hidden gem in DFW

Dallas suburb blossoms as America's 29th most livable small city

Flower Mound is known for its outdoorsy offerings in places like Stone Creek Park.

Facebook/Flower Mound Parks and Recreation

Some Dallas suburbs stick out from the rest thanks to their happy (or affluent) residents, and now Flower Mound is getting time in the spotlight, thanks to its new ranking of No. 29 most livable small city in the country.

The tiny but mighty North Texas neighbor was the only Texas city to earn a top-50 ranking in SmartAsset's 2024 "Most Livable Small Cities" report. It compared 281 U.S. cities with populations between 65,000 and 100,000 residents across eight metrics, such as a resident's housing costs as a percentage of household income, the city's average commute times, and the proportions of entertainment, food service, and healthcare establishments.

According to Flower Mound's website, the town has a population of over 81,000 residents, whose average household income comes out to $189,356. SmartAsset calculated that a Flower Mound household's annual housing costs only take up 18.2 percent of that household's income. Additionally, the study found only 3.9 percent of the town's population lives below the poverty level.

(Fun fact: Flower Mound routinely makes WalletHub's annual list of cities whose residents have the jolliest holiday budgets.)

"With more than 40 percent of residents between the ages of 25 and 54 and more than 64 percent of residents 25 and older earning a bachelor's degree or higher, this community is young and highly educated, making it an ideal workforce," the town's website says.

Here's how Flower Mound performed in two other metrics in the study:

1.7 percent – Arts, entertainment, and recreation businesses as a percentage of all businesses
26.3 minutes – Worker's average commute time

But income and housing aren't the only things that make Flower Mound the most livable small city in Texas. Residents benefit from its central location between Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as its proximity to the DFW International Airport. However, the town prides itself on its spacious park system, playgrounds, and other recreational activities.

"Flower Mound has nearly 1,000 acres of parkland, including more than 75 miles of hike, bike, and equestrian trails, numerous athletic fields, 57 parks, and 37 unique playgrounds," the website says. "[Flower Mound is] centrally located between Grapevine Lake and Lake Lewisville, providing access to miles of beautiful shoreline for outdoor activities."

Events like the Mansfield Music Alley Music & Arts Festival make it an appealing small city to live in. Photo courtesy of Mansfield Music Alley Music & Arts Festival

The only other North Texas city that earned a spot among the top 100 most livable small cities was Mansfield (No. 69), located 34 miles southwest from Dallas, or just 42 miles directly south from Flower Mound.

"Small cities may offer cost benefits for residents looking to stretch their income while enjoying a comfortable – and more spacious – lifestyle," the report's author wrote. "While livability is a subjective concept that may take on different definitions for different people, some elements of a community can come close to being universally beneficial."

The top 10 most livable small cities in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Troy, Michigan
No. 2 – Rochester Hills, Michigan
No. 3 – Eau Claire, Wisconsin
No. 4 – Franklin, Tennessee
No. 5 – Redmond, Washington
No. 6 – Appleton, Wisconsin
No. 7 – Apex, North Carolina
No. 8 – Plymouth, Minnesota
No. 9 – Livonia, Michigan
No. 10 – Oshkosh, Wisconsin

The report examined data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 1-year American Community Survey and the 2021 County Business Patterns Survey to determine its rankings.

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

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Texas shocks as America's No. 3 least safe state in 2026 report

Photo by Hiroshi Kimura on Unsplash

Texas ranks as the 48th "safest" state — out of 50.

While no state is invulnerable, some do more to protect their residents than others. And a new study has declared Texas one of the five least safe states in America.

WalletHub's "Safest States in America (2026)" report examined all 50 states for their emergency preparedness and for residents' personal and residential, financial, workplace, and road safety. Factors that weighed into the rankings include specific crime rates per capita, the share of the population that is uninsured, road quality ratings, workplace injury statistics, and more.

Texas ranked at the bottom of the list as the 48th "safest" state — or the third least safe state. It's joined by several other Southern states, like Mississippi (No. 50), Louisiana (No. 49), Florida (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46).

According to WalletHub, Texas specifically ranks third to last in the nationwide "emergency preparedness" category, which was determined based on the prevalence of climate disasters causing $1 billion or more in damages from 1980-2024, and the loss amount resulting from those disasters.

The Lone Star State also ranked 40th (or 10th worst) across three safety categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, and road safety. The report additionally found that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents nationally.

Texas' "workplace safety" was the state's highest-ranking category, landing 30th nationally.

Additional rankings that determined Texas' overall safety include:

No. 30 – Assaults per capita
No. 32 – Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers
No. 32 – Sex offenders per capita
No. 35 – Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita
No. 36 – Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel
No. 41 – Loss amounts from climate disasters per capita

According to the report, the five safest states in America are all located in the Northeast. Vermont leads as the country's safest state in 2026, followed by Massachusetts (No. 2), Maine (No. 3), New Hampshire (No. 4), and Connecticut (No. 5).

Though every state has varying levels of safety, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo asserted that the safest places in the U.S. categorically invest in protecting their residents. Top-ranking states have low crime rates and diligently maintain their road infrastructure, and other states that prioritize their residents' safety have "strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations."

"[The safest states in America] have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too," Lupo said. "In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates."

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