, and the rate is only 0.60 percent higher than it was this time last year.
Dallas residents may be feeling the sting a lot less than they did in January 2024, when WalletHub said the city had the No. 1 highest inflation rate in the U.S. In April 2023, Dallas-Fort Worth had the 10th highest inflation rate nationwide.
The study found Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts-New Hampshire is the MSA that is currently being rattled by the highest inflation rate in the nation. The northeastern metro saw a 1.10 percent uptick in inflation when compared to two months ago, and it's 3 percent higher than it was a year ago.
Inflation has continued to fluctuate throughout the year in different areas, but WalletHub said the national inflation rate has significantly lowered since it last hit a 40-year high during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The year-over-year inflation rate sits at 2.4 percent as of May 2025, which is still above the target rate of 2 percent," the report said. "Various factors, such as the war in Ukraine, labor shortages and recent tariffs, drive this higher than average inflation. Despite the country not meeting its target yet, the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at the level set in December 2024."
Elsewhere in Texas, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land experienced the 13th highest inflation rate in the U.S., the report found. Inflation in the region increased 0.90 percent over the last two months, and it is currently 1.2 percent higher than it was one year ago.
The top 10 metros where inflation has risen the most are:
