4th of July Fun

Dallas shines as the No. 1 best city in Texas to celebrate 4th of July

Dallas is tops in Texas for July 4th.

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Dallas is looking pretty patriotic this summer. Big D has just been named the best city in Texas for celebrating the Fourth of July, and it lands among the top 50 in the nation for its Independence Day festivities in 2026.

Dallas ranks No. 1 statewide and No. 39 nationally in WalletHub's annual report comparing the "Best & Worst Places for 4th of July Celebrations." WalletHub's experts annually ranks the 100 biggest U.S. cities across 18 metrics like affordability, the variety of celebrations on July 4th, weather favorability, safety, and more. Last year, Dallas ranked 40th nationwide.

The three best cities in the U.S. for celebrating the Fourth of July in 2026 — marking the nation's monumental 250th birthday — are Las Vegas (No. 1), New York City (No. 2), and Orlando (No. 3).

Among individual categories, Dallas is the 16th most affordable U.S. city to visit over the Fourth of July holiday, and it ranks 17th overall for its abundance of July 4th celebrations. Festivities in honor of America's 250th birthday will start as early as June 27 in some Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs. In the "attractions and activities" subcategory, which was based on a separate survey of the best and worst cities for recreation, Dallas ranks 21st nationally.

Dallas' predictably hot weather forecast for the holiday earns it a bottom-tier ranking at No. 95 overall, and the city's safety and accessibility comes in 86th place

Elsewhere in North Texas, Fort Worth ranks as the second-best Texas city for celebrating America's founding, but four other suburbs fall toward the bottom of the list: Arlington (No. 80), Plano (No. 81), Irving (No. 93), and Garland (No. 100).

This year's festivities are expected to be meteoric compared to previous years to commemorate the milestone anniversary, according to the report.

"This year, the National Retail Federation projects that U.S. households will spend a collective $9.4 billion on food for Fourth of July festivities alone," the report's author wrote.

Here's how the rest of Texas stacks up in the report:

No. 47 – Houston
No. 57 – El Paso
No. 63 – Lubbock
No. 74 – San Antonio
No. 84 – Austin
No. 91 – Corpus Christi
No. 99 – Laredo

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the golden years

Dallas rests easy on U.S. News' 2027 list of best big cities to retire

Cool Thursdays Concert Series at Dallas Arboretum

Photo courtesy of Dallas Arboretum

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Dallas is earning new acclaim on U.S. News and World Report's just-released list of the best U.S. cities for retirees in 2027.

The 2027 Best Places to Retire list evaluated over 850 U.S. cities based on six livability metrics that best serve American retirees: quality of life, affordability, health care, retiree taxes, job market, and population and migration. The top 250 finalist cities were then ranked nationally and by city size.

Midland, Michigan topped the list for the second consecutive year and is followed by Homosassa Springs, Florida (No. 2) and Weirton, West Virginia (No. 3).

Dallas ranked as the 21st best large U.S. city to retire for 2027, while neighboring Fort Worth ranked 7th nationally.

U.S. News said affordability is the "most considered factor" when it comes to picking the best place to live a low-stress retirement life, and that's what Dallas and its neighbors deliver. Affordable cities give retirees "a sense of security and comfort as they live out their golden years," according to Megan Wood, U.S. News assistant managing editor of home services and real estate.

"It’s no secret that affordability is top of mind for Americans this year, which is why U.S. News updated its weighting criteria to better align with what retirees prioritize," Wood said. "The 2027 rankings reflect key metrics used to highlight the places that
best suit retiree needs."

According to the city's profile on U.S. News, Dallas offers a lower cost of living compared to "similarly sized metro areas" and boasts a slightly lower home value compared to the national average.

"The national average home value is $359,870, while the median home value in Dallas is $354,396," the profile said.

Flower Mound is the only Dallas-Fort Worth city that appears among the overall top 50 best places to retire for 2027, ranking 43rd nationally. But it's a six-place drop from last year's ranking when the suburb last ranked 37th.

Eight more DFW cities ranked in the overall top 250:

No. 131 – McKinney
No. 174 – Allen
No. 190 – Little Elm
No. 203 – Frisco
No. 216 – North Richland Hills
No. 222 – Carrollton
No. 243 – Wylie
No. 246 – Plano

Elsewhere in Texas, Houston neighbors The Woodlands and Spring respectively maintained their standings as the No. 4 and No. 5 overall best cities for retirees for the second year in a row. The Woodlands topped the separate list of the best midsized U.S. cities to retire, while Spring landed 5th among the smallest U.S. cities.

These are the top 10 best large U.S. cities to retire for 2027:

No. 1 – Jacksonville, Florida
No. 2 – Houston, Texas
No. 3 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
No. 4 – El Paso, Texas
No. 5 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 6 – Indianapolis, Indiana
No. 7 – Fort Worth, Texas
No. 8 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 9 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
No. 10 – Phoenix, Arizona

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