Self-employment stronghold

Fort Worth ties down ranking as one of top U.S. cities for freelancers

Nine DFW employers are doing it right.

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Dallas, Austin, and Houston grab much of the buzz about where freelancers can thrive in Texas. But a new ranking puts Fort Worth among the top five places in the U.S. for freelancers to live and work — and no other Texas city shows up on the list.

In the ranking, published January 29 by Livability.com, Fort Worth sits at No. 4. The website points out that freelancers enjoy a huge advantage across Texas — the lack of a state income tax. But, the website adds, Fort Worth “affords a better lifestyle overall for independent contractors” than other large cities in Texas do.

In a head-to-head comparison, Livability.com notes that slightly more people in Fort Worth are self-employed (6.4 percent) than in Dallas (5.9 percent). The cities also are similar in terms of cost of living, Livability.com says, but rents are lower in Fort Worth than in Dallas.

Furthermore, Fort Worth ranks among the top 100 coffee cities in the U.S., “which means there will be plenty of pour-overs to fuel you for your deadline and spaces to work when you don’t feel like staying at home,” Livability.com says.

Livability.com also cites the presence in Fort Worth of the Kimbell Art Museum, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, along with the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District and the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

“Besides the large community of self-employed workers and the lack of state income tax, the ‘City of Cowboys and Culture’ has a lot to offer a recently relocated freelancer,” Livability.com says.

Here’s Livability.com’s list of the top five U.S. cities for freelancers:

Tulsa, Oklahoma
Baltimore
Boise, Idaho
Fort Worth
Provo, Utah

To compile its list, Livability.com compared U.S. cities offering perks and infrastructure that improve the lives of freelancers, including relocation incentives, low tax rates, high percentages of freelance workers, and fun, accessible amenities.

“Freelancing represents the future of the workforce, and certain cities are at the forefront when it comes to being welcoming and productive places for freelancers to put down roots and build their careers,” Winona Dimeo-Ediger, editor-in-chief of Livability.com, says in a release. “We’re excited to highlight these cities and help freelancers decide on their next move.”

lists rankings

income news

This is how much it takes to be a middle class earner in DFW in 2025

Photo by Michael Tuszynski on Unsplash

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Maintaining a middle class status in Dallas-Fort Worth only gets harder as the years go on, and the income ceiling to even be labeled as such has just risen even higher. So says SmartAsset's annual "What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America" report for 2025.

According to the latest findings, middle-class income in big cities has a wide range: Depending on where the city is located, it it can be as low as $49,478 or as high as $71,359. This is up from 2024, when middle-class incomes started at $47,568.

Among Texas cities, Plano holds the No. 1 spot on the list with the highest middle-class income ranges.

A household in Plano would need to make a minimum of $72,389 but no more than $217,188 to be considered "middle class" in 2025. Last year, the necessary salary range to maintain a middle class designation in Plano was between $63,651 and $190,004 a year.

The report used a variation of Pew Research's definition of a middle class household, stating the salary range is "two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary." To determine income limits, the report analyzed data from the Census Bureau's 2023 one-year American Community Survey, where the most recent data was available.

New to the 2025 edition, SmartAsset also determined the middle class income thresholds for all 50 states.

Arlington, Virginia has the highest middle class income range in the country, with households needing to make between $93,470 and $280,438 a year to be labeled "middle class."

Middle class earners across Dallas-Fort Worth
Fort Worth households will also have a hard time maintaining a "middle class" designation, as the city climbed from No. 184 last year to No. 46 this year. Earners would have to make between $51,383 and $154,164 annually to be considered middle class in 2025. Last year, they would have needed to make between $47,680 and $143,054 a year.

In a shift from the 2024 report, SmartAsset decided to analyze only the top 100 most populous U.S. cities, after previously ranking 345 cities. That means DFW suburbs like Allen and McKinney – which were among the top 40 cities with the highest middle class income threshold nationwide in 2024 – were left out of this year's analysis.

Here’s what it takes to be middle class in other DFW cities:

No. 43 – Irving: $52,885 to $158,670 yearly
No. 55 – Garland: $47,815 to $143,458 yearly
No. 59 – Dallas: $46,743 to $140,242 yearly
No. 61 – Arlington: $46,134 to $138,416 yearly

Elsewhere in Texas
On the opposite end of the scale, middle class earners in Lubbock have one of the smallest income ranges necessary to be labeled middle class in Texas: Between $36,297 and $108,902 a year. The city ranked 92nd nationwide.

The study says cost of living changes, rising inflation rates, and shifting wages nationwide have made it more difficult for Americans to maintain their "middle class" status.

"For middle-class Americans, the dream has long been a life of reasonable comfort — a stable home, the ability to save enough money to retire, and enough left over for periodic splurges like family vacations, updated cars, or home improvements," the report's author wrote. "But with living costs surging over the past few years, that dream is getting pricier."

Here’s what it takes to be a middle class earner in other Texas cities:

No. 18 – Austin: $60,995 to $183,002 yearly
No. 73 – Corpus Christi: $43,421 to $130,276 yearly
No. 75 – Houston: $41,754 to $125,274 yearly
No. 78 – San Antonio: $41,544 to $124,644 yearly
No. 82 – Laredo: $40,476 to $121,440 yearly
No. 86 – El Paso: $38,208 to $114,634 yearly

In SmartAsset's state-by-state analysis, Texas has the 23rd largest middle class income range. Texas households would need to make between $50,515 and $151,560 to be labeled "middle class" this year. The median income for a Texas household in 2023 came out to $75,780.

The No. 1 state with the highest income range required is Massachusetts, with middle class households needing to make between $66,565 and $199,716 yearly in 2025.

income middle class status reports smartasset dallas plano fort worth