let loose dallas

Dallas earns a slot on new list of America's most fun cities

Dallas is a fun place to be, the study says.

Dallas' fun entertainment and nightlife scenes have helped the city improve in WalletHub's just-released ranking of the most fun American cities in 2025. Dallas now stands tall as the 26th most fun U.S. city this year.

WalletHub's "Most Fun Cities in America (2025)" study compared 182 U.S. cities across 65 metrics — spanning from the number of sports venues, music venues, and shopping centers per capita to the average cost for a restaurant meal — to determine how "fun" each city is. The metrics were split among three main categories: entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and cost.

Las Vegas, Nevada continued its multi-year streak as the No. 1 most fun American city.

Across the three key dimensions, Dallas scored the highest for its nightlife and parties rank (No. 23), but its entertainment and recreation ranks (No. 35) and costs (No. 99) still have room for improvement. But overall, Dallas' level of "fun" is far higher than most U.S. cities.

Dallas' current "fun" status is five places higher than its 2024 rank as the No. 31 most fun American city.

Elsewhere in North Texas, Fort Worth ranked as the 60th most fun American city, while Arlington (No. 71) and Plano (No. 78) lagged farther behind.

Texas' most fun cities
Houston overtook Austin as the 6th most fun city in America and the No. 1 most fun Texas city for 2025. Austin, which ranked No. 6 last year, dropped two spots and now ranks No. 8 on the list.

Three more Texas cities that appeared in the top 100 include: San Antonio (No. 23), El Paso (No. 62), and Corpus Christi (No. 94).

"The decision of where to live could save or cost you a lot of money and fun, so it’s fair to wonder what makes a fun city," the report's author wrote. "In a city with enough variety, you won’t have to compromise with your friends, family, or even yourself about the next fun activity to do alone or together."

Surprisingly, both Chicago and New York City dropped out of the top 10 most fun American cities. Chicago now ranks as No. 11, and New York City ranks 14th on the list.

WalletHub's top 10 most fun U.S. cities in 2025 are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Miami, Florida
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – New Orleans, Louisiana
No. 6 – Houston, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Austin, Texas
No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
No. 10 – Cincinnati, Ohio

rankings wallethub dallas

Vaping Ban

Dallas ordinance banning vaping in public spaces goes into effect

Photo via Pixlr

Vaping is banned

Vaping is now banned in public spaces in Dallas via a new ordinance which went into effect on December 11, 2025.

The Dallas City Council passed the ordinance — aimed at enhancing air quality and safeguarding the health of residents by prohibiting vaping in places where smoking is already banned — on December 11, 2024. But the public was given a year-long grace period to adjust. It now takes effect, with residents, business owners, and operators required to come into compliance with the new rules.

The ordinance, which was proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), amends the definition of "smoking" in the Dallas City Code to include the use of electronic smoking devices (vaping). This measure effectively bans vaping in all locations currently prohibited for smoking.

The ordinance prohibits vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces, within 15 feet of building entrances, and on park property. Importantly, this amendment does not add any new locations to the list of smoking and vaping restrictions.

The vaping ordinance document is online at https://www.dallasclimateaction.com/.

Assistant City Manager Liz Cedillo-Pereira says in a release thatshe is proud of this effort to keep the air cleaner.

"The largest cities in Texas are now aligned to protect people at work as well as the public from secondary exposure to potentially harmful substances," Cedillo-Pereira says.

In addition, the amendment requires businesses, such as restaurants, hotels and fitness centers, to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and the use of electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

"We're all connected through our environment," says Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability director Angela Hodges Gott. "Keeping our places of business, parks, creeks, and rivers clean is something everyone benefits from. When we reduce vaping and smoking litter, we're protecting the vibrancy of Dallas."

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