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This is how much Dallas household income increased in a year

Dallas' median household income didn't keep up with the national median, SmartAsset found.

Photo by Sandra Gabriel on Unsplash

A new income study by SmartAsset examining the one-year change in income for households in the country's biggest cities has determined Dallas had the 25th biggest increase in median income nationwide from 2023-2024, at 5.99 percent.

Last year, Dallas households earned $74,323 in median annual income, compared to $70,121 in 2023.

SmartAsset's just-released report, "U.S. Cities With the Highest Income Growth," also tracked the changes in senior and family household income across the 50 most populated U.S. cities from 2023 to 2024. Data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau's 1-Year American Community Survey from the last two years.

Tampa, Florida had the highest growth in its residents' household income nationwide, at 15.46 percent. Tampa households earned a median $72,851 in annual income in 2023, and that figure increased to $84,114 in 2024.

The national median household income grew 1.3 percent to $83,730 in 2024, the report additionally found. That's $9,407 more than what the median Dallas household made last year.

"This means many households did not keep pace with the roughly 3% inflation rate during the same time period, but that was not true everywhere," the report's author wrote. "Especially in large cities where residents often pay a premium for convenience, infrastructure and amenities, the change in household income swung vastly, in some cases reaching double-digit growth, or even negative growth."

Dallas families saw their median annual income increase 11.16 percent year-over-year to $76,837 in 2024. That's still enough to be labeled "middle class" in 2025, but it's a far cry from the salary needed to earn a comfortable living. SmartAsset's separate study determined that the annual income for a family of four to live comfortably in Dallas adds up to $213,741.

The median senior household income in Dallas rose 6.38 percent from 2023-2024. Dallas seniors made $57,100 in annual income last year, the report said, or $3,424 more than what they earned in 2023.

Income changes across Dallas-Fort Worth
Arlington ranked ahead of Dallas to claim No. 12 in SmartAsset's list of U.S. cities where income grew the most. Arlington's median household income jumped 7.48 percent from 2023, and residents made a median household income of $74,388 in 2024.

The city's financial prosperity likely comes from its senior population, whose income skyrocketed 19.18 percent during the one-year period. Arlington senior households that were earning $58,600 in 2023 saw their income jump to $69,838 in 2024.

Arlington's family household income also got a 17.85 percent boost during the same period. Families that made $66,607 in annual income in 2023 subsequently made $78,499 the following year.

"Changes in incomes across a city can lead to different dynamics on local demand for businesses, job markets, and even have implications for how new tax legislation will affect residents," the report said.

Over in Fort Worth, the city's household income rose 7.03 percent from 2023-2024. Fort Worth households brought home a median $82,503 last year, or $5,421 more than their 2023 median annual income.

This is how Fort Worth's median senior and family household income grew during the one-year period:

Senior income growth rate: 5.23 percent
2024 senior household income: $56,340
2023 senior household income: $53,540
Family income growth rate: 9.33 percent
2024 family household income: $100,426
2023 family household income: $91,859

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who needs a raise?

Here's the income it takes to be in the top 1 percent in Texas in 2026

Hundred dollar bills, top 1 percent earners, income study

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

The income needed to be ranked among the top 1 percent of earners in Texas has snowballed past $800,000.

In a state where local billionaires are wealthier than they've ever been, high-earning Texans need to make $73,000 more than they did a year ago if they want to be among the top 1 percent of earners, a new report has revealed.

SmartAsset's latest study analyzed income thresholds for the top 1, 5, and 10 percent of earners in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, using 2022 IRS data for individual tax return filers (the most recent year available), adjusted to 2026 dollars.

Texas has the 11th highest income threshold, with residents needing to make a minimum of $817,158 to be considered among the top 1 percent of earners statewide. In 2025, Texans needed to make about $744,000 to be among the top 1 percent.

For comparison, residents living in the nation's capital must make at least $1.16 million to qualify as top 1 percent earners. The District of Columbia led the nation with the highest income threshold to be a top earner.

To be considered among the top 5 percent of earners in Texas, a resident would need to make $312,671. The income threshold to be considered among the top 10 percent is $210,609.

SmartAsset additionally found that 128,130 Texas residents qualified as top 1 percent earners in 2022. Nationally, the report estimated that fewer than 2 million households earn enough to be considered among the top 1 percent of earners nationwide, but 23 million households rank among the top 10 percent.

"In some places, households can enter the top 1 percent at income levels that fall well below the threshold elsewhere, reflecting an uneven landscape of wages and wealth," the report said.

A separate SmartAsset study that tracked the upper and lower thresholds for middle class households found Dallas residents need to make anywhere from $49,549 to $148,646 to maintain their middle class status. But in other North Texas cities, residents can make up to $291,000 — a figure that would place them between the top 5 and 10 percent of earners — and still be labeled "middle class."

The top 10 states with the highest thresholds to be considered in the top 1 percent of earners in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – District of Columbia ($1,156,664)
No. 2 – Connecticut ($1,147,898)
No. 3 – Massachusetts ($1,006,921)
No. 4 – California ($987,325)
No. 5– New Jersey ($969,976)
No. 6 – New York ($959,562)
No. 7 – Florida ($956,449)
No. 8 – Washington ($903,303)
No. 9 – Colorado ($828,772)
No. 10 – Wyoming ($819,014)

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