• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark 2016
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Raking It In

    Here's where Texans have the highest incomes and lowest cost of living

    Lindsey Wilson
    Sep 16, 2020 | 9:32 am
    money hundred dollar bills
    High income + low cost of living = extra cash.
    hynci/Getty Images

    Think you have a high income? That's relative, as a place's cost of living can eat away at even the highest salary (consider New York or San Francisco). Financial website SmartAsset recently dug into the data for Texas counties, determining which land in that sweet spot of affordable cost of living and healthy median income.

    To do this, the site calculated two different cost of living metrics for a household with one adult and no dependents. One reflected the baseline cost of living in each location, and the other was based on expenditures typical to someone making the county's median income.

    Then those two numbers were combined using a weighted average based on how close each county's median income was to the minimum livable income in that area. At that point, income taxes paid in the area were subtracted.

    Finally, SmartAsset calculated purchasing power by determining the weighted cost of living as a percentage of median income. The top locations were those with the highest median income relative to the cost of living.

    And highest in Texas is — drumroll, please — Fort Bend, slightly southwest of Houston and home of Sugar Land. It barely squeaks out the No. 1 spot with an index of 67.42, derived from a $44,752 cost of living and $93,645 median income.

    Coming in hot with an index of 67.08 is Rockwall, a suburb about 20 miles northeast of Dallas that sits on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard. There, a $93,269 median income easily finances a $44,539 cost of living.

    Two more Dallas-adjacent counties are also on the list, with Collin (home of Plano) third and Denton (where the University of North Texas is based) fifth. The former enjoys a $44,111 cost of living on a median $90,124 salary, while the latter earns a median $80,290 a year and lives on $42,487.

    One Austin neighbor shows up in the top 10: Williamson County, home to Round Rock and Georgetown, appears at No. 7. The $43,574 cost of living is easily obtainable on a median $79,123 salary.

    The Hill Country county of Kendall, which sits southwest of Austin and north of San Antonio, ranks fourth with a $81,023 median salary and $42,969 yearly cost of living.

    Brazoria, near the reservoir of the same name and on the banks of the Brazos River, is ninth with a $42,792 cost of living and $76,426 median salary.

    West Texas is home to three counties on this list, with Roberts (near Amarillo) at No. 6; Borden County, south of Lubbock, at No. 8, and Midland at No. 10 with an index of 51.26.

    rankings
    news/city-life

    Merry & bright news

    Dallas makes Santa's nice list as 2nd most festive U.S. city in 2025

    Amber Heckler
    Nov 28, 2025 | 11:15 am
    Klyde Warren Park Christmas tree
    Getty Images
    Dallas sparkles and shines for the holidays.

    In merry and bright news, Dallas has landed a coveted spot near the top of a 2025 ranking of America's most festive cities.

    Home services platform Thumbtack analyzed holiday light installation requests from customers from October 2024 to 2025 to determine the most festive U.S. cities. Rankings were based on the "relative frequency" of requests after being adjusted for the population of each state and metro area.

    Dallas comes in at No. 2.

    Dallas has been resting easy at the top of Santa's nice list since 2022. But the city's festive spirit has yet to dethrone Austin, which has held on to the top spot for four years in a row.

    There's plenty of dazzling shows illuminating Dallas-Fort Worth for the holidays, including drive-thru light parks and CultureMap's very own ice rink at Main Street Garden in downtown Dallas.

    Other festive holiday events happening around Dallas include many more local ice rinks, pop-up bars, plus volunteer opportunities to give back to the local community. Readers can also keep up with all of Dallas' holiday happenings in CultureMap's season-long editorial series.

    Other big Texas cities like Houston and San Antonio also all landed top-10 spots, proving the Lone Star State is much more festive than the rest of the country.

    "From Texas to Florida, the South is setting the standard for holiday spirit, and in true Texas fashion, bigger is definitely brighter," the report said. "Mild winters and a strong sense of community keep the Lone Star State shining at the top."

    Thumbtack's top 10 most festive U.S. cities in 2024 are:

    • No. 1 – Austin, Texas
    • No. 2 – Dallas, Texas
    • No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
    • No. 4 – Las Vegas, Nevada
    • No. 5 – Sacramento, California
    • No. 6 – Houston, Texas
    • No. 7 – San Francisco, California
    • No. 8 – Charlotte, North Carolina
    • No. 9 – San Antonio, Texas
    • No. 10 – Atlanta, Georgia
    festive citiesholidayschristmasrankingsdallas
    news/city-life
    Loading...