A Helping Hand

How to help wildlife in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl

Let the experts provide care.

Photo courtesy of Houston SPCA

The effects of Hurricane Beryl are still being felt in Houston, and not just by humans. Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center has already taken in more than 1,600 orphaned or injured wild animals, including approximately 350 egrets who were rescued after they were blown out of their nests in a northwest neighborhood. Staff and volunteers are working tirelessly to provide care.

Summer is baby season for egrets, and it is common to find many nesting areas in and around Houston.

Among the wildlife impacted were Mississippi kites, mourning doves, white-winged doves, opossums, and squirrels. An emaciated bald eagle even arrived at the campus on Wednesday.

If you find any injured or orphaned wild animals, bring them to the Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center as soon as possible.

Here is how to help orphaned or injured wildlife:

Carefully place the animal in a box with soft rags and a warm — not hot — water bottle, a rice sock, or a heating pad set on low until it is safe to get them to the Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center.
Never attempt to feed or give water to any distressed wildlife, as they may have water in their lungs or other serious injuries.
Place them in a warm and quiet environment, away from regular household noise and pets until you can get them to the Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center.

Other ways to help right now include:

Remove dirt and debris from birdbaths and fill with clean water.
Put out extra birdseed or suet in your yard.
Check under trees in your neighborhood for injured or orphaned wildlife hidden under fallen branches, and get them to the Houston SPCA campus as soon as possible.

For complete guidelines on helping distressed wild animals, visit here. If you are able, please consider supporting Houston SPCA here.

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Stretching the budget

A $100,000 salary in 2026 goes further in Houston than it did last year

Photo by Leo Yao on Unsplash

$100,000 stretches a little further in 2026.

A 2026 income study has good news for big earners in Houston: A six-figure salary goes further than it did last year.

A Houston resident's $100,000 salary is worth $84,840 after taxes and adjusted for the local cost of living, according to the new financial analysis from SmartAsset. That's about $1,500 more than Houstonians were bringing home last year.

The 2026 take-home pay is about eight percent higher than it was in 2024, when the same salary had an adjusted value of $78,089.

SmartAsset used its paycheck calculator to apply federal, state and local taxes to an annual salary of $100,000 in 69 of the largest American cities. The figure was then adjusted for the local cost of living (which included average costs for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and miscellaneous goods and services). Cities were then ranked based on where a six-figure salary is worth the least after applicable taxes and cost of living adjustments.

Houston ranked No. 60 in the overall ranking of U.S. cities where $100,000 is worth the least. If the rankings were flipped and the cities were ranked based on where $100,000 goes the furthest, that places Houston in the No. 10 spot nationwide.

Manhattan, New York remains the No. 1 city where a six-figure salary is worth the least. A Manhattan resident's take-home pay is only worth $29,420 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living, which is 3.10 percent lower than it was in 2025.

SmartAsset determined Manhattan has a 29.7 percent effective tax rate on six-figure salaries. Meanwhile, the effective tax rate on a $100,000 salary in Texas (based on the eight cities examined in the report) is 21.1 percent. It's worth highlighting that New York implements a statewide graduated-rate income tax from 4-10.90 percent, whereas Texas is one of only eight states that don't tax residents' income.

Oklahoma City, No. 69, is the U.S. city in the report where a $100,000 salary stretches the furthest. A six-figure salary is worth $91,868 in 2026, up from $89,989 last year.

This is the post-tax value of a $100,000 salary in other Texas cities, and their ranking in the report:

Plano (No. 27): $72,653
Dallas (No. 47): $80,103
Austin (No. 53): $82,446
Lubbock (No. 59): $84,567
San Antonio (No. 62): $86,419
El Paso (No. 67): $90,276
Corpus Christi (No. 68): $91,110

According to the report, getting some "financial breathing room" by making six-figures really depends on where someone lives and what their lifestyle is. For residents living in the 42 states that levy some amount of income tax, their take-home pay dwindles further.

"And depending on how taxes are filed, reaching a $100,000 income may push a household from the 22 percent to 24 percent marginal tax bracket," the report's author wrote. "Meanwhile, locations with high costs across housing and everyday essentials may be less forgiving to a $100,000 income."

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