School pride

2 Dallas universities make new list of top 10 schools in Texas

SMU just makes it into Texas' top 10.

SMU/Facebook

Personal finance website WalletHub has released its 2020's Best College & University Rankings, just in time for the looming November 1 “early decision” college application deadline. Two Dallas universities have made it into the list of Texas' top 10 schools.

University of Dallas is ranked No. 8, while Southern Methodist University just makes it in at No. 10.

To determine the rankings, WalletHub compared more than 1,000 colleges and universities across seven key dimensions: student selectivity, cost and financing, faculty resources, campus safety, campus experience, educational outcomes, and career outcomes.

Rice University in Houston takes the No. 1 Texas spot and comes in at No. 13 overall in the U.S. Among Texas schools, Rice earned first place for the following individual metrics: admission rate, student-faculty ratio, graduation rate, and post-attendance median salary. The school places second for gender and racial diversity.

University of Dallas (ranked No. 182 nationally) earned nods for its student selectivity rate and its faculty resources. SMU (ranked No. 217 nationally) earned applause in those two categories, as well as "campus experience" and "career outcomes."

Both University of Dallas and SMU both fell down the list from last year, when they landed at No. 7 and No. 5, respectively. University of Texas at Dallas, which came in 10th last year, did not make the top 10 list for 2020.

The University of Texas at Austin follows Rice as the No. 2 best school in Texas, while Trinity University comes in third. Fort Worth's Texas Christian University (which missed the top 10 last year) is ranked No. 7.

Here are the top 10 schools in Texas, according to WalletHub:

Rice University
University of Texas at Austin
Trinity University
Baylor University
LeTourneau University
Texas Christian University
Texas A&M University-College Station
University of Dallas
Southwestern University
Southern Methodist University

At No. 13 on the overall list, Rice shares the spotlight with prestigious institutions, coming in behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University, and Columbia University. University of Chicago is No. 14.

colleges rankings lists

Daring to care

Kindhearted Plano ranks among the 10 most caring cities in America

Visit Plano - Facebook

Plano is one of the happiest and most caring places to be.

Plano has some of the kindest, most generous residents in the country. So says a new report that ranks the Dallas suburb the No. 10 most caring city in the United States.

The personal finance website WalletHub compared 100 of the most populated U.S. cities across 38 metrics across three key dimensions for its study, "Most Caring Cities in America (2025)". They include caring for the local community, caring for the vulnerable, and caring in the workforce.

The north Dallas suburb made a big leap over its 2023 ranking as the No. 17 most caring American city.

Out of the three main categories, Plano performed the best for its "caring for the community" rank (No. 8), which was determined based on the city's crime rates, the civic engagement of its residents, the share of a household's income donated to charity, and more.

Plano also cares for its community in other ways, whether it's through maintaining its long-held family-friendly reputation or by maintaining a pristine park system. All of these reasons contribute to why so many people are choosing to live in the second-happiest city in the nation.

Plano also ranked fairly well in the overall "caring for the vulnerable" category (No. 12), which covers child and adult poverty rates, adoption rates, availability of paid family leave, the number of rehab centers per capita, pet shelters and rescue services, and the "disability-friendliness" of employers.

Plano still has plenty of work to do when it comes to caring for its workforce, however, as the city ranked No. 71 out of all 100 U.S. cities. This metric focused on the number of first responders, healthcare professionals, teachers, and counselors per capita.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says there are many factors that make cities like Plano a true "caring" and supportive place for its residents.

"The most caring cities donate a lot of money to charity and have high volunteer rates, but being a caring city overall requires much more than just giving time or money," Lupo said. "In addition, the top cities have low crime rates, environmentally-friendly residents and low rates of poverty and homelessness."

But small steps are important, too. Community care is as simple as helping an elderly neighbor unload groceries from their car, keeping a vigilant eye out for porch pirates or suspicious activity, and spending quality time with loved ones.

Plano was once again the highest ranked Texas city in WalletHub's list. Other North Texas cities that earned spots in the report include Irving (No. 36), Garland (No. 39), Fort Worth (No. 54), Arlington (No. 58), and Dallas (No. 77).

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin ranked No. 45, while San Antonio (No. 89) and Houston (No. 91) barely skirted onto the list.

The top 10 most caring U.S. cities, according to WalletHub, are:

No. 1 – Virginia Beach, Virginia
No. 2 – Scottsdale, Arizona
No. 3 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 4 – Gilbert, Arizona
No. 5 – Chesapeake, Virginia
No. 6 – Fremont, California
No. 7 – San Diego, California
No. 8 – Madison, Wisconsin
No. 9 – Colorado Springs, Colorado
No. 10 – Plano, Texas

wallethub plano community care top 10 cities plano