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I NEED A RAISE

Here's what it takes to be a middle class earner in Dallas-Fort Worth, new report finds

Amber Heckler
Apr 20, 2023 | 9:15 am
Women walking in Plano

Plano has one of the highest middle class income ceilings in the nation.

Photo courtesy of City of Plano

In a world where a six figure salary doesn’t go as far as it used to, how much money do you need to make to be deemed middle class? Out of 13 Texas cities and 100 total in the United States, a Dallas suburb has one of the highest middle class income ceilings in the nation.

Plano has the ninth highest income ceiling for American middle class earners, according to a new study by SmartAsset. To define the term “middle class” and determine income limits, analysts looked at data from the Census Bureau's 2021 one-year American Community Survey to find the median income for households in every state. They also looked at income data from 100 of the largest American cities.

Middle class earners in Plano would need to make between $63,651 and $190,004 a year, with the median household income coming out to $95,002 a year.

Several of the country’s best employers are located in Plano and in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area, as discovered by Forbes, which is a helpful boost to the local economy. The study additionally discovered Plano has the lowest average home value out of the top 10 cities (mostly from California and Arizona) at $487,000.

Plano was the only Texas city to make the top 10, with Austin coming in second at No. 23. An Austinite would need to make a minimum of $53,293 to be considered middle class. Other Texas cities included in the study are Corpus Christi (No. 63), San Antonio (No. 77), Lubbock (No. 78), Laredo (No. 84), and El Paso (No. 87).

Here’s what it takes to be middle class in other Dallas-Fort Worth cities:

  • No. 38 – Irving: between $47,128 and $140,680 a year
  • No. 44 – Fort Worth: between $45,717 and $136,470 a year
  • No. 59 – Garland: between $41,277 and $123,214 a year
  • No. 62 – Arlington: between $40,126 and $119,778 a year
  • No. 72 – Dallas: between $38,857 and $115,990 a year

Four of the top 10 cities with the highest middle class income ceilings are in California (no surprise there) and three of the four are in the Bay Area. The report found that tech cities like those in the Bay Area are notoriously the most difficult to attain a middle class status. California’s overall high cost-of-living means residents in the No. 1 city of Fremont would need to make between $104,499 and $311,936 a year to be labeled middle class.

The top 10 cities with the highest middle class ceilings are:

  • No. 1 – Fremont, California
  • No. 2 – San Jose, California
  • No. 3 – Arlington, Virginia
  • No. 4 – San Francisco
  • No. 5 – Seattle
  • No. 6 – Irvine, California
  • No. 7 – Gilbert, Arizona
  • No. 8 – Scottsdale, Arizona
  • No. 9 – Plano
  • No. 10 – Chandler, Arizona

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

plano dallas irving garland arlington fort worth reports SmartAsset
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This Week's Hot Headlines

Dallas' iconic Granada Theater announces closure and more top stories

CultureMap Staff
Oct 31, 2026 | 10:00 am
Granada Theater in 2016
Photo by Bill Ellison
The Granada Theater will officially close on April 17, 2027.

Editor's note: The top Dallas news of the week is full of goodbyes, starting with the impending closure of a famed Dallas theater. Read on for our most popular stories, then plan your Halloween weekend here.

1. Dallas' Granada Theater will close after 80 years to become Bathhouse spa. Granada Theater, a staple on Greenville Avenue for the past 80 years, will close its doors in 2027 after being sold to the New York-based spa concept, Bathhouse.

2. New Bishop Arts bistro brings French elan to historic Oak Cliff home. Transforming historic Oak Cliff homes into dining destinations is an art, and a duo known for their Deep Ellum hot spots has a new work on display. Trapèze, a French bohemian bar and bistro, has quietly opened on the west end of the Bishop Arts District.

3. Dallas gymnast Skye Blakely wins gold at 2026 world championships. American Skye Blakely soared to the women's all-around gold at the world gymnastics championships on Friday, October 23, putting together four stellar routines as other top competitors faltered.

Day 7 - Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Rotterdam 2026 Skye Blakely is the 2026 gymnastics world champion. Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images

4. Famed pizzeria Slice House by Tony Gemignani temporarily closes in Frisco. Celebrity-chef-owned pizzeria Slice House by Tony Gemignani, the pizza brand by world-renowned pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani, has closed its location in Frisco.

5. Acclaimed Vaqueros BBQ restaurant backed by M Crowd closes in Allen. A high-profile barbecue restaurant in Allen has closed. Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q, which opened at Watters Creek Village in early 2025 with backing from the M Crowd Restaurant Group, has shut down, and the partnership has dissolved.

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