Hottest headlines of 2024

Car registration changes rev up Dallas' hottest 2024 city life stories

Texas inspection sticker.

Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

Editor's note: Stories about city life were some of our most-read headlines of the year in Dallas. Readers wanted to know all about changes to Texas' car inspection and registration process. They devoured stories about suburbs, population growth, schools, transportation, and more. Here's a look back at the most-read Dallas city life stories of 2024:

1. How the new Texas car inspection law affects end-of-year stickers. Beginning January 1, 2025, Texas vehicle owners will no longer be required to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration. House Bill 3297, passed during the 88th Legislature in 2023, abolishes the vehicle safety inspection program for regular cars and trucks. Here's what it means for stickers expiring at the end of this year, and here's what to know about changes to the vehicle registration process.

2. Dallas suburb blossoms as America's 29th most livable small city. Some Dallas suburbs stick out from the rest, and now Flower Mound is getting time in the spotlight, thanks to its ranking of No. 29 most livable small city in the country. The tiny but mighty North Texas neighbor was the only Texas city to earn a top-50 ranking in SmartAsset's 2024 "Most Livable Small Cities" report, released in July.

3. Booming Dallas neighbor was the fastest-growing U.S. city in 2023. One Dallas suburb experienced the most rapid growth spurt in the country in 2023: Celina, whose population grew by 26.6 percent, more than 53 times that of the nation’s growth rate of 0.5 percent. According to U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2023 Population Estimates, released Thursday, May 16, Celina - which straddles Collin and Denton counties - topped the list of fastest-growing cities with a population of 20,000 or more.

Celina Celina is booming. Facebook/City of Celina

4. 3 Dallas high schools rank among America's best in 2024, says U.S. News. Three Dallas high schools dominated U.S. News and World Report's prestigious annual list of the country's best public high schools. The 2024 rankings from U.S. News, released April 23, ranked nationally Dallas ISD’s School for the Talented and Gifted, Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, and Science and Engineering Magnet School.

5. Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 1 with highest inflation rate in the U.S. Inflation has certainly rattled the national economy, but some cities are feeling that sting harder than others — especially Dallas-Fort Worth. According to January study by personal finance experts WalletHub, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had been saddled with the No. 1 highest inflation rate in the U.S.

6. North Dallas roadway to close for a year for DART Silver line construction. In January, a portion of a major thoroughfare in North Dallas was about to be shut down for a year: Beginning Thursday, January 25, a portion of Hillcrest Road between McCallum Boulevard and Wester Way in North Dallas was set to be closed for a 52-week period as construction continues for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Silver Line project.

Silver Line DART DART Silver Line train Courtesy photo

7. 2 affluent Dallas suburbs have some of America's richest residents. America's wealthy, increasingly, are turning away from behemoth cities like Los Angeles or New York City in favor of smaller suburbs and enclaves like Dallas neighbors University Park and Southlake. So said a July household income study by GoBankingRates, which listed the two Dallas-Fort Worth towns among the wealthiest American suburbs in 2024.

8. Dallas neighbor shines as the 2nd happiest city in the U.S., report finds. Happy news for Texans living in Plano – they're living in one of the happiest cities in the nation. An April SmartAsset study ranked Plano the No. 2 happiest city in the U.S., based on an analysis of 90 large cities for their residents' quality of life, well being, and personal finances.

9. Here's what it takes to be a middle class earner in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2024. No one wants to hear that they aren't making enough money to be considered "middle class," and those income ceilings are getting more difficult to maintain year after year across all of Dallas-Fort Worth. A report in May revealed Frisco has the No. 8 highest income ceiling for American middle class earners in 2024.

10. Ken Paxton sues State Fair of Texas and other Dallas venues. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued two high-profile Dallas music venues as well as the State Fair of Texas. The lawsuits were filed against The Factory and Texas Trust CU Theatre and allege that off-duty police officers were not allowed to enter with firearms. All three were filed on February 23 in Dallas County district court.

cars dallas suburb high schools lists population growth state fair of texas texas texas car inspection top stories transportation hot-headlines

Vaping Ban

Dallas ordinance banning vaping in public spaces goes into effect

Photo via Pixlr

Vaping is banned

Vaping is now banned in public spaces in Dallas via a new ordinance which went into effect on December 11, 2025.

The Dallas City Council passed the ordinance — aimed at enhancing air quality and safeguarding the health of residents by prohibiting vaping in places where smoking is already banned — on December 11, 2024. But the public was given a year-long grace period to adjust. It now takes effect, with residents, business owners, and operators required to come into compliance with the new rules.

The ordinance, which was proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), amends the definition of "smoking" in the Dallas City Code to include the use of electronic smoking devices (vaping). This measure effectively bans vaping in all locations currently prohibited for smoking.

The ordinance prohibits vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces, within 15 feet of building entrances, and on park property. Importantly, this amendment does not add any new locations to the list of smoking and vaping restrictions.

The vaping ordinance document is online at https://www.dallasclimateaction.com/.

Assistant City Manager Liz Cedillo-Pereira says in a release thatshe is proud of this effort to keep the air cleaner.

"The largest cities in Texas are now aligned to protect people at work as well as the public from secondary exposure to potentially harmful substances," Cedillo-Pereira says.

In addition, the amendment requires businesses, such as restaurants, hotels and fitness centers, to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and the use of electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

"We're all connected through our environment," says Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability director Angela Hodges Gott. "Keeping our places of business, parks, creeks, and rivers clean is something everyone benefits from. When we reduce vaping and smoking litter, we're protecting the vibrancy of Dallas."

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