Step Into The Danger Zone

Texas ranks among most dangerous states in America

Texans have no shortage of state pride, but a new survey has knocked down the Lone Star State a peg. According to the number crunchers at Wallet Hub, Texas is among the most dangerous states in America, falling in the bottom five on the 2014 list of Safest States To Live In.

For the personal finance website, the term "safety" does not refer exclusively to protection from violence and crime; it encompasses various categories, including workplace and traffic safety, natural disasters, home and community stability, and financial security. To determine its rankings, Wallet Hub looked at 26 key metrics for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Texas earned its poorest marks for financial security and emergency preparedness.

Texas landed at No. 47. Only Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas and Nevada fared worse on the survey. Texas earned its poorest marks for financial security and emergency preparedness.

Texas has one of the highest percentages of un-banked households in the country, second just to Mississippi. The Lone Star State is also home to some of the highest property damages from natural disasters, coming in at No. 43 out of 51. Texas performed best on the home and community safety metric, but even then we managed to climb only a few slots to No. 37.

In general, states on the East Coast and in the Midwest earned the highest rankings, while Southern states and those on the West Coast finished at the bottom of the pack.

According to the survey, the safest state in America is Massachusetts, followed by New Hampshire, Minnesota, Hawaii and the District of Columbia.

unspecified

kick it into gear

This is how much gas prices in Texas have changed since May 2026

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Millions of Americans will be traveling for the Fourth of July weekend.

North Texans planning to travel over the holiday weekend will be relieved to know Texas is among the top 10 states with the biggest dips in gas prices since May.

A new SmartAsset study analyzed the changes in average gas prices across all 50 states between May 21 and June 28, 2026, and used the data to determine each state's "gas-price burden" — meaning the cost of filling a 15-gallon tank represented as the share of the estimated median weekly household income.

Texas had the fifth highest surge in gas prices in April, and prices across the U.S. continued soaring until reaching an annual peak in late May. On May 21, regular gas prices peaked at $4.09 in Texas, and the latest data has revealed statewide gas prices have dipped nearly 24 percent since then.

Now as of June 29, Texas gas prices have eased by 79 cents and now stand at $3.30 per gallon. Prices are even lower in Dallas County at $3.17 per gallon.

Based on a Texas household's median weekly income of $1,617, the cost of filling up a 15-gallon tank of gas eats up 3.1 percent those earnings, the report added. That means Texas' gas-price burden is the 9th lowest in the U.S.

Texas has the second-cheapest price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. (behind Indiana) and it ranks 6th in the national comparison of states with the biggest gas price declines since May.

Colorado led the nation with the biggest dip in the price of gas since May, with prices declining by 29.2 percent. Gas now costs $3.89 per gallon, down from $4.77.

Declining gas prices are a welcome relief for commuters and for Texas residents heading on the road for the Fourth of July weekend. But that isn't the case for residents in other states like Hawaii, Alaska, or Washington, where gas prices have not seen as much relief.

"Lower prices and higher household incomes make a fill-up relatively affordable in some states, while gas costs consume a larger share of household income in others," the report said. "Three Pacific states continue to have the nation’s highest pump prices. A gallon of regular gasoline averages $5.52 in Hawaii, $5.46 in California and $5.20 in Washington."

The top 10 states with the biggest gas price drops since May 21 are:

No. 1 – Colorado
No. 2 – Kentucky
No. 3 – Indiana
No. 4 – Tennessee
No. 5 – Ohio
No. 6 – Texas
No. 7 – Iowa
No. 8 – Wisconsin
No. 9 – Oklahoma
No. 10 – Illinois

gas prices texas smartasset reports fourth of july