flourishing diversity

2 Dallas-Fort Worth cities make the list of most diverse places in U.S.

Dallas is the No. 8 most diverse city in America.

Living in a multicultural city comes with many benefits. Diverse communities bring new perspectives, greater versatility, and economic boosts, to name a few. And according to a new study by WalletHub, Arlington and Dallas are among the most diverse cities in the nation.

The two Dallas-Fort Worth cities earned top-10 spots in WalletHub's annual ranking of the "Most Diverse Cities in the U.S. (2024)," ranking No. 5 and No. 8, respectively. The report compared 501 U.S. cities across 13 metrics in five categories that encompass "diversity" across socioeconomic, cultural, economic, household, and religious factors.

Arlington earned a score of 72.34 out of a total 100 possible points, following behind Gaithersburg, Maryland (No. 1), Silver Spring, Maryland (No. 2), Germantown, Maryland (No. 3), and Houston (No. 4).

Arlington previously ranked No. 8 in WalletHub's 2021 report, showing that the city has become even more diverse within the last few years.

Arlington performed the best in two overall major categories for cultural and religious diversity, earning a respective rank of No. 31 and No. 41 out of all 501 cities in the study. The suburb's socioeconomic diversity earned it No. 68, while the city fell behind when it came to household and economic diversity, earning No. 251 and No. 121.

More specifically, Arlington performed the best in the rankings for its income diversity (No. 15), racial and ethic diversity (No. 17), and industry diversity (No. 19). But the city fell the farthest behind in the rankings for age diversity (No. 404) and household-type diversity (No. 384).

Here's how Arlington performed within the study's remaining categories out of all 501 cities:

61st – Household-size diversity
63rd – Linguistic diversity
151st – Occupational diversity
176th – Educational-attainment diversity
182nd – Birthplace diversity
272nd – Marital-status diversity
311th – Worker-class diversity

"The most diverse cities demonstrate diversity in many dimensions – not just in race and gender but also everything from residents’ languages and birthplaces to their job types and household sizes," said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe in the report. "These cities blend together a multitude of different perspectives, helping people to better understand the world around them and become more empathetic. This exchange of ideas also tends to increase the economic success of diverse cities."

Dallas scored 71.79 out of 100 points, falling behind New York City (No. 6) and Jersey City, New Jersey (No. 7) in the overall rankings, but staying ahead of Charlotte, North Carolina (No. 9) and Danbury, Connecticut (No. 10).

Dallas slipped from its former rank as the fourth most diverse city in the U.S. in 2021, so the city has some work to do to catch up.

Across the study's five key dimensions, Dallas scored within the top 10 for its high socioeconomic diversity (No. 8), and remained within the top 100 for its cultural (No. 50) and religious diversity (No. 68). The city fell outside the top 100 for its ranking in economic (No. 190) and household diversity (No. 207).

Dallas earned top-25 rankings in industry (No. 23) and educational-attainment diversity (No. 24th), but edged out of the top 50 for its racial and ethic (No. 51) and linguistic diversity (No. 57). The city performed the worst when it came to worker-class (No. 398) and age diversity (No. 356).

Here's how Dallas performed within the study's remaining metrics out of all 501 cities:

147th – Income diversity
152nd – Household-type diversity
232nd – Occupational diversity
245th – Birthplace diversity
254th – Marital-status diversity
272nd – Household-size diversity

Elsewhere in North Texas, Fort Worth ranked No. 22 overall, while Plano ranked No. 83.

The only other Texas cities to earn spots in the report include Austin (No. 70), San Antonio (No. 87), Corpus Christi (No. 125), El Paso (No. 253), and Laredo (No. 468).

The full report can be found on wallethub.com.

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A+ for Plano

Surprising Dallas suburb makes new list of best college towns in U.S.

Southern Methodist University students at a football game

Southern Methodist University/Facebook

Dallas knows how to show out.

Dallas' spirited neighbor Plano has entered the spotlight as the No. 16 best midsize college town in the U.S., while Dallas ranks among the best largest college towns, a new study by WalletHub has proclaimed.

While Plano might not be thought of as a "college town," it is home to primary campuses of Collin College (Spring Creek Campus and the Courtyard Center); Collin College has an annual enrollment of over 60,000 students. To qualify for the study, a city must have a university or college population of at least 7,500 students.

To determine the best college towns, WalletHub analyzed 415 cities based on their "wallet-friendliness," social environment, and academic and economic opportunities for college graduates. Cities are ranked overall and are sorted into one of three population categories: large, midsize, and small cities.

Several North Texas cities were represented across the three rankings by population, but none ranked higher than Plano. This Dallas suburb ranked as the 54th best college town in the nation overall, and ranks as the third-best college town in Texas.

Out of the three key dimensions, Plano ranked highest for its academic and economic opportunities – landing 25th nationally. This category analyzed Plano's quality of higher education, the earning potential for college graduates, unemployment rates, job growth rates, the share of part-time jobs and median income of part-time workers, and more.

In the remaining two categories for its "social environment" and "wallet friendliness," Plano respectively ranked 223rd and 271st nationwide. The social environment ranking compared the number of students per capita, the share of single people, crime rates, and the number of cafés, breweries, festivals, and shopping centers per capita, among others; the wallet-friendliness category examined local housing costs, student loan debt per person, the adjusted cost of living for young people, and other financial factors.

"As student living expenses can reach over $39,000 per year, it’s important to find the most bang for your buck," the report's author wrote. "Therefore, it’s best to live in a city with a reasonable cost of living, along with good academic and work opportunities. The ideal city should also provide a fun social environment to help students deal with the stress of college."

Dallas ranked as the 35th best large college town in the U.S., and it ranked 108th overall regardless of city size.

This is how the rest of North Texas fared in the report:

Denton – No. 77 overall, No. 23 among midsize cities
Fort Worth – No. 100 overall, No. 31 among large cities
McKinney – No. 110 overall, No. 31 among midsize cities
Richardson – No. 139 overall, No. 57 among small cities
Irving – No. 141 overall, No. 39 among midsize cities
Carrollton – No. 150 overall, No. 42 among midsize cities
Arlington – No. 189 overall, No. 53 among large cities
Grand Prairie – No. 230 overall, No. 71 among midsize cities
Garland – No. 265 overall, No. 83 among midsize cities
Mesquite – No. 317 overall, No. 111 among midsize cities

Other top college towns in Texas
Austin once again topped the list as the No. 1 best college town in America, boosted by the city's wealth of local colleges and universities and the local economy. The Capital City has outshone obvious contenders like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, for five years in a row, and it also tops the large cities list.

According to the report's findings, Austin has the 15th best academic and economic opportunities for college students and graduates, and the 16th best social environment. WalletHub commends Austin for having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and the "34th-best annual job growth rate," while also offering students ample ways to "de-stress after class."

"On top of that, Austin ranks 22nd in the nation for the quality of higher education among more than 400 cities in our study," the report said. "It also has the 112th-cheapest in-state tuition (including room and board), at $34,651 per year."

Four other cities in the Lone Star State appeared on the overall list of America's best college towns: College Station (No. 37), San Antonio (No. 72), Houston (No. 73), and Lubbock (No. 83).

In the rankings by city size, San Antonio ranked as the No. 2 best large college town in Texas and 23rd in the U.S., with Houston right behind as the third-best statewide and 24th nationwide.

San Marcos, a college town between Austin and San Antonio, ranked as the No. 2 best small college town in Texas, and 54th best among the small colleges nationally. In the overall list regardless of city size, San Marcos ranked 132nd nationally.

The top 10 best college towns in America for 2027 are:

No. 1 – Austin
No. 2 – Ann Arbor, Michigan
No. 3 – Charlottesville, Virginia
No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 5 – Atlanta
No. 6 – Tampa, Florida
No. 7 – San Diego
No. 8 – Scottsdale, Arizona
No. 9 – Orlando
No. 10 – Charleston, South Carolina

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