THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT

Austin earns optimistic rank on list of happiest cities in the U.S.

Austin Congress Avenue Bridge paddle board Lady Bird Lake Town Colorado River

According to a new report, Austin is the happiest big city in Texas.

Despite pandemic fatigue and vaccine frustrations, winter-storm woes, and anxiety about whether life will ever return to what we once knew as normal, ever resilient Texans have somehow struck a happy medium between misery and contentment in these weird days. And according to one recent report, Austinites are feeling pretty okay about life in the Capital City.

WalletHub recently released its report detailing 2021’s Happiest Cities in America, which compared 182 of the largest U.S. cities based on several happiness factors. Austin, which has previously been lauded as one of the happiest cities in the U.S., landed at No. 27 on the new report, earning an overall score of 64.13 out of 100, a well-being score of 20, an employment score of 24, and a community and environment score of 94.

In its effort to identify the largest U.S. cities that are home to the happiest people, WalletHub considered three key aspects of residents’ lives: emotional and physical well-being, income and employment, and community and environment.

It terms of happiness, Austin ranked top among Texas' big metro areas. Only the North Texas city of Plano earned a higher rank at 17.

Despite its report happiness, WalletHub notes that unhappiness is on the rise given the hindrances of life in 2021. In fact, the pandemic appears to be driving a good portion of the gloom many people are feeling of late, with the WalletHub report citing recent findings from the American Psychological Association that claim the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the average person’s stress to “increase significantly” for the first time since 2007.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has altered every aspect of American life, from health and work to education and exercise,” the APA report notes, warning that in the long term, “the negative mental-health effects of the coronavirus will be serious and long-lasting.”

Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas ranked No. 104 on the list, while Houston ranked No. 123. As for the saddest of Texas' big cities? That honor goes to San Antonio at No. 141, with an overall ranking of 48.61 out of 100.

Something San Antonians may take solace in: Misery loves company, and according to the WalletHub report, Texans are pretty bummed across the board. Laredo is the lowest-ranking Texas city on the list, at No. 161. Other Texas cities ranked on the happiness list include Amarillo (No. 63), Grand Prairie (No. 70), Garland (No. 77), Fort Worth (No. 83), Irving (No. 85), Arlington (No. 102), Lubbock (No. 117), Brownsville (No. 125), El Paso (No. 128), and Corpus Christi (No. 127).

According to the report, the happiest city in the U.S. is the San Francisco Bay Area city of Fremont, California.

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closing the gaps

Texas leads U.S. as No. 1 state for racial progress in 2025, per study

Texas African American History Memorial in Austin, Texas

Photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash

Texas has made great strides.

The Lone Star State has proven its commitment to improving racial equality for every Texan, according to WalletHub's 2025 ranking of "States with the Most Racial Progress." Texas has moved up into the No. 1 spot after ranking No. 2 in 2024.

The annual report measures the gaps between Black and white residents across 22 metrics of equality in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine the rankings. States are scored across four main categories: employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, and health. Texas' No. 1 place refers to improvement over time, not overall better performance.

Texas earns top-five rankings in the the categories of health (No. 3) and education (No. 4), and ranks No. 8 in the study's social and civic engagement category. The state falls slightly behind in the employment and wealth category, ranking No. 13 overall for the second consecutive year.

WalletHub specifically praises Texas for its dedication to closing the health gaps between its white and Black residents. The report says Texas has reduced health insurance coverage gaps by 12.4 percent over the last three decades, and has lowered the share of Black residents that are "suffering from poor health and diabetes."

The state has also made progress with closing gaps in its business sector and the criminal justice system, the study found.

"For example, between 2002 and 2021, the gap in business ownership between white and Black residents decreased by 6.4 percentage points, the sixth-largest decrease in the nation," WalletHub said. "The disparity in the share of business executives who are white vs. Black also decreased by close to 8 percentage points, the seventh-largest decrease."

The report continues, "Finally, Texas is the fourth-best state when it comes to making racial progress in the parole system, which is important since Black people have faced a lot of discrimination in the criminal justice system throughout history."

In a similar ranking of states with the most racial integration, WalletHub ranked Texas No. 5 overall, marking a three-place improvement since 2024.

"Although the U.S. has made a lot of progress toward racial equality since the Civil Rights Movement, we still need to do better to ensure equal opportunities for everyone," the report said. "As we think about ways to improve equality in the future, we can also recognize the steps toward racial harmony we’ve already achieved — in our workplaces, in our schools and in our voting booths."

The top 10 states with the most racial progress in 2025, according to WalletHub, are:

No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – Wyoming
No. 3 – Mississippi
No. 4 – Georgia
No. 5 – New Jersey
No. 6 – New Mexico
No. 7 – Maryland
No. 8 – Connecticut
No. 9 – Florida
No. 10 – Idaho

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