new praise for plano

North Dallas neighbor surprises as top 10 best U.S. city to drive in

I-635 US-75 central expressway LBJ freeway

Once you head out of the city, driving's a little less of a nightmare.

Courtesy photo

Dallasites can agree that there's nothing worse than getting stuck in traffic, but one surprising suburb is pulling through as one of the most enjoyable cities to drive in: The North Dallas neighbor of Plano.

That honor is being bestowed by personal finance website WalletHub in its new study ranking the "Best & Worst Cities to Drive In (2024)." The report examined 100 of the largest U.S. cities to determine their "driver friendliness" using 30 metrics across four key dimensions: Costs for vehicle ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and vehicle and maintenance accessibility (repair shops, car washes, gas stations, parking garages, etc.).

In all, 13 Texas cities made it on WalletHub's list, and six are located in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Raleigh, North Carolina was crowned the No. 1 best U.S. city to drive in, earning a score of 63.92 points, while Plano ranked No. 10 with a score of 60.52 points.

Plano stood out for its overall "safety" ranking, earning No. 13 nationwide, which encompassed factors like the likelihood of having a vehicle accident in the city versus the national average; the traffic fatality rate per 100,000 residents; the rate of car thefts; among others.

Here's how WalletHub broke down the rest of Plano's rank across the three remaining categories:

No. 28 – Access to Vehicles & Maintenance rank
No. 37 – Traffic & Infrastructure rank
No. 40 – Cost of Ownership & Maintenance rank

Elsewhere around DFW, Arlington ranked as the No. 19 best large U.S. city to drive in, while Garland (No. 27), Fort Worth (No. 34), and Irving (No. 38) all fell farther behind.

Dallas (No. 60), unsurprisingly, was one of the worst-ranked Texas cities to drive in. Just last year, Dallas ranked No. 9 in a Forbes Home study of U.S. cities with the hardest commutes, so this doesn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who lives in the city.

The only city in the Lone Star State that performed worse than Dallas was Houston, which ranked No. 64 nationally. Houston is notorious for having the worst traffic in the country.

According to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo, living in one of the best cities to drive in – such as Plano or Corpus Christi, which ranked No. 3 nationally – can make it easier for residents to own and maintain a car.

"Car prices have gone up significantly over the past few years, and gas remains expensive going into the summer travel season," Lupo said in the report. "However, costs aren’t the only factors that matter; the best cities for drivers also minimize commute times and traffic congestion, have accident rates well below the national average and keep their roads in good condition."

The top 10 best large U.S. cities to drive in are:

No. 1 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 2 – Boise, Idaho
No. 3 – Corpus Christi, Texas
No. 4 – Greensboro, North Carolina
No. 5 – Jacksonville, Florida
No. 6 – Orlando, Florida
No. 7 – Scottsdale, Arizona
No. 8 – Wichita, Kansas
No. 9 – Tampa, Florida
No. 10 – Plano, Texas

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

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better than last year

Texas struggles on new ranking of best states to live in 2026

Photo by Stuart Seeger Wikipedia

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After earning its worst-ever ranking last year, Texas has improved couple of spots on an evaluation of the best states to live, but it's still at the bottom of the pack.

Each year, WalletHub's analysts compare all 50 states using 51 livability metrics to measure their affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were weighed include the cost of living, homeownership rates, population and income growth rates, wealth gaps, public school system quality, road quality, crime rates, and many others.

The Lone Star State landed at No. 36 spot in 2026, making it the 15th worth state to live right now. That's on par with its 2024 ranking, and it's a two-spot improvement over its 2025 performance.

While Texas residents can brag about living in a state with the No. 1 highest number of restaurants per capita and the 7th best quality of life in the country, that's about it. Texas earned middling-to-poor scores among the four remaining livability rankings: safety (No. 33), affordability (No. 35), economy (No. 37), and education and health (No. 40).

Texas has a lot of work to do to improve its livability for all of its residents, but especially for women, according to several other 2026 WalletHub studies. Texas is the fourth-worst state for women, the ninth-worst state for working mothers, and the seventh-worst place to have a baby based on limited access to maternal and pediatric healthcare.

But the very worst states to live prove that life could be much worse. New Mexico ranks 50th overall, with Louisiana (No. 49), Mississippi (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46) rounding out the bottom of the list.

After holding on as the No. 1 best state to live for a few years in a row, Massachusetts now ranks No. 4 and was overtaken by Idaho (No. 1), New Jersey (No. 2), and Wisconsin (No. 3). New Hampshire rounds out the top five best states to live.

WalletHub's top 10 best states to live in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Idaho
No. 2 – New Jersey
No. 3 – Wisconsin
No. 4 – Massachusetts
No. 5 – New Hampshire
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Utah
No. 8 – Minnesota
No. 9 – Pennsylvania
No. 10 – Florida

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