Hometown Glory

Houston lauded as a boom town, thanks in large part to its immigrant community

Dallas, our rival to the north, came in seventh out of 52.
Houston took the fifth spot on Forbes' list of new boom towns in America.
Austin, not surprisingly, is Forbes' number one future boom town.
San Antonio ranked fourth - one spot ahead of Houston.

Courtesy photo

Houstonians should be better off than many others as the nation recovers from the recession. According to Forbes' Joel Kotkin, Houston is one of America's next boom towns.

In order to measure a city's boom potential, the 52 largest metro areas in the country were ranked in various categories based on past, current, and future vitality.

One third of the overall score was comprised of job growth. This measure took into account not only the job market of the last decade, but also paid special attention to the last two years, in order to pinpoint any long-term effects of the Great Recession.

The other two-thirds of the score were made up of a variety of demographic factors, including rates of family formation, growth in educated migration, population growth and "a broad measurement of attractiveness to immigrants."

These factors were selected because, according to Kotkin, "college-educated migrants (who also tend to be under 30), new families and immigrants will be critical in shaping the future."

When all was said and done, Houston ranked in a respectable fifth place among the 52, due to "low housing prices, a stable job market and a vibrant immigrant community."

Houston was not the only Texas city to get a piece of the glory, however. Austin took the No. 1 spot on the list and San Antonio came in fourth. Dallas, our rival to the north, did not fare quite as well, coming in seventh.

Completing the top five were No. 2 Raleigh, N.C. and bronze medalist Nashville.

Do you agree with the rankings and the demise of traditional powers like Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle? Is it finally Houston's time in the spotlight?

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money woes

Texas dips on ranking of America's most financially distressed states

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Texas actually improved in this year's ranking.

After spending an unfortunate year as the No. 1 state with the most people in financial distress, Texas has slightly recovered. But the Lone Star State isn't out of the woods yet: it's still among the five most financially distressed states in America for 2026.

According to WalletHub's 2026 report, Texas sits in the No. 4 spot this year, while Kansas, Louisiana, and Florida moved up to become the top three states with the most financially distressed residents.

The personal finance website's experts compared all 50 states based on residents' average credit scores, the share of people with "accounts in distress" (meaning an account that's in forbearance or has deferred payments), the one-year change in bankruptcy filings from March 2025, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

Despite improving in the overall ranking, the study found Texas has had the fourth-biggest spike in bankruptcy filings nationally from March 2025 to March 2026. Texas residents also have the 10th worst average credit scores in the country, according to the findings.

This is how Texas ranked across the study's six key dimensions, where No. 1 means "most distressed:"

No. 4 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
No. 5 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
No. 8 – "Loans" search interest index rank
No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
No. 12 – Credit score rank
No. 13 – “Debt” search interest index rank

It feels like inflation and affordability have been top-of-mind for many Americans over recent years, and uncertainty around the national economy also adds another level of distress. That's especially true for Houston residents, which were dubbed the second most financially distressed people in America earlier in 2026.

"Americans have faced significant financial challenges in recent years, as inflation, shifting unemployment levels, public health emergencies, and natural disasters have made it more difficult for many households to stay on top of their bills," the report said.

The top three states that have the least financially distressed residents are Maine (No. 50), Rhode Island (No. 49), and Hawaii (No. 48).

The top 10 most financially distressed states in America for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Kansas
No. 2 – Lousiana
No. 3 – Florida
No. 4 – Texas
No. 5 – South Carolina
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Georgia
No. 8 – California
No. 9 – North Carolina
No. 10 – Kentucky

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