Growth spurt

2 Dallas neighbors zoom onto list of America’s biggest boomtowns

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Denton's got it going on.

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The Dallas area is booming, and a new study from personal finance website SmartAsset ranks two fast-growing nearby cities — Denton and McKinney — among the nation’s top 50 boomtowns.

To come up with its list of boomtowns, SmartAsset evaluated data for 500 of the largest U.S. cities. It looked at growth factors for each city such as five-year population change, average yearly growth in economic output (GDP), five-year change in number of businesses, five-year growth in housing, and August 2021 unemployment rate.

Denton and McKinney zoom onto the list, ranking, respectively, No. 36 and No. 39 in the U.S.

Both areas have seen astounding growth in five years, according to SmartAsset data, with Denton's population skyrocketing 12.41 percent, the housing rate jumping 5.13 percent, and a 23.15 percent change in businesses.

McKinney has seen its population rise an astounding 27.24 percent, the housing rate jumping 30.85 percent, and a 24.01 percent change in businesses the last five years.

On SmartAsset's 100-point boomtown scale, Denton earns a score of 83.87 and McKinney, 83.59.

The No. 1 city overall is Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville.

Elsewhere in Texas, the Houston suburb of Conroe is Texas' top boomtown, and No. 3 nationally, tied with Meridian, Idaho. And three Central Texas cities, New Braunfels (No. 14), Austin (No. 17), and Round Rock (No. 25) cracked the top 50.

Here's how the Texas boomtowns stack up:

New Braunfels (San Antonio metro area), tied for No. 14 with Concord, North Carolina. Boomtown score: 89.83. New Braunfels appeared at No. 6 in SmartAsset’s 2019 boomtown study.
Austin, No. 17. Boomtown score: 89.52. Austin appeared at No. 12 in SmartAsset’s 2019 boomtown study.
Round Rock (Austin metro area), tied for No. 25 with Charleston, South Carolina. Boomtown score: 86.98. Round Rock appeared at No. 10 in SmartAsset’s 2019 study.
Denton (Dallas-Fort Worth metro area), No. 36. Boomtown score: 83.87. Denton appeared at No. 2 in SmartAsset’s 2019 boomtown study.
McKinney (Dallas-Fort Worth metro area), No. 39. Boomtown score: 83.59. McKinney appeared at No. 14 in SmartAsset’s 2019 boomtown study.

Four Texas cities dropped out of the boomtown ranking from 2019 to 2021: Frisco, which ranked 13th two years ago; College Station, ranked 16th; Flower Mound, ranked 24th; and Allen, ranked 37th.

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good news for singles

Texas romances as the No. 3 best state for singles in new report

Dating, best states for singles, best places to date

Photo by Doğu Tuncer on Unsplash

Texans are in the right place to find love.

Finding love in the Lone Star State is easier than almost anywhere else in the country, so says a new study.

Texas ranked as the third best state for singles in WalletHub's annual "Best and Worst States for Singles" report, which compared all 50 states based on their "dating economics" (cost of living metrics and date-related costs like average price for coffee or a haircut), dating opportunities (such as an "openness to relationships" score or the share of single adults), and a romance and fun ranking (calculated based on various entertainment venues and attractions per capita).

WalletHub said Texas is the fourth most "romantic and fun" state for singles, and it ranked No. 6 nationally for its ample dating opportunities. In the dating economics category, Texas came in 18th.

For the second year in a row, Texas tied with California for the most movie theaters per capita, and it landed in a four-way tie with California, New York, and Florida for the highest number of restaurants per capita.

In Dallas, many of the best local restaurants are gearing up for a romantic Valentine's Day weekend with dinner and drink specials and decadent desserts. Or singles can skip a traditional dinner and instead impress their date by taking them to a romantic Valentine's-themed event.

The report's author said Texas offers "endless opportunities" for singles to find love because of its diversity, dense population, and its numerous date venues. Texans are also much more open to relationships than residents in other states, the report found.

"People in the Lone Star State are less likely than people in most states to show signs of 'attachment avoidance,' or discomfort with intimacy, based on nationwide psychological surveys," the report said. "In other words, if you’re looking for commitment, Texas is a good place to search."

WalletHub also gave a small shout-out to Texas' booming economy and high employment growth rates, which show the state has "a robust job market and expanding opportunities for workers across a wide range of industries."

The top 10 best states for singles in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Florida
No. 2 – New York
No. 3 – Texas
No. 4 – California
No. 5 – Illinois
No. 6 – Wisconsin
No. 7 – Pennsylvania
No. 8 – Massachusetts
No. 9 – Ohio
No. 10 – Minnesota

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