Settling Down

Houston earns top-10 rank among best places to retire in Texas in 2026

A Houston park with a bench and a little free library

Retirement unlocks more opportunities to spend time outdoors.

Houstonians getting ready to give up the daily grind are already living in a good place for their next chapter in life. Houston has just been named the No. 6 best city to retire in Texas, and it lands as the 82nd best city in the U.S., according to a new WalletHub report.

The study examined 182 U.S. cities and ranked them based on 45 "retirement-friendly" livability metrics across four key dimensions: affordability, activities, quality of life, and health care.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Florida dominated the top 10, with Orlando, Miami, and Tampa locking in the top three spots and Fort Lauderdale ranking eighth on the list.

Houston fared best in the "affordability" category, ranking 35th nationally. This encompassed the local cost of living, taxpayer-friendliness, the costs for in-home services, and other factors. Costs were a significant factor in the report, as many retirees live on a fixed income.

Finances and affordability also play a huge part in determining where to live once it's time to put up those work boots, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said.

"As a result, the best cities for retired people are those that minimize taxes and expenses, as well as have good opportunities for retirees to continue paid work for extra income, if they choose to do so," he said. "In addition, the top cities provide high-quality health care and offer plenty of enjoyable activities for retirees."

The city also earned a respectable rank as No. 43 in the "activities" category, which analyzed attractions and entertainment venues for seniors, like the number of per capita museums, theaters, book clubs, senior centers, and bingo halls.

Houston fell behind in the remaining two nationwide categories for the best "health care" (No. 158) and "quality of life"(No. 167) for retirees.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin topped the list as the No. 1 best place to retire statewide, and it ranked No. 23 nationwide. San Antonio ranked No. 2 statewide and 47th nationally, and Dallas claimed the No. 3 spot statewide and was the only other Texas city to rank among the national top 50.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 75 – Plano
No. 78 – Fort Worth
No. 82 – Houston
No. 87 – Brownsville
No. 91 – Grand Prairie
No. 101 – Garland
No. 107 – Irving
No. 123 – El Paso
No. 124 – Arlington
No. 134 – Corpus Christi
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 155 – Lubbock

wallethub reports retirement city life rankings

Found Footage

Texas hiker discovers impressively intact dinosaur track near Austin

Photo via KVUE

It may look plain, but this footprint tells an exciting story.

A dinosaur track discovered along Brushy Creek in Hutto near Austin is offering a glimpse into Texas’ prehistoric past.

For Gio Bernabe, walking along Brushy Creek is a chance to explore, fish, and look for anything interesting.

But during a recent Saturday afternoon walk, she came across something she never expected to find.

“And then I saw there was like this huge imprint of kind of like a foot, like a three-toed foot,” Bernabe said. “So I looked at it and I kind of cleaned it up and it looked like a dinosaur foot.”

Bernabe posted a photo of the print on social media, where it quickly attracted attention from the community.

“I was so excited because this is honestly one of my biggest dreams,” Bernabe said. “I've always wanted to find something like, really cool like this, like fossil-related, and I found it in Hutto, Texas.”

Chris Sagebiel with the Jackson School of Geosciences’ Texas Vertebrate Paleontology Collections examined the tracks and confirmed they belonged to a dinosaur. He said the tracks are particularly well preserved.

“I can only think of a couple of places where, in this area, where we have tracks that are that age, that are that well preserved,” Sagebiel said. “We get a lot of really faint tracks or partial tracks, but a beautiful one like that is a very nice find.”

Dinosaur tracks are relatively common around Austin, according to Sagebiel. However, they are more often found west of Interstate 35, where older rock formations are exposed.

The size and spacing of the tracks can help researchers identify the type of dinosaur that made them.

Sagebiel said the tracks likely came from a large, plant-eating, two-legged dinosaur — possibly a Hadrosaur, also known as a duck-billed dinosaur.

Hadrosaur illustration This distinctive dino from North America is a member of the family hadrosauridae.Getty Images

Read the full story at our news partner KVUE.com.

science dinosaurs hiking history nature

Settling Down

Houston earns top-10 rank among best places to retire in Texas in 2026

Affordable Texas burger joint reaches major milestone for inner loop store

Chris Shepherd-founded Houston burger joint goes belly up after 4 years

Seinfeld-approved New York bagel shop sets opening for first Houston spot

Found Footage

Texas hiker discovers impressively intact dinosaur track near Austin