a great place to live

Charming Houston community named No. 12 most family-friendly U.S. city

Evelyn's Park is a Bellaire resident favorite.

Photo via Evelyn's Park Conservancy

If Houston-area residents are looking for the perfect new place to buy a home and raise a family, they should steer their interest toward Bellaire. The southwest Houston suburb, impressively, has been named the No. 12 most family-friendly city in the U.S. by real estate marketplace Opendoor.

Opendoor's second annual "Family-Friendly Cities" list focuses on local communities that offer plenty of recreational outdoor activities that are suitable for families of any age. Bellaire was the only Houston-area city to make the new list and the second Texas city to make the list after Watauga (No. 5), near Fort Worth.

Cities were identified using the average number of family-friendly activity tags found on OpenStreetMap that are used for addresses in a city where the marketplace operates. Factors that were considered include cities with community centers, gardens, museums, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, and more.

For those new to the city or unfamiliar, Bellaire – split in half across I-610 below where it meets I-69, bordered by Southside Place and West University Place to the east – has plenty of family-friendly attractions.

There are 14 different parks around Bellaire, including the popular five-acre Evelyn Park, with its butterfly wall, art lawn, wildflower hill, walking trails, wide open spaces, and two pavillions.

The Evelyn's Park Conservancy says the park is the perfect place to relax with family and enjoy the beauty of nature.

"With its beautifully designed spaces and engaging programming, the new park appeals to audiences of all ages and interests — it is at once a quiet refuge and a flourishing place for community, a fresh destination and a perennial part of our city’s history," the site says.

But its Paseo Park (also on Bellaire Boulevard, but west of I-610) which hosts the Bellaire Arts and Crafts Festival, an annual family-friendly festival that has been showcasing local artwork since 1972. The upcoming festival will take place on November 11, 2023.

In addition, Bellaire residents can make use of a thriving public library, visit the city's 9/11 Memorial, Nature Discovery Center, The "Officer Lucy Dog Park" within Lafayette Park, the Bellaire Town Square Family Aquatic Center, and much more. The city is also adjacent to some major Houston attractions like NRG Stadium, the Houston Zoo, Memorial Park, and The Galleria.

According to recent reports, the average home price in Bellaire is a whopping $1,005,759 – significantly more than the average home value in Houston proper, $264,789. It's become an attractive place for renovated shopping centers and coveted for its "community vibes" in recent years.

Opendoor's 15 best family friendly cities in 2023 are:

No. 1 – Somerville, Massachusetts
No. 2 – Berkeley, California
No. 3 – Cliffside Park, New Jersey
No. 4 – Arlington, Virginia
No. 5 – Watauga, Texas
No. 6 – Chandler, Arizona
No. 7 – Denver, Colorado
No. 8 – Portland, Oregon
No. 9 – Valley Stream, New York
No. 10 – Garden Grove, California
No. 11 – Coral Gables, Florida
No. 12 – Bellaire, Texas
No. 13 – Ann Arbor, Michigan
No. 14 – Mission, Kansas
No. 15 – Avondale Estates, Georgia

The full report can be found on opendoor.com.

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closing the gaps

Texas no longer leads U.S. for racial progress, new report says

Photo by Jerry Kavan on Unsplash

WalletHub's report is released annually ahead of MLK Day.

Texas has been overtaken as the No. 1 state that has made the most racial progress, according to a new study.

The Lone Star State led the nation in 2025, but now ranks in third place behind Georgia (No. 1) and Mississippi (No. 2). It also ranked No. 5 nationally in the list of states with the most racial integration.

WalletHub's "States That Have Made the Most Racial Progress" study is released annually ahead of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The report compares all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 22 relevant metrics divided into two main rankings: racial integration (which the study defines as "the current integration levels of white people and Black people") and racial progress (defined as "the levels of racial progress achieved over time").

The report's author clarifies that the study focuses only on the racial integration between Black people and white people "in light of racial tensions in recent years that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement."

"We released this report ahead of the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation and discrimination against Black people," the report says.

The study further divided each ranking into four main categories measuring the gaps between white people and Black people over time; spanning employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, and health. Texas performed the best in education and health, ranking No. 4 nationally in both categories, and it ranked in sixth place for its social and civic engagement. The state ranked 16th in the category for employment and wealth.

According to WalletHub, Texas has "done a lot" to reduce gaps in health outcomes for white and Black residents, such as reducing gaps in health insurance coverage, and reducing the share of Black Texans suffering from "poor health" and diabetes. It also notes that Texas "made the second-most progress when it comes to obesity," but it did not acknowledge the racial bias in body mass index (BMI) that has been increasingly flagged in recent years.

The report further praises Texas for reducing the gap in business ownership between white and Black Texans, and for its improvement in reducing discrimination in the parole system. WalletHub does not offer data behind the parole claim.

"It’s encouraging to look at the data and see that some states have made significant strides toward racial equality over the past few decades," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo regarding the overall report. "This change demonstrates that state-level policies and residents’ attitudes regarding equality have grown considerably better."

Though racial disparity gaps are closing between white and Black people, racial profiling and discrimination is still a major issue affecting Black people and other people of color across the country.

In 2023, a senate bill banned public Texas universities from having diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs, prompting warnings of discrimination against Black, Hispanic, and other marginalized students, including those with disabilities.

The top 10 states with the most racial progress in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Georgia
No. 2 – Mississippi
No. 3 – Texas
No. 4 – North Carolina
No. 5 – Maryland
No. 6 – Florida
No. 7 – New Jersey
No. 8 – Massachusetts
No. 9 – Louisiana
No. 10 – New Mexico

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