Hey, big spenders

Wealthy Dallas suburb boasts the 3rd biggest holiday spenders in U.S.

Christmas shopping, holiday shopping, holiday budgets

They're buying all the presents in Frisco.

Getty Images

Santa and his elves get busier with every passing year, but sometimes even Kris Kringle has to use his black card to get the job done. And according to a new study by Wallethub, Santa's gonna be working overtime to fulfill the orders for residents of Frisco this holiday season.

The personal finance experts have determined Frisco is the U.S. city with the No. 3 biggest holiday spending budget in 2023. Shoppers in the affluent Dallas suburb are expected to spend $3,546 this festive season.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Frisco's estimated population of 219,587 had a median household income of $134,210.

This is Frisco's first time in the holiday shopping spotlight.The North Texas city ranked a much lower No. 37 in last year's report with an average spending budget of $2,150. Way to step it up.

The nearby city of Flower Mound is a returnee, but dropped two places from No. 3 last year into No. 5 this year. The average holiday budget for a Flower Mound household is $3,485.

Six other North Texas cities landed in this year's top 100 heftiest holiday budgets:

No. 22 – Allen ($2,964)
No. 30 – Plano ($2,566)
No. 56 – McKinney ($2,165)
No. 67 – Carrollton ($1,928)
No. 77 – Richardson ($1,809)
No. 99 – North Richland Hills ($1,706)

For comparison, WalletHub provided a profile of the average consumer in Dallas. The average consumer is around 33 years old, with a monthly income of $5,450. Their monthly expenses comes out to $4,093 per month (a 1.33 income-to-expenses ratio), and their savings adds up to $13,419.

This landed Dallas at No. 408 out of 558 U.S. cities with an average holiday budge of $943, while Fort Worth landed at No. 356 with a budget of $1,013.

Each year, WalletHub calculates the maximum holiday budget for over 550 U.S. cities "to help consumers avoid post-holiday regret," the website says. The study factors in income, age of the population, and other financial indicators such as debt-to-income ratio, monthly-income-to monthly-expenses ratio, and savings-to-monthly-expenses ratio.

Shoppers will have to keep a closer eye on their bank accounts this year while they search for the best gifts for their loved ones. Many consumers are running out of savings accumulated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Yao Jin, an associate professor of supply chain management at Miami University.

To combat overspending, Jin suggests setting hard budgets based on personal financial circumstances and develop a list of "must haves" rather than "nice to haves."

"Holiday times are festive, and retailers know that festivities can boost mood and lead to a propensity to overspend," he said in the Wallethub report. "In fact, that is also why retailers tend to have more generous return policies to both alleviate concerns of unwanted gifts and buyer’s remorse. The key to avoiding holiday overspending is for consumers to take the emotions out of the decision, to the extent possible."

Other Texas cities that made it in the top 100 include:

No. 10 – The Woodlands ($3,316)
No. 14 – Sugar Land ($3,210)
No. 31 – Pearland ($2,566)
No. 34 – Missouri City ($2,517)
No. 44 – Cedar Park ($2,354)
No. 71 – Austin ($1,877)
No. 95 – League City ($1,733)

The report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

holidays christmas shopping dallas fort worth frisco flower mound reports wallethub budgeting holiday shopping

Sobering statistic

Texas ranks No. 9 among deadliest states for New Year’s crashes

undefined

At more than 314,000 miles, Texas boasts the largest system of public roads among the 50 states. It also holds the unfortunate distinction of being one of the deadliest states for New Year’s car accidents.

An analysis of 2014-2023 traffic data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows Texas is the ninth worst state for traffic deaths on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

During the 10-year period covered by the analysis, commissioned by AutoAccident.com, Texas tallied 280 traffic deaths on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day — the highest total of any state. The 280-person toll in Texas works out to 9.61 deaths per one million residents, a rate that’s 37 percent above the national average of 6.99 deaths per one million residents.

The analysis reveals that nearly three-fourths (64 percent) of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day traffic deaths in Texas were drivers, nearly one-fifth (19 percent) were pedestrians, and 16 percent were passengers.

“New Year’s Eve is one of the most dangerous nights on American roads,” says Edward Smith, managing attorney at AutoAccident.com, a personal injury law firm.

“With impaired driving incidents spiking during holiday celebrations, every driver has a responsibility to make smart choices that protect themselves and others sharing the road,” Smith adds. “Even in states with strong safety records, one preventable death is too many.”

According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), more than 2,000 drunk driving-related crashes happened during the 2024 holiday season. Last year, December ranked as the No. 1 month in Texas for wrecks caused by drunk drivers.

“The holidays are a wonderful time to be with family, and yet they can also be a painful reminder for those who have lost loved ones to preventable crashes,” says Marc Williams, executive director of TxDOT. “Let’s make a new holiday tradition to drive like a Texan: kind, courteous, and safe. That means always getting a sober ride.”

TxDOT offers these four tips for staying safe on the roads as the calendar switches from 2025 to 2026:

Designate a sober driver before the celebrations start.
Ask a sober relative or friend to pick you up if you’re too tipsy to drive.
Use public transit or rideshare services.
Stay off the roads until you’ve sobered up.

Several organizations in Dallas-Fort Worth are offering ways to get home safely around New Year’s if you’re too drunk to drive:

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has teamed up with Coors Light to provide free rides on New Year’s Eve. To get a free ride, enter the promo code COORSNYE25 in the GoPass app. The offer is available to the first 10,500 riders who enter the code in the GoPass app.
Trinity Metro will offer free Trinity Railway Express rides in Tarrant County from 6 pm-midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Various bars and entertainment venues in Dallas County are supplying QR codes for one free Lyft ride worth up to $35. The EpicCentral entertainment district in Grand Prairie is among the participants.
In collaboration with TxDOT and the Frisco Police Department, Uber is offering $30-per-ride vouchers for people in Frisco who aren’t sober enough to drive. Frisco ranks first on Allstate’s 2025 list of the Texas cities with the best drivers.
Fort Worth Limousines provides designated-driver services in Dallas-Fort Worth via limo, luxury sedan, SUV, and bus.
Pro-Tow Wrecker Service is offering free tows to tipsy motorists in Denton County who need a ride on New Year’s Eve.

traffic fatalities crime holidays new year's day new years eve traffic