When a national survey asked residents how satisfied they are with their hometowns, it found Dallas ranked below other major Texas cities.
San Antonio ranked first in America for resident satisfaction at 78.2%, while Houston ranked eighth at 72.1% and Austin ranked 10th at 71.7%, according to Gensler data reported by Axios. Dallas, however, came last statewide – at 12th in the nation, with 71.2%.
The data came from City Pulse 2025, a study from the Gensler Research Institute.
The report also found that Dallas ranked 34th in the world for the most satisfied residents, below Mumbai, India; Cairo, Egypt; San Antonio; Houston; and Austin. This came from residents who reported being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with living in their city.
Dallas ranked 13th in the world for residents most likely to move out. Adults older than 55 were the least likely to move out, while young adults – aged 18 to 34, with no children – were the most likely to move out.
The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex ranks as America’s 26th-highest required salary to live “comfortably,” as The Dallas Express reported. A study from the website Upgraded Points found that a single adult household needed at least $107,061 to live comfortably, while the median income was $51,609.
“American families are facing a convergence of economic pressures that are redefining what it means to live comfortably,” the study reads. “After years of elevated inflation, the cost of essentials — from housing and groceries to transportation and health care — remains persistently high.”
The study claimed that a household with two adults and no kids needed $137,978; two adults and one kid needed $184,228; two adults and two kids needed $220,982; two adults and three kids needed $264,534.
Earlier this year, a SmartAsset report found that Plano had the seventh-highest middle-class income threshold in the country at $72,133 – topping the DFW metroplex, as The Dallas Express reported at the time.
Meanwhile, DFW residents reportedly need to earn nearly 50% more than they did six years ago to afford a median-priced home.
Dallas and Collin counties have been struggling to keep up with the number of people entering homelessness, as The Dallas Express reported, with Dallas shelters already packed.
By collaborating with local governments and nonprofits, Housing Forward and other groups have helped create exit pathways, lowering the number of people experiencing homelessness in the annual point-in-time counts.
With homelessness comes concerns about growing crime. Dallas’ 2026 budget projects just 3,424 sworn officers — 576 short of the charter-mandated minimum from Proposition U, which voters passed in 2024. The budget also placed Dallas’ base starting police pay 12th among area departments, well below the top-five benchmark voters required.
Despite issues like rising costs, homelessness, and police response times, Dallas has begun positioning itself as America’s new financial capital, with numerous firms moving from Wall Street to “Y’all Street,” as The Dallas Express also reported.
When socialist Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson invited the city’s residents to move to Dallas. After Mamdani’s win in the general election, companies like Barstool Sports considered leaving New York for better opportunities.
