Uptown Love

This hardworking organization ensures Uptown Dallas stays awesome

Imagine your favorite Uptown Dallas activity. Is it brunch in West Village? Window-shopping while strolling through Dallas’ most walkable neighborhood? Chances are you regularly enjoy aspects of this enclave, but do you know who maintains those 30,000 blooming flowers, 42 trash cans, and 4.5 miles of track for the McKinney Avenue Trolley?

The City of Dallas does its part, but it’s the nonprofit management organization Uptown Dallas Inc. that goes above and beyond to make sure the neighborhood is as safe and beautiful as possible.

Nearly 19,000 people call Uptown home, and that number swells every day as people flood in to work, eat, shop, and play. The Public Improvement District known as Uptown Dallas Inc. helps out the city in ways which you’re probably not even aware.

For example, those off-duty police officers strolling and biking around the area to head off any disturbances? That’s UDI. Beautifying and maintaining Uptown’s 58 acres of green space? UDI again. Sidewalk repair and public art installations? Yup, you guessed it.

Close to 600 acres comprise Uptown, less than a square mile that’s bordered by North Central Expressway and Turtle Creek. Among its popular entertainment destinations can be counted West Village, the Quadrangle, and the Crescent, as well as a significant portion of the Katy Trail.

UDI hosts a variety of events as well, bringing the Uptown community together with everything from outdoor movie screenings to happy hours to festive holiday get-togethers.

Nature-filled enclaves also exist, in the form of the recently refurbished Griggs Park and charming Anita Phelps Park. Those pretty medians on Cedar Spring Road are also under UDI’s jurisdiction, which explains why they always look so fresh.

If it seems like this magical service is too good to be true, take a moment and pat yourself on the back. You’re responsible if you’re an Uptown property owner, as you opt to pay a special assessment that funds UDI. So congrats, Uptown, and keep up the good work.

Uptown Dallas Inc. works hard to keep the neighborhood safe, clean, and looking its best.

Photo courtesy of Uptown Dallas Inc.

Uptown Dallas Inc. works hard to keep the neighborhood safe, clean, and looking its best.

promoted uptown

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

Uptown Love

This hardworking organization ensures Uptown Dallas stays awesome

Uptown Dallas Inc. works hard to keep the neighborhood safe, clean, and looking its best.

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happy go lucky plano

Dallas neighbor dazzles on new list of happiest cities in America