In the money

Affluent Dallas suburb makes bank as richest Texas county, report says

It was the only county in Texas to break the $100,000 mark.

Facebook/Rockwall Texas Homes

Based on its geographic size, Rockwall County is the smallest county in Texas, at just 149 square miles. But don’t let its size fool you when it comes to wealth. Rockwall County also is the richest county in the state.

Data analysis website Stacker compiled a list of the wealthiest counties in Texas based on median household income, and Rockwall County came out on top at $100,920. It was the only county in Texas to break the $100,000 mark.

Among all U.S. counties, Rockwall County ranked 32nd for the highest median household income, according to Stacker.

The continuing influx of people into Rockwall County is helping drive up the median household income.

Rockwall County was home to more than 116,000 residents in 2021. From 2020 to 2021 alone, the county’s population grew 7.94 percent, making it the state’s third-fastest-growing county during that period. Some of the population boom stems from East and West coast transplants fleeing higher-priced locales.

Additionally, residents of Rockwall County are highly educated, which contributes to their earning power. As of 2020, 93 percent of the county’s residents 16 and over had graduated from high school, and nearly 43 percent of residents 25 and over had earned at least a bachelor’s degree. Both of those figures are well above the statewide numbers.

There’s also the livability factor. Rockwall, the biggest city in Rockwall County, ranked fourth on Money magazine’s 2020 list of the best places to live in the U.S. — which almost certainly adds to the county’s allure for high-income households.

“Rockwall is only 25 miles outside [the] Dallas city limits. For us, it’s a good balance of small-town life, great schools, and reasonable access to a world-class city when we need a little more hustle and bustle,” Dallas Moms blogger Gabrielle Cullen wrote in 2017.

To come up with its list, Stacker used U.S. Census Bureau data from 2019 showing the five-year estimate for median household income in each of Texas’ 254 counties. Aside from Rockwall County, nine other counties in Dallas-Fort Worth made Stacker’s list of the 50 richest counties in Texas. The other counties, followed by their median household income, are:

No. 3 Collin County, $96,913
No. 6 Denton County, $86,913
No. 14 Parker County, $77,503
No. 15 Ellis County, $76,871
No. 26 Kaufman County, $70,107
No. 31 Tarrant County, $67,700
No. 38 Wise County, $64,536
No. 39 Johnson County, $64,359
No. 40 Hood County, $64,041

By comparison, the median household income for all of the U.S. was $68,703.

Among the state’s four major metro areas, DFW dominated in terms of the number of rich counties in Texas’ top 50. It’s worth noting, though, that DFW has more counties (11) than any other metro in Texas.

Here’s how the state’s three other major metros fared in the Stacker rankings for highest median household income by county.

Austin

No. 5 Williamson County, $87,337
No. 18 Travis County, $75,887
No. 29 Hays County, $68,717
No. 36 Bastrop County, $64,597

Houston

No. 2 Fort Bend County, $97,743
No. 4 Chambers County, $91,141
No. 9 Brazoria County, $81,447
No. 10 Montgomery County, $80,902
No. 22 Galveston County, $73,330
No. 34 Austin County, $66,206
No. 48 Harris County, $61,705

San Antonio

No. 7 Kendall County, $84,747
No. 11 Comal County, $79,936
No. 16 Wilson County, $76,692
No. 21 Guadalupe County, $74,496
No. 46 Medina County, $62,599

rankings

Former Cowboy news

Ex-Cowboy Tony Romo pleads no contest to OWI charge and issues apology

Photo by Kevin Tachman

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CBS NFL analyst and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has pleaded no contest to a charge of operating while intoxicated and has issued a statement apologizing for the actions that led to his July arrest.

Romo was arrested July 23 following a traffic stop as he was driving south on Interstate 43 in Wisconsin. CBS has since placed him on leave from his role as its lead NFL analyst.

According to Milwaukee County court records, Romo lost his driving privileges for six months and was ordered to complete an alcohol assessment program.

Romo also owes $834. An interlock device must be installed on any vehicle owned or operated by Romo or registered to his name, and that order will remain in effect for at least one year after he is issued a license.

“The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant,” Romo said in a statement on Instagram. “It has required me to confront and own my mistakes fully — to the Lord, to myself, to my family and now to the public.”

Romo said the multiple back surgeries that led to his retirement as a player “left me with constant, debilitating pain.” He noted that the pain “led to a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol.”

“None of this is an excuse,” Romo said. “These are my failures and I take responsibility for them.”

Romo said he is working with a team of doctors to address his health and “make the necessary changes.” He thanked his family, friends and the NFL community for their support.

“As I turn my attention to my health, my family, and, in time, my return to CBS, I kindly ask for privacy during this period,” Romo said.

Romo also initially had received citations for possessing open intoxicants in a motor vehicle, unsafe passing on the right and refusal to take a test for intoxication after arrest. Those citations have all been dismissed.

CBS Sports president David Berson said last month that he does not have a timeline for a decision about Romo’s future with the network.

Romo, 46, has been the lead game analyst for CBS’ NFL coverage since 2017 after making four Pro Bowl appearances during a playing career that ran from 2004-16 and was spent entirely with Dallas.

Analyst JJ Watt will join play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on CBS Sports’ lead NFL team during Romo’s absence. Their first game will be on Sept. 13, when the Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers.

Citations released by the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office indicated that Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests and that an open bottle of an alcoholic beverage was found in the passenger’s side of his black Jeep during an inventory before it was towed.

Body camera footage showed Romo telling deputies he had been coming from a golf course and was on his way “to visit grandma and grandpa” when he was stopped. A deputy told Romo he suspected him of being impaired because he had “red glassy eyes” and an “odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage.”

Romo went to high school about 35 miles southwest of Milwaukee in Burlington, Wisconsin.

He remains the Cowboys’ franchise leader in career touchdown passes with 248. He held the franchise record for career passing yards (34,183) until Dak Prescott overtook him last season.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

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FILE - CBS broadcaster Tony Romo, left, calls the game during the second half of a NFL football wild card playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos in Orchard Park, N.Y., Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)

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