COVID-19 response

H-E-B reverses mask decision for customers after backlash

H-E-B is keeping its mask mandate for customers, a reversal of its original decision.

Photo by Dave Rossman

H-E-B, the largest grocery chain in Texas, has reversed course and will now require rather than recommend that customers wear masks inside its stores.

H-E-B issued a statement March 5 saying customers, employees, and vendors still must put on masks even after the statewide mask mandate ends on March 10. Previously, the San Antonio-based company said it would require employees and vendors to wear masks inside stores owned by H-E-B but would only recommend shoppers do so.

The chain’s decision to stop demanding that shoppers put on masks angered many H-E-B loyalists. In addition, two members of the San Antonio City Council criticized H-E-B’s move during a March 4 council meeting.

“While statewide policy has changed, our store protocol has not. Mask use at our stores will remain,” the company’s statement says. “Our signs requiring mask use will remain posted at entrances, and we will continue to make announcements in store. … H-E-B has always been a strong proponent and advocate of mask use even before mandates and orders were passed.”

H-E-B says it will give masks to any customers who come to its stores without them.

“Throughout the pandemic, we are thankful that we’ve seen strong compliance with mask wearing at our stores. But we need the help of all Texans to ensure compliance continues,” the company says.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced March 2 that he would remove the statewide mask mandate March 10, prompting some retailers to keep their own mask mandates in place and others to follow Abbott’s lead.

“The ending of mask ordinances puts real pressure on retailers to enforce an emotional topic for many. We ask for kindness and understanding from our customers in our expectation of them to wear masks in our stores,” says H-E-B, alluding to the fiery debate over wearing masks.

H-E-B says it realizes that some customers can’t wear masks due to certain medical conditions.

In committing once again to a full-fledged mask requirement, H-E-B also says it still adheres to the following COVID-19 protocols:

Proper handwashing
Plexiglass partitions
Sanitization
Social distancing

“As Texans helping Texans, let’s continue to protect each other while in our stores,” H-E-B says.

health shopping

income news

Texas residents earn 11th highest income in U.S. for 2026, study says

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

The highest-earning Texans make over half a million dollars a year.

A new WalletHub study comparing income disparities across America has ranked Texas residents No. 11 on the list of states with the highest earning residents in the nation.

The report, "States Where People Have the Highest Income (2026)," analyzed U.S. Census Bureau income data in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report evaluated the average annual income of the top five percent, the median annual household income, and the average annual income of the bottom 20 percent of residents in every state, all adjusted for the cost of living.

The report's data revealed the top five percent of Texans, the highest earners, make $520,378 on average yearly after adjusting for the cost of living. That's the seventh-highest income among the top five percent of earners nationwide.

Meanwhile, the median annual income of a Texas household is just under $76,000. The bottom 20 percent of Texas residents make $17,651 a year, the report found.

For additional context, the latest data from the Federal Reserve shows an American household's median yearly income is about $83,700. WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo also found that the highest earning 10 percent of individuals in the U.S. earn over 12 times more than those in the lowest-earning 10 percent, based on the latest Census data.

"By measuring the income of various percentiles against a state's median income, we can better identify where income disparities are more prevalent, which could help us better understand why residents of certain states struggle more to make ends meet," said Lupo.

Virginia is the state where residents earn the highest income in the U.S., WalletHub said. Based on the report's findings, the top five percent of Virginians make $545,097 on average per year after adjusting for the cost of living. The median annual income of a Virginia household comes out to $95,339, and the bottom 20 percent of residents make $19,671 annually on average.

Conversely, West Virginia is the state where people have the lowest income in the U.S. A West Virginia household makes a median annual income of $56,610, the third-lowest nationally, and the bottom 20 percent of residents make $13,260 on average per year, which is the fifth-lowest in the nation. The top five percent of West Virginians make $372,218 on average per year.

The top 10 states where residents have the highest income are:

No. 1 – Virginia
No. 2 – New York
No. 3 – New Jersey
No. 4 – Washington
No. 5 – Connecticut
No. 6 – Utah
No. 7 – Colorado
No. 8 – Minnesota
No. 9 – Illinois
No. 10 – Massachusetts

income wallethub reports texas