Feast your eyes

3 Dallas-area cities gobble up top spots among best U.S. places for Thanksgiving

Dallas even has its own Thanks-Giving Square.

Courtesy photo

Texans still looking for the best place to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast without breaking their banks might want to head to Plano, Irving, or Dallas. The three cities rank highly on a new list of the best places to go for Thanksgiving.

The study, published by WalletHub, compares the top 100 largest U.S. cities across 20 key metrics, including the cost of Thanksgiving dinner, number of delayed flights, and even forecast precipitation.

Atlanta, Georgia ranks No. 1 on the list, with Orlando, Florida; Las Vega, Nevada; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Gilbert, Arizona rounding out the top five.

Plano ranks No. 7 on the list, while Irving and Dallas took the ninth and 13th spots, respectively. Other North Texas cities that made the list include Garland (No. 24), Arlington (No. 44), and Fort Worth, which just barely makes it into the top 100, landing at No. 84.

Other cities around Texas to make the list are:

Corpus Christi (No. 25)
Laredo (No. 31)
San Antonio (No. 32)
Austin (No. 33)
Houston (No. 53)
El Paso (No. 64)
Lubbock (No. 85)

The average American spends about $301 during the five-day Thanksgiving period, according to a list of Thanksgiving fun facts compiled by WalletHub. Annually, Americans as a whole spend an estimated $835 million on Thanksgiving turkeys, with 46 million turkeys killed for the holiday.

In addition to the cities’ overall ranking, WalletHub revealed the cities’ rankings for the individual categories they were evaluated by. Five of those categories include Thanksgiving Celebrations and Traditions, Affordability, Safety and Accessibility, Giving Thanks, and Thanksgiving Weather Forecast.

Surely the big Cowboys game with Jonas Brothers' halftime show factors into the DFW "celebrations and traditions" score, right?

Dallas and Irving are tied at No. 4 on the list for having the best Thanksgiving Weather Forecast (which calls for a high of 61 this year, according to WFAA).

Other Dallas rankings include:

No. 13 for Thanksgiving Celebrations and Traditions
No. 18 for Affordability
No. 93 for Safety and Accessibility
No. 37 for Giving Thanks

No. 32-ranking San Antonio has these rankings on the list:

No. 46 for Thanksgiving Celebrations and Traditions
No. 2 for Affordability
No. 66 for Safety and Accessibility
No. 85 for Giving Thanks
No. 26 for Thanksgiving Weather Forecast

The state’s No. 33-ranking capital, Austin, had an average ranking for each category:

No. 41 for Thanksgiving Celebrations and Traditions
No. 19 for Affordability
No. 42 for Safety and Accessibility
No. 82 for Giving Thanks
No. 36 for Thanksgiving Weather Forecast.

The city of Houston ranked in the top 10 for Affordability but didn’t score highly in any other category:

No. 48 for Thanksgiving Celebrations and Traditions
No. 7 for Affordability
No. 88 for Safety and Accessibility
No. 58 for Giving Thanks
No. 43 for Thanksgiving Weather Forecast.

Fort Worth was in the top 5 for weather but hit the bottom 10 for safety:

No. 87 for Thanksgiving Celebrations and Traditions
No. 31 for Affordability
No. 95 for Safety and Accessibility
No. 52 for Giving Thanks
No. 4 for Thanksgiving Weather Forecast.

You can view the full list and find more information about the 100 best U.S. places for Thanksgiving here.

rankings wallethub holidays

income news

This affluent Dallas neighbor is America's 6th wealthiest suburb

City of University Park, TX - Government / Facebook

University Park is the sixth most affluent suburb in America.

University Park has long been considered Dallas' richest neighbor, and a new study has revealed that the average household income in the affluent enclave has soared 60 percent in the last decade.

The report from GoBankingRates, called "America’s Wealthiest Suburbs Today Compared to 10 Years Ago," tracked the average household income across the nation's 50 wealthiest suburbs from 2014 to 2024. Cities had to have at least 5,000 households and be part of a large metro area to qualify. Income data was sourced from the Census Bureau.

In the new report, University Park maintains its elite status as the sixth wealthiest suburb in America for the third year in a row. Its current rank is two spots higher than where it ranked in 2016, at No. 8 nationwide.

The findings also confirm that its residents have certainly become richer over time. According to Census Bureau data, University Park households made $254,422 in average income 2014, which has since surged to $407,253 in 2024.

Two more affluent Dallas-Fort Worth neighbors – Southlake and Colleyville – also rank among the 50 wealthiest American suburbs.

Southlake is the country's eighth wealthiest suburb for 2026, up from No. 16 in 2016. Average household income in this area has grown from $232,034 in 2014 to $384,530 as of 2024, the study found. That's a growth rate of about 66 percent in a single decade.

Colleyville, meanwhile, has surprisingly dropped down the list of the wealthiest suburbs over the last 10 years. It currently ranks 46th but previously ranked 28th in 2016, according to GoBankingRates. Average household income in this particular DFW city has increased 35 percent, from $205,828 to $277,720 in 2024.

For an additional data point, the study included the average home value of each city as of January 2026:

University Park – $2,507,381
Southlake – $1,264,386
Colleyville – $896,635

Other affluent suburbs in Texas
Houston neighbors West University Place and Bellaire both appear among the top 20 wealthiest American suburbs for 2026.

West University Place is America's second-wealthiest suburb, with residents making $439,594 in average household income in 2024. That's nearly 50 percent more than the $294,723 average income in 2014.

Bellaire ranks 18th on the list with an average household income of $335,492 as of 2024, up from $226,295 in 2014.

The average value of a home in West University Place was $1,638,701 as of January 2026, and Bellaire has an average home value of $1,154,776.

The top 10 wealthiest suburbs in America in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Scarsdale, New York
No. 2 – West University Place, Texas
No. 3 – Rye, New York
No. 4 – Los Altos, California
No. 5 – Paradise Valley, Arizona
No. 6 – University Park, Texas
No. 7 – Alamo, California
No. 8 – Southlake, Texas
No. 9 – McLean, Virginia
No. 10 – Orinda, California

income gobankingrates.com suburbs dallas fort worth

Feast your eyes

3 Dallas-area cities gobble up top spots among best U.S. places for Thanksgiving

income news

This affluent Dallas neighbor is America's 6th wealthiest suburb

DFW Airport pup sniffs out victory in TSA’s cutest canine contest

New botanería pairs drinks with free bites near Dallas Farmers Market

2 charming Texas towns named top travel destinations for Labor Day 2026