License News

Texas rolls out new less colorful driver license design

The new cards are meant to be harder to reproduce and easier to read.

dps.texas.gov

Texas has unrolled a new drivers license design which is a little more beige than its predecessor. According to a release, the Texas Department of Public Safety launched new designs for the Texas driver license as well as identification cards on August 18 with both a new look and enhanced security.

It replaces the current design which has been in place since 2020.

“The way driver licenses are made can make a big difference in terms of public safety,” says DPS Driver License Division chief Sheri Gipson in a statement. “This new card design will make it even more difficult for criminals to produce counterfeit cards, and it enhances ways we can protect Texans’ identities from being stolen.”

Like the previous model, the new cards are made of tamper-resistant polycarbonate material which complies with standards maintained by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), and is difficult to reproduce.

Most notably, the art has changed. The previous design was more colorful, featuring a red-white-and-blue flag in the upper left corner, as well as a red-white-and-blue silhouette of the state of Texas. That's been replaced with a Texas gold star state seal, and they've added an image of galloping horses along the bottom.

They also changed the design of the Real ID star. Real ID is a federal program requiring that state-issued IDs or driver's licenses meet security standards, outlined in a 2005 law passed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. On the previous license design, the Real ID star was gold. The new design features a black star in the upper right corner which will also be laser-engraved.

The personal information included on the card has been rearranged into what DPS says is an easy-to-read format for identification and verification purposes. Changes include placing the date of birth on the same line as the drivers license number, making the issuance and expiration dates larger, and moving the organ donor symbol.

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Dallas sees Texas' biggest one-year jump in cost of raising kids

Courtesy of SmartAsset/iStock

Raising a child in Dallas will cost parents over $23,000 this year.

Raising a child is not an easy or inexpensive feat, and a new study has determined Dallas parents are saddled with the second-highest costs for childrearing in Texas, with expenses jumping higher than any other metro statewide since 2025.

SmartAsset's latest report, "Cost of Raising a Child in Major U.S. Metros – 2026 Study," calculated year-over-year changes in the annual cost of raising a child (factoring in childcare, additional housing costs, food, transportation, medical costs and other necessities) in the 48 largest U.S. metro areas. MIT's Living Wage Calculator was used to compare the living costs of a household with two working adults and one child to that of a childless household with two working adults.

Childrearing costs in Dallas-Fort Worth have grown 4.5 percent since last year, totaling $23,340 for a family of three in 2026. That's over $1,000 more than what it took to raise a child in 2025, and it's $1,414 higher than what it took in 2024.

This is how SmartAsset broke down the cost for raising a child in Dallas:

Cost of childcare: $10,736
Cost of food: $1,826
Other expenses: $10,778

Though Dallas has the second-steepest costs for raising a child in Texas, the metro is actually much more affordable than most other places in the U.S.: DFW ranked 39th in SmartAsset's national list of cities with the highest childrearing costs in 2026, making it the 10th most affordable U.S. metro for raising a family.

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont in California topped the list with the highest childrearing costs in the U.S., at $43,171. The cost for raising a child in this California metro soared nearly 11 percent higher since last year.

Memphis, Tennessee ranked dead last as the most affordable U.S. metro for raising a child in 2026. Families will spend less than $20,000 to raise a child in Memphis, only 3.24 percent more than what was needed in 2025.

Raising a child in other Texas metros
It may come as no surprise that Austin is the most expensive place to raise a child in Texas, and it appeared as the 31st most expensive U.S. metro for families. Parents will spend nearly $25,000 to raise a child in the state's capital city, which is $703 higher than it was a year ago.

Meanwhile, San Antonio-New Braunfels is the most affordable metro in the Lone Star State for raising a family, and it's the third-most affordable place for raising a child nationwide. San Antonio parents will spend $21,393, or $448 more than last year, on their childrearing costs.

Houston also ranked among the top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for raising a child, landing in 7th place nationally, with childrearing costs adding up to $22,605 in 2026. That's only $737 more than last year.

The top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for raising a child in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Memphis, Tennessee ($19,922)
No. 2 – Nashville, Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee ($21,216)
No. 3 – San Antonio-New Braunfels ($21,393)
No. 4 – Birmingham, Alabama ($21,684)
No. 5 – Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, Virginia ($22,314)
No. 6 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia ($22,470)
No. 7 – Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ($22,605)
No. 8 – Richmond, Virginia ($22,658)
No. 9 – Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky ($23,270)
No. 10 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ($23,340)

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