Dallas, TX
Study: Plano the 2nd happiest city in the country, while Dallas checks in near the bottom
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/YRNVTRYE6JEGRGLBYSWPZEBLTE.JPG?ssl=1 "Study: Plano the 2nd happiest city in the country, while Dallas checks in near the bottom")
A sprawling Dallas suburb is one of the happiest places in the country, according to a new study.
SmartAsset set out to find where Americans are happiest, and the financial technology firm concluded that Plano is the nation’s second-happiest, just behind Arlington, Virginia.
No other Texas cities cracked the top 25. The closest is Fort Worth at No. 38, and Arlington is the 47th happiest place. Dallas is downright morose at the 11th least happy city in the country. Houston is even sadder as the 10th least happy city.
What gives? SmartAsset evaluated cities by 11 variables in personal finance, well being and quality of life. Measures included the marriage rate, average traffic volume, percent of households earning more than $100,000, share of residents below the poverty line, life expectancy and number of residents who report being physically inactive.
“Money can’t always buy happiness,” SmartAsset wrote. “However, quality of life can influence your financial decisions and outcomes.”
Plano scored exceptionally well across the board. More than 52% of its households earn more than $100,000, and only 4.9% live below the poverty line, which is $31,200 for a family of four. In 2022, the median household income in Plano was about $105,000, according to the U.S. Census.
Compare that to Laredo, called the second-least happy city in the country, where only 26% of households earn more than $100,000 and 20% live below the poverty line. The median household income in 2022 was roughly $60,000.
Plano’s life expectancy is 82.2, compared to 78.3 in Dallas. The suburb’s marriage rate is 56%, significantly higher than Dallas’ 39.7%. Roughly 90% of Plano residents have health insurance compared to only 74% in Laredo.
This isn’t the first time Plano has received attention for just how happy it is. In 2022, it was named the 6th happiest city in the U.S. It has also been named one of the safest cities and one of the best places to raise a family.
If you’re looking for the happiest state, though, you’ll have to head to California, where three of its cities landed in the top 10.
Morton started 15 games in 1972 for an injured Staubach, who eventually returned in the playoffs. The Cowboys decided to trade Morton in 1974 to the Giants, who sent back a first-round pick, which turned out to be the No. 2 overall pick in 1975. The Cowboys used that selection to take Randy White, a 10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer.
Ironically enough, White’s best game was likely Super Bowl XII, when he was named Co-MVP with Harvey Martin. The Cowboys’ Doomsday defense dominated the Broncos, who were quarterbacked by Morton.
Overall, Morton played for the Cowboys, Giants and Broncos before officially retiring at the end of the 1982 season.
His career ended with 27,908 passing yards, ranking him 71st in NFL history, just ahead of Hall of Famer Joe Namath (27,663).
With the official NFL schedule coming this week, the Dallas Cowboys have revealed when, where and against who their Week 1 contest will be.
The Cowboys announced that they will square off against the New York Giants on the road in Week 1, with the game set for Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:20 p.m. CT. So, it’s prime time for the Cowboys to start the season.
This is the second game we know about for the Cowboys this year. Of course, we know they will be playing on Thanksgiving, also.
The official schedule will drop on May 14, the NFL announced last week. Schedules for all 32 teams will be revealed on ESPN and the NFL Network, but each team will unveil its own schedule on social media, also.
The Cowboys were always likely to play a road game in Week 1 because of an Usher and Chris Brown concert taking place at AT&T Stadium that week.
Dallas will also be impacted by an Ed Sheeran concert in Week 7, so that’s another potential road game. They could also play on Monday or Thursday that week, or have a bye.
Cowboys’ strength of schedule
According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Cowboys are not going to have an easy road to make the postseason.
The Cowboys have the fourth-toughest schedule in the NFL going into the 2026 season, with only the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers having tougher slates.
Dallas’ schedule is also the third-toughest in the NFC, and the most difficult in the NFC East.
Sharp does his strength of schedule rankings based on win totals from Vegas oddsmakers rather than utilizing the previous season’s records because that metric doesn’t factor in offseason changes.
The Cowboys will play home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
On the road, Dallas will square off against the Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Of those opponents, seven of them made the postseason in 2025, a list that includes the Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Texans, Rams, Seahawks and Packers.
All of those teams should be as good in 2026, and teams like the Colts, Titans, Ravens, Bucs, Giants and Commanders have a very real chance to be improved as well.
It won’t be an easy road for Dallas to get back to the playoffs in 2026, but there’s at least hope following a defensive overhaul.
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