call an uber

Texas ranked 3rd worst state for drunk driving in sobering new report

Don't drink and drive, Texas.

Texans have no doubt seen the Department of Transportation's highway billboards during the holiday season warning: "Drink, drive, go to jail." Texas drivers need to heed that warning – the Lone Star State was recently ranked the third worst state for drunk driving in 2023.

The report by Forbes Advisor revealed Texas' troubling statistics regarding drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes. According to Forbes' data, 42.37 percent of all traffic deaths in Texas are caused by drunk drivers. The state also had the third-highest rate of underage drunk drivers involved in fatal car crashes: 0.94 per 100,000 licensed drivers.

There are nearly 340 DUI arrests made per 100,000 licensed drivers in Texas, and more than five people are killed in car crashes involving a drunk driver for every 100,000 Texans, according to the report.

"Despite widespread efforts by the federal government to educate the public on the dangers of drunk driving, far too many people continue to ignore the trend," the report's author wrote.

Texans who want to avoid a DUI charge this holiday season should consider carpooling with a designated driver, taking public transportation when accessible, or using a rideshare service.

Overall, four of the top 10 worst states for drunk driving are not in the South, but in the West. Montana topped the list as the worst state for drunk driving, with the highest rates of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes for every 100,000 licensed drivers and for the number of people killed in crashes involving a drunk driver.

The top 10 worst states for drunk driving in 2023 are:

No. 1 – Montana
No. 2 – South Dakota
No. 3 – Texas
No. 4 – Wyoming
No. 5 – North Dakota
No. 6 – Oregon
No. 7 – New Mexico
No. 8 – South Carolina
No. 9 – Missouri
No. 10 – Oklahoma

In the report's analysis of the states with the lowest rates of drunk driving, six out of the top 10 are located in the Northeast: New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

Forbes Advisor ranked all 50 states across six metrics, including the number of DUI arrests per 100,000 licensed drivers, the percentage of total traffic deaths caused by drivers with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 or higher, and more. The statistics were compiled using the most recent data from the National Highways Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the NHTSA's Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST), and the Department of Transportation.

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

texas forbes reports

Money Matters

This is the salary you need to live comfortably in Texas in 2026

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

undefined

A new national report looking at the income it takes to live comfortably in each of the 50 states has revealed Texans need to earn slightly less now than a year ago.

SmartAsset analyzed what a single individual, as well as family of four, must earn to cover minimum basic needs adjusted using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. The resulting estimate represents the annual, pre-tax income needed to live comfortably in every U.S. state.

A single, full-time worker needs to make $90,563 to live comfortably in the Lone Star State, the report found, which is down a meager 0.2 percent from last year ($90,771).

Under the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, that means a single Texas earner would have $45,282 to spend on necessities like housing and utilities, $27,169 for discretionary spending, and $18,113 for emergencies or retirement savings.

Texas ranked 34th nationally in SmartAsset's list of states with the highest income needed for a single adult to live "in sustainable comfort" in 2026. Only five other states — Tennessee, Maryland, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Mississippi — saw a decline in the income needed to live comfortably this year.

For a family of four to live comfortably in Texas, income requirements change significantly, according to the findings. To support a two-child household, a family needs $203,424 in combined total household income to be considered financially stable. This is down slightly from 2025, when SmartAsset reported a family of four in needed $204,922 to live comfortably in Texas.

This is a comfortable lifestyle for a family of four in Texas, according to the report:

$101,712 dedicated to necessities and living expenses
$61,027 dedicated to discretionary spending
$40,685 dedicated to emergencies, savings, or debt repaymen

According to the report, a family of four now needs to make at least $200,000 to live comfortably in 40 U.S. states, a figure that is far out of reach for many American families.

"As housing, grocery, transportation and other essential costs pressure household budgets, earning a six-figure salary no longer guarantees financial comfort in much of the U.S.," the report said. "A single adult now needs at least $80,000 a year to live comfortably in every state, while the threshold exceeds $100,000 in nearly half of states. For a family of four, the income needed to live comfortably is as much as $329,000."

Still, earning the minimum income to live comfortably in Texas doesn't guarantee financial stability in the Lone Star State's major cities. Earlier this year, SmartAsset determined single residents in Dallas need to make nearly $97,000 to qualify as financially stable, while families of four need about $214,500.

texas smartasset reports salaries income finance