safety news

2 North Texas cities rank among top 10 safest in U.S. for 2025

Two large North Texas are among America's safest.

North Texas residents concerned about the effects of population growth may feel more secure knowing two of the area's biggest cities – Arlington and Fort Worth – have scored top-10 spots on a new ranking of America's safest large cities.

This, on the heels of a separate report declaring Frisco and McKinney among the nation's safest suburbs.

SmartAsset's 2025 report compared 50 of the largest U.S. cities based on their property and violent crime rates, vehicular deaths, drug overdose deaths, and the percentage of the population engaging in "excessive drinking." The report also considered each city's housing affordability and median household income data.

Fort Worth ranked as the third-safest city nationwide, outshined only by the California cities of San Jose (No. 1) and Los Angeles (No. 2). Arlington came in at No. 7 on the list, and No. 8-ranking El Paso was the only other Texas city to make the top 10.

Meanwhile, Dallas only ranked as the 18th safest U.S. city. (More on that in a second.)

According to the report's findings, there were 13,352 violent crimes reported in Fort Worth in 2023, which gives the city a per capita violent crime rate of 0.0137. Fort Worth's property crime per capita is slightly higher, at 0.0349, after 34,136 property crimes were reported during the same one-year period.

Vehicular mortality and drug mortality rates were determined on the county level, meaning they were the same across Fort Worth and Arlington since both cities are located Tarrant County. There have been nearly 11 traffic deaths per 100,000 Tarrant County residents so far in 2025, and about 18 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 residents. Additionally, just over 18 percent of Tarrant County residents report that they drink heavily.

Here's how SmartAsset broke down Arlington's rank:

Violent crime per capita: 0.0206
Violent crimes reported in 2023: 8,214
Property crime per capita: 0.0359
Property crimes reported in 2023: 14,318
Median monthly housing costs: $1,420
Median household income: $73,519

In 18th-ranked Dallas, about 26,600 violent crimes and nearly 69,500 property crimes were reported in the city in 2023, the report found. Dallas has a per capita violent crime rate of 0.0204, and a property crime rate of 0.0533.

In 2025, there have been 12.5 traffic deaths per 100,000 Dallas County residents, and 20.3 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people. Nearly 19 percent of Dallas County residents reported drinking excessively, the report said.

Three other major Texas cities ranked among the top 30 safest American cities for 2025: Houston (No. 24), Austin (No.28), and San Antonio (No. 29).

"City safety – or lack thereof – can lead to great disparity in quality of life and return on dollars invested by residents, businesses and government alike," the report said.

The top 10 safest American cities in 2025 are:

No. 1– San Jose, California
No. 2 – Los Angeles, California
No. 3 – Fort Worth, Texas
No. 4 – Omaha, Nebraska
No. 5 – Virginia Beach, Virginia
No. 6 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 7 – Arlington, Texas
No. 8 – El Paso, Texas
No. 9 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 10 – Raleigh, North Carolina

SmartAsset's report sourced its data from 2025 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, the FBI's 2023 Uniform Crime Reporting Database, and neighborhood analytics database NeighborhoodScout.com. Median monthly housing costs and household income data was sourced from the Census Bureau’s 5-year American Community Survey from 2023.

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texas premiums

These 10 jobs boast the biggest salary premiums in Texas, study says

where it pays to work in texas and where it doesn't

Photo courtesy of SmartAsset/iStock

Geoscientists earn the biggest premium by working in Texas, whereas editors have the biggest penalty for working in the state.

A move to Texas helps some careers and hurts others, and a new SmartAsset study has revealed the top professions where the median annual earnings in the Lone Star State exceed the national median. The study also examined the occupations that suffer the biggest penalties for being in Texas.

The report, "When it Pays to Work in Texas — and When It Doesn’t," published in April, analyzed over 700 occupations to determine which have the biggest "Texas premium" — meaning jobs where the price-adjusted median annual pay in Texas most exceeds the national median for the same occupation — and which jobs have the biggest “Texas penalty,” where the statewide median annual pay falls furthest below the national median. Salaries were sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and adjusted for regional price parity.

According to the report's findings, geoscientists have the biggest "Texas premium" and make a $159,903 median annual salary. Texas' salary for geoscientists is 61 percent higher than the national median for the same position (after adjusting for regional price parity).

"Texas’s large petroleum industry helps explain why employers in the state retain so many geoscientists," the report's author wrote. "In fact, the Lone Star State is home to more geoscientists than any other state except California."

There are more than 3,600 geoscientists working in Texas, SmartAsset said.

These are the remaining top 10 occupations with the biggest "Texas premiums" (salaries are price-adjusted):

No. 2 – Commercial pilots: $167,727 median Texas earnings; 37 percent higher than the national median
No. 3 – Sailors: $67,614 median Texas earnings; 36 percent higher than the national median
No. 4 – Aircraft structure assemblers: $83,519 median Texas earnings; 35 percent higher than the national median
No. 5 – Ship captains: $108,905 median Texas earnings; 27 percent higher than the national median
No. 6 – Nursing instructors (postsecondary): $100,484 median Texas earnings; 26 percent higher than the national median
No. 7 – Tax preparers: $63,321 median Texas earnings; 25 percent higher than the national median
No. 8 – Chemists: $104,241 median Texas earnings; 24 percent higher than the national median
No. 9 – Health instructors (postsecondary): $128,680 median Texas earnings; 22 percent higher than the national median
No. 10 – Engineering instructors (postsecondary): $129,030 median Texas earnings; 22 percent higher than the national media

Where Texas workers suffer the biggest penalty
SmartAsset said an editor is the Texas profession where workers earn the furthest below the median for the same occupation elsewhere in the U.S. Not to be confused with film and video editors, BLS defines editors as those who "plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material" and "may review proposals and drafts for possible publication."

The study found editors make a price-adjusted median wage of $29,710, which is 61 percent lower than the national median for the same position, and there are nearly 8,200 editors in Texas.

It's worth noting that the salaries for editors may be skewed by the fact that there are not major publications in rural areas of Texas, and other professions may also have financial deviations for similar reasons.

Several healthcare jobs also appear to have the worst penalties in Texas compared to elsewhere in the country. Home health aides are the second-worst paying professions in the state, making a median wage of $24,161.

"More home health aides work in Texas than in nearly any other state, with only California and New York employing more," the report said. "However, the more than 300,000 Texans in this occupation earn median annual pay that is about 31 percent below the national median, after adjusting for regional price parity.

SmartAsset clarified that pay penalties are not consistent "across the board" for other healthcare occupations in Texas.

"For physical therapy assistants, occupational therapy assistants, and postsecondary nursing instructors, Texas may be an especially strong place to work, with these occupations offering 'Texas premiums' of between 17 percent and 26 percent," the study said.

These are the remaining top 10 occupations where median annual earnings in Texas fall furthest below the national median for the same occupation:

No. 3 – Cardiovascular technicians: $49,382 median Texas earnings; 27 percent lower than the national median
No. 4 – Semiconductor processing technicians: $38,295 median Texas earnings; 25 percent lower than the national median
No. 5 – Tutors: $30,060 median Texas earnings; 25 percent lower than the national median
No. 6 – Control and valve installers: $56,496 median Texas earnings; 24 percent lower than the national median
No. 7 – Mental health social workers: $46,109 median Texas earnings; 23 percent lower than the national median
No. 8 – Clinical psychologists: $74,449 median Texas earnings; 22 percent lower than the national median
No. 9 – Producers/directors: $65,267 median Texas earnings; 22 percent lower than the national median
No. 10 – Interpreters/translators: $46,953 median Texas earnings; 21 percent lower than the national median

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