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    Family-friendly DFW

    4 Dallas-Fort Worth cities among least expensive to raise a family, says report

    Cecilia Lenzen
    Jan 13, 2023 | 10:30 am
    Plano love
    Plano consistently ranks high as a family-friendly city.
    Facebook/TheShopsAtWillowBend

    It can be costly to raise a family, especially these days, but parents living near Dallas can welcome some good news: four Dallas suburbs rank as some of the least expensive cities to raise a family.

    A recent report from Harmony Healthcare IT, a data management firm that works with health data, put Plano as No. 3 on a list of least expensive cities in the U.S. to raise a family. Irving, Garland, and Fort Worth are also in the top 10 most economical cities, ranked No. 4, 6, and 10, respectively.

    No other Texas cities made it onto the list of most or least expensive.

    The cheapest city to raise a family is Gilbert, Arizona, and the most expensive is San Diego, California, according to the report.

    To determine the most and least family-friendly cities, Harmony Healthcare IT evaluated the 100 most populous cities in the U.S. They compared a variety of data including the cost of living, education, childcare, crime, healthcare and housing.

    What helped Plano score a top-three ranking?

    The Plano Chamber of Commerce touts Plano as “the best city to live in Texas,” thanks to an exceptional academic environment, diverse population, residential neighborhoods, and outstanding city amenities, according to the chamber website. Its diverse population “comes together to create a connected community with a distinctive friendly nature and independent spirit,” the chamber website states.

    The Plano ISD plays a vital role in Plano’s economic success and lures both families and companies to the city, according to the Plano Chamber of Commerce. With enrollment of 52,629 students, PISD boasts one of the highest performances on college entrance exams in the nation.

    This is not Plano’s first accolade for its family-friendliness. In October 2022, StorageCafe.com ranked the city as the No. 1 most family-friendly city in the U.S. In June 2022, WalletHub ranked Plano as the fourth best place in the country to raise a family.

    Fortune did not include Plano in its September 2022 list of the 25 best cities for families. Instead, the magazine ranked Dallas suburb Wylie at No. 2 and Houston suburb Sugar Land at No. 17.

    Elsewhere in North Texas ...

    The Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce describes Irving, the No. 4 least expensive city to raise a family, as a “great place to live, work, play and raise a family.” It boasts a wide variety of housing, from contemporary affordability to high-end luxury. The chamber also notes the city’s 190 acres of parks and greenbelts, 17 miles of canal waterways, 10 miles of riverside hiking and biking trails and four libraries.

    Garland, ranked No. 6, has the 10th largest school district in Texas and remains dedicated to quality teaching and interaction for every individual student, according to the Garland Chamber of Commerce. One of Garland ISD’s most popular advantages is that parents are able to choose the campus they wish to have their child attend.

    No. 10-ranked Fort Worth is known for warm greetings and hospitality, inviting neighborhoods, and a vibrant and rich culture. While offering a “small-town feel,” the city offers “big-city perks,” touts the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.

    To view Harmony Healthcare IT’s full report, click here.

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    Beep Beep

    Texas cruises to middle of 2026 ranking of best states for drivers

    Amber Heckler
    Jun 11, 2026 | 12:55 pm
    Texas state sign highway
    Getty Images
    Texas lands right in the middle as the 26th best state for drivers

    Texas residents love to debate which cities have the best — and worst — drivers in our own state, but which states boast the best conditions for drivers overall? As it turns out, Texas is only average.

    SmartAsset's new study "Best and Worst States for Drivers" ranked states based on auto insurance premiums as a share of annual household income, the price of a 15-gallon tank of gas as a share of weekly household income, traffic fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, and the share of interstate highway pavement rated "good."

    Texas ties with Colorado as the 26th best state for drivers. Massachusetts tops the list.

    According to the report's findings, 65 percent of Texas' interstate highways are in "good condition," and there are about 1.2 auto fatalities per 100 million miles traveled in the state.

    Additionally, the cost of a 15-gallon tank of gas in Texas represents 3.47 percent of a resident's median weekly income, and insurance premiums eat up 2.05 percent of earnings, the study calculated.

    Considering how much gas prices have soared over the last several months, commuting to work or driving around town is taking a bigger chunk out of Texas residents' wallets than it was before. At least Dallasites have DART to get around the city, and shuttle services like Shutto or Vonlane for traveling to other Texas cities.

    "Between loan payments, maintenance, fuel and auto insurance, the cost of owning and operating a vehicle now averages more than $11,000 per year," the report said. "Even as U.S. cities and counties increase investment in public transportation, more than 90% of American households own or lease at least one vehicle."

    For comparison, South Dakota has better quality interstate highways than the rest of the nation – at 84 percent – while only 15 percent of Hawaii's highways are in good condition. Rhode Island has the lowest auto fatality rate in the U.S. at 0.5 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, and West Virginia has the highest auto fatality rate at 1.6 deaths.

    After Massachusetts, the remaining top 10 best states for drivers are Minnesota (No. 2); New Jersey and North Dakota (tied for No. 3); Utah (No. 5); Connecticut (No. 6); New Hampshire (No. 7); Wisconsin (No. 8); and Indiana and South Dakota (tied for No. 9).

    You might want to pump the brakes in the 10 worst states for drivers: Louisiana (No. 50); Mississippi (No. 49); Hawaii and West Virginia (tied for No. 47); Montana (No. 46); Arizona and Oregon (tied for No. 44); Maine (No. 43); New Mexico (No. 42); and Arkansas (No. 41).

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