Where are the wealthy settling down in Central Texas? The Austin neighbor of Round Rock has added a larger percentage of high-income households recently than any other local city, and it ranks among the top 25 U.S. places with the biggest growth of high earners.
A new study by financial tech company SmartAsset, "Cities Adding the Most High-Income Households – 2025 Study" examined Census Bureau income data across 352 American cities. They were ranked based on the growth in high-earning households as a percentage of total households between 2022 and 2023. For the purpose of the study, high-income households are defined as those making $200,000 or more per year.
Round Rock ranked No. 25 nationwide and No. 4 in Texas.
The study found 19.3 percent of all Round Rock households made $200,000 or more in 2023, and added nearly 3,300 high-income earners during the one-year period. That means the city had an affluent household growth rate of 45 percent.
For context, the national median income for a U.S. household in 2023 was $80,610.
Round Rock was ranked one of the best places to live in 2023, and has been consistently lauded as one of the safest American cities that's also the most affordable for renters. And with the new influx of wealth, Round Rock residents can afford to spend the extra cash on small businesses and innovative local restaurants, such as the recently opened eatery Odds Bar & Bistro helmed by former Food Network host John Green.
SmartAsset also mentioned that up-and-coming cities like Round Rock can be greatly impacted by their wealthy households in many other ways.
"[The] prevalence of high-income households also can help describe the relative quality of life of a population, or tell stories about potential wealth gaps or local growth," the report said. "Changes in a city’s relative proportion of households earning high income may change due to dynamics in the local job market, housing market, cost of living, age demographics, opportunities elsewhere, and beyond."
Other high-earning cities in Texas
The Texas city that brought in the most high-earning households from 2022 to 2023 was the South Texas city of Brownsville, which also ranked No. 4 nationally.
Only one additional Central Texas city appeared in the top 100: Killeen (No. 41), which added 901 affluent households from 2022 to 2023. In SmartAsset's 2024 study, Killeen had the fourth-highest growth rate of high-income earners in the country.
Other Texas cities ranked among the top 100 with the most high-earning households include:
- No. 15 – Edinburg
- No. 24 – Lewisville
- No. 29 – Abilene
- No. 30 – Denton
- No. 35 – New Braunfels
- No. 41 – Killeen
- No. 48 – Pearland
- No. 59 – Tyler
- No. 61 – Amarillo
- No. 63 – Carrollton
- No. 77 – San Antonio
- No. 82 – Atascocita
- No. 97 – Richardson
- No. 99 – League City