Global accolades

Dallas named one of world’s 100 best cities in prestigious new report

Dallas ranks as the No. 47 city in the world.

Courtesy photo

If you live in Dallas, you can confidently say you live in one of the best cities on the planet — at least according to one new study.

Dallas ranks No. 47 on the new list of 100 best cities in the world. Two other Texas cities also make the list, slightly ahead of Dallas: Houston, at No. 42; and Austin, at No. 43.

The annual ranking quantifies and benchmarks the relative quality of place, reputation, and competitive identity for the world's principal cities with metropolitan populations of one million or more. Vancouver, Canada-based Resonance Consultancy Ltd., which specializes in marketing, strategy, and research for the real estate, tourism and economic development sectors, conducted the study.

This year, London tops the list, followed by Paris, New York, Tokyo, and Dubai.

Dallas, with a metro population of 7,320,663, is a home to “economic reality,” the report says.

Highlights for Dallas that helped earn it a spot on the list include:

No. 6 global ranking in Airport Connectivity, thanks to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
Sixth largest LGBTQ+ community
No. 24 ranking in the world for Global 500 companies
A No. 42 ranking for Convention Center that the study says is likely to ascend now that Dallas City Council has approved plans for a new $2-billion, 2.5-million-square-foot facility to be built adjacent to the current one by 2028
A No. 82 Programming ranking due to institutions like the Dallas Museum of Art, the Crow Museum of Asian Art and the renowned Nasher Sculpture Center, plus theaters, symphony and opera venues, restaurants, and bars

As for No. 42 Houston, the report describes the city as an “educated, diverse, and hard-working” powerhouse.

Highlights for Houston include:

A population increase of almost 300,000, thanks to both domestic and international immigration
A No. 26 global ranking for Culture, with more than 145 languages spoken at home
A No. 31 ranking for Restaurants, with a flurry of post-pandemic launches
A top 10 global GDP per Capita finish
One of the top five Googled cities over the last year

The next best city, No. 43 Austin, is quickly becoming America’s new hometown, according to the report.

Highlights for Austin include:

A No. 40 ranking for Global 500 headquarters
A No. 38 employment ranking, as tech giants like Oracle move headquarters to the city
The No. 23 ranked University of Texas at Austin
South by Southwest, the annual summit of business, music and creativity

On the list overall, only 25 U.S. cities made the cut, and only New York was ranked in the top 10. You can view the full list and find more information about the 100 best cities here.

rankings

Speeding ticket news

Texas drivers pay a pretty price for their speeding bad behavior

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

Gotta watch out for speed traps in Texas.

The next time you’re tempted to push past the speed limit on your Texas road trip or your commute to work, think about the risk to your life — and your bank account.

A new ranking from the FinanceBuzz website shows that when comparing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Texas motorists pay the fourth highest amount in fines and court costs for going either 10 mph or 15 mph over the speed limit.

For a 10 mph-over-the-limit violation in Texas, the average fine and court costs total $223, according to FinanceBuzz. For a 15 mph infraction, the average speeding ticket will run you $245. Texas is one of only six states where a 15 mph-over-the-limit speeding ticket surpasses $200.

California ranks first in the 10 mph category ($234), and Nevada ranks first in the 15 mph category ($290).

If you’re slapped with a ticket for driving 40 mph over the speed limit in Texas, the fine and court costs are relatively low. At an average of $320, Texas sits at No. 21 on the FinanceBuzz list. Illinois ($2,500) leads the 40 mph category.

“Not all speeding incidents are the same, as the faster someone goes while driving, the more danger they pose to themselves and others sharing the road with them,” says FinanceBuzz. “As a result, the authorities tend to issue larger fines the faster a speeder is going.”

When traveling across Texas, it might be tough to go even one mph over the speed limit if you’re driving on I-35 in the Austin area or I-45 in the Houston area. Both of these notoriously congested stretches of interstate highway are nearing the end of their “functional life,” according to Congress of New Urbanism.

Three busy Dallas County highways were just deemed among the deadliest roads in the country, with I-30 in Dallas ranking as the fourth deadliest road in Texas.

Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio are also home to some of the state’s most congested roads, according to the Texas Transportation Institute. And if you’re on any of those clogged roads, the danger of getting a speeding ticket might decrease.

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