Hometown Glory

Where the cool kids are: Houston and Texas cities are tops for young adults

Some things make you want to grab a boombox, put in your Pat Benatar cassette and proclaim "We are young!" (Whether or not love is indeed a battlefield is best left for Benatar and Jordan Sparks to decide.)

This week the Benatar-boombox-worthy moments list includes Forbes naming Houston the second-best city in the country for young adults. Of course, if you are even familiar with any of those references, this list no longer applies to you.

Forbes set out to determine the best place to be for those starting a career, people between the ages of 21 and 29. They started with the 40 "coolest" metropolitan areas, as determined by a Harris Interactive poll, and factored in the unemployment rate, average starting salaries, the cost of living and the median age.

Then they tallied the level of nightlife by evaluating the number of restaurants and entertainment per capita based on CitySearch listings.

The results? Though Houston ranked a lowly 22nd in the "cool" category, it made it into the top two overall by virtue of low(er) unemployment, a low cost of living and a young population.

The same factors pushed Austin into the top spot for young adults, buoyed by a better coolness and nightlife numbers. (Although any Texas grad knows that a low unemployment rate is no guarantee of job prospects in a small market like Austin that produces 15,000 job seekers per year.)

The economic factors and surplus of young people also landed Dallas (No. 6) and San Antonio (No. 9) in the top ten.

Expensive-but-fun metropolis New York was ranked third, with Chicago and Denver rounding out the top five.

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Throw the confetti

Houston puts a ring on it as 8th best U.S. city to get married in 2025

Photo by Eugenia Pankiv on Unsplash

Wedding bells are ringing in Houston.

Put your hands up, Houston. H-Town has climbed through the ranks to become one of the top 10 best places to get married in America this year, according to a just-released study from WalletHub.

WalletHub ranked 182 U.S. cities based on the average wedding costs; the number of venues, vendors, and services; and the number of activities and attractions in every city.

Houston ranks No. 8 for 2025, and especially stands out for activities and attractions (No. 10) and facilities and services (No. 15).

With more than 130 different wedding venues to choose from throughout the Houston area, there's no shortage of beautiful and unique locations to tie the knot. Plus, the bride and bridesmaids can get the party started early with with a shopping spree at Houston's 41st annual Bridal Extravaganza Show, or a luxurious spa getaway.

"Certain cities also make wedding planning easier with an abundance of options for wedding essentials, from florists to videographers to venues," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. "The more options a city has, the more likely you are to receive competitive pricing and to find places that can work with your optimal schedule."

It's equally important to be budget-conscious, as weddings can cost about $35,000 on average, WalletHub said.

"When weddings can cost tens of thousands of dollars and prices have only become even more outrageously inflated in recent years, it pays to hold your wedding in a city that’s affordable, both for those paying for the wedding and for guests who will need to make accommodations," said Lupo.

For the avid DIY-ers out there, there's plenty of tasks that can be accomplished without shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars – such as creating special floral arrangements using unconventional vessels as vases.

Houston is the second best place to get married in Texas, with Austin climbing into first place statewide and No. 6 nationally. Two additional Texas cities made it into the top 25 best places to get married: San Antonio (No. 20) and Dallas (No. 23).

The top 10 best places to get married in the U.S.in 2025 are:

No. 1 – Orlando, Florida
No. 2 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 3 – Miami, Florida
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – Tampa, Florida
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Houston, Texas
No. 9 – New Orleans, Louisiana
No. 10 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida

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