retirement news

Dallas neighbor flourishes on U.S. News' list of best places to retire

Flower Mound was the only North Texas city to rank among the top 50 best places to retire in the U.S.

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Nationally recognized publication U.S. News and World Report has included Dallas neighbor Flower Mound on its new list of the best cities to retire in America in 2026.

The annual report, called "250 Best Places to Retire in the U.S. in 2026" initially compared 850 U.S. cities, and narrowed the list down to a final 250 cities (up from 150 previously). Each locale was analyzed across six indexes: Quality of life for individuals reaching retirement age; value (housing affordability and cost of living); health care quality; tax-friendliness for retirees; senior population and migration rates; and the strength of each city's job market.

Midland, Michigan took home the title as the No. 1 best city to retire in 2026.

Flower Mound ranked as the 37th best city to retire nationwide, earning an overall score of 6.1 out of 10.

According to U.S. News, about 13 percent of Flower Mound's population is over the age of 65. The median household income in this suburb adds up to $165,675, which is far higher than the national average median household income of $79,466.

Though Flower Mound has a higher cost of living than many other places in the country, the report maintains that the city "offers a higher value of living compared to similarly sized cities."

"If you want to buy a house in Flower Mound, the median home value is $552,856," the city's profile on U.S. News says. "And if you're a renter, you can expect the median rent here to be $1,833."

For comparison, the report says the national average home value is $370,489.

Two Texas cities made the top 10
Two Houston-area suburbs, The Woodlands and Spring, ranked as the 4th and 5th best places to retire in 2026.

The Woodlands has a population of more than 118,000 residents, and 15 percent of the city's population is over the age of 65. Its high median home values ($474,279) paired with its high median household income ($139,696) makes this an attractive place for seniors, despite an accompanying elevated cost of living.

Spring boasts a population of more than 68,000 residents, of whom 11 percent are seniors. This suburb is located less than 10 miles south of The Woodlands while still being far enough away from Houston (about 25 miles) for seniors to escape big city life for the comfort of a smaller community.

"Retirees are prioritizing quality of life over affordability for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic," said U.S. News contributing editor Tim Smart in a press release.

The median home value in Spring is lower than the national average, at $251,247, making it one of the more affordable places to buy a home in the Houston area. Renters can expect to pay a median $1,326 in rent every month, the report added.

Other Texas cities that ranked among the top 50 best places to retire nationwide include Victoria (No. 12), Pearland (No. 17), Conroe (No. 20), League City (No. 25), and San Angelo (No. 28).

The top 10 best U.S. cities to retire in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Midland, Michigan
No. 2 – Weirton, West Virginia
No. 3 – Homosassa Springs, Florida
No. 4 – The Woodlands, Texas
No. 5 – Spring, Texas
No. 6 – Rancho Rio, New Mexico
No. 7 – Spring Hill, Florida
No. 8 – Altoona, Pennsylvania
No. 9 – Palm Coast, Florida
No. 10 – Lynchburg, Virginia

suburbs us news & world report seniors retirement best places to live flower mound

working hard

Texas clocks in as one of America's 10 hardest working states for 2026

Photo by Greeshma Gangadharan on Unsplash

Texas has been one of the top 10 hardest-working states in the country for almost a decade.

Texans pride themselves on being industrious, and a new report has confirmed Texas as one of the 10 most hardworking states in America in 2026.

The Lone Star State claimed the No. 7 spot this year in a slight dip from its 2025 ranking, where it appeared in the top five. Texas last ranked 7th in 2024, but the state has consistently appeared among the top 10 for nearly a decade.

WalletHub determined the rankings after analyzing 10 "direct" and "indirect" work factors across all 50 states, and then graded each metric on a 100-point scale, where a score of 100 signified the "hardest working." Analysts then examined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

There was only a 10.32-point difference between Texas and South Dakota, who claimed the top spot as America's hardest working state in 2026 with a score of 64.59 out of a possible 100 points.

Texas ranked 6th nationally in the "direct" work factors category, which examined the following six metrics:

The state's average workweek hours.
Employment rates.
The share of households where no adults work.
The share of workers leaving vacation time unused.
The share of "engaged" workers — those that are "involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace," as defined by Gallup.
The rate of "idle youth" — individuals aged 18-24 who are not currently enrolled in school, not working, and have no degree beyond a high school diploma or GED.

Texas ties with Louisiana for the second highest average workweek hours nationwide, with Alaska topping the list with the No. 1 longest workweeks in America. Alaska is the only state where workers clock in more than 40 hours per week at their jobs, with WalletHub reporting Alaskans work 41.4 hours on average weekly.

In the "indirect" work factors category — which encompassed workers' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, annual volunteer hours per resident, and the average leisure time spent per day — Texas ranked 36th nationwide.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Texas in three individual metrics:

No. 10 – Average commute times
No. 20 – Average leisure time spent per day
No. 30 – Employment rates

According to the World Economic Forum, Americans clock in about 1,800 hours at work per year on average, which is 468 more hours per year than workers in Germany. And many are leaving vacation time on the table, WalletHub says.

"Even when given the chance to take time off, many Americans won’t, as nearly half of workers don't expect to use all of their allotted vacation days," the report said. "It is possible to work hard without overdoing it, though. Hard work is key to success, and the residents of some states understand that better than others."

Source: WalletHub

The top 10 hardest working states in America in 2026 are:

No. 1 – South Dakota
No. 2 – North Dakota
No. 3 – Alaska
No. 4 – Hawaii
No. 5 – Wyoming
No. 6 – Nebraska
No. 7 – Texas
No. 8 – New Hampshire
No. 9 – Tennessee
No. 10 – Georgia

texas reports labor day wallethub