Rich People News

One small town in Texas makes list of richest small towns in the U.S.

Houston neighbor Bellaire is the richest small town in Texas.

Photo courtesy of City of Bellaire, Texas

A new survey of affluent small towns has found one town in Texas to be at the top of the list: Bellaire, a small town within the Houston metro area, has earned the top spot as the richest small town in Texas for 2025.

The report, "The Richest Small Town in Every State," from GoBankingRates, selected one city from each state, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey to determine the 50 richest small towns based on their median household income.

Describing Bellaire as a "small town" might be a bit of misnomer. It's located less than 10 miles from downtown Houston and is fully surrounded by the City of Houston. It's really more of a wealthy enclave within Houston, with a population of just over 17,000 residents.

Those affluent citizens earn a median $236,311 in income every year, which GoBankingRates says is the 11th highest household median income out of all 50 cities included in the report.

The average home in this city is worth over $1.12 million, but Bellaire's lavish residential reputation often attracts properties with multi-million-dollar price tags.

Bellaire also earned a shining 81 livability score for its top quality schools, health and safety, commute times, with an abundance of exceptional local amenities.

Those include conveniently located grocery stores, coffee shops, diverse dining options, and spacious parks.

It's not the first time that Bellaire has caught the eye of GoBankingRates, which previously ranked it as the No. 23 wealthiest suburb in America, and it's been named on similar lists comparing the richest American cities.

suburbs houston bellaire affluent households

Renovation News

Fort Worth Convention Center unveils new renovation with coffee bar

FWCC

Fort Worth Convention Center

The first phase of the Fort Worth Convention Center expansion made its debut on Monday, December 8 — a major milestone for the project which is part of the city’s larger economic development strategy to attract meetings from across the state and nation.

The expansion is taking place in two phases and now Phase 1 is complete.

Totaling 76,794 square feet, the $95 million renovation includes a grand Southeast entrance and terrace, state-of-the-art food & beverage facilities, a retail coffee bar, 11 new loading docks (up from seven), and realignment of Commerce Street to create a site pad for a future convention hotel and additional retail or restaurants.

These new additions are now fully complete and open to convention clients and to the public.

Phase II construction, estimated at $606 million, is anticipated to begin in late 2026 and run through early 2030.

Elected officials, business leaders, and construction partners gathered for a ribbon-cutting at the new southeast entrance, which includes a lantern box atrium lobby and retail coffee bar called Beltbuckle Brew.

Speakers included Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, District 9 City Councilmember Elizabeth Beck, Public Events Director Mike Crum, and Visit Fort Worth President & CEO Bob Jameson.

“Fort Worth provides the Texas experience that meeting planners want, and the Phase I convention center expansion and modernization exceeds those expectations,” said Mayor Parker. “This milestone, along with Phase II construction, will increase capacity to host conferences from across the nation, bolstering our already impressive convention and tourism industry.”

Crum called it the first step.

“We’ve delivered Phase 1 on budget and on time, and design is almost complete for the second phase of expansion and modernization," Crum said. "We will have floor plans and renderings to share within the next few months that will illustrate big horizons ahead for Fort Worth’s meeting business.”