Happy People
Dallas-Fort Worth residents feel pretty darn good about our economy
You’ve got to hand it to the residents of Dallas-Fort Worth — we're a positive bunch. At least, that’s what a new survey by Charles Schwab suggests.
In a poll of 1,000 residents ages 21 to 75 in the DFW metropolitan area, 96 percent of those surveyed say they believe the shape of the Dallas-Fort Worth economy is as good as or better than the overall U.S. economy. And 63 percent say they think the local economy is actually in better shape, while 33 percent think it’s comparable.
The vast majority (96 percent) also believe the local economy will keep growing, either at the same rate or faster than the U.S. economy. And they attribute this mainly to the tech industry, which has been booming. More than half, or 55 percent, think DFW has one of the best tech hubs in the country, and 84 percent believe that will be a major factor in our economic growth.
Given we have such a positive outlook on the economy, we can understand why the majority (82 percent) of residents are also pleased with their quality of life and local cost of living (76 percent).
On the money front, residents think it takes far less to be financially comfortable and even wealthy in the DFW area than in the rest of the country. Residents say it takes an average net worth of $450,000 in Dallas to be financially comfortable, compared to nearly $1 million in the rest of the country.
And what does it take for us to consider ourselves rich? In Dallas, a mere average net worth of $1.8 million, versus almost $3 million in the rest of the country. In other words, it appears we’re happy with less. But maybe that’s because our cost of living is less than most places. Either way, we’ll take it.
