income news

How Texans' income compares to the rest of the U.S. in 2025

Texans aren't quite making the national median income, but they're doing better than people in many other states.

SimplifyYourMoney.com

Hardworking Texans are making less money per year than the national median, a new WalletHub study has revealed.

The just-released report, "States Where People Have the Highest Income," found Texas workers are making an adjusted median annual income of $73,718, compared to the national median of $81,000 per year.

The study examined the average annual income of the top five percent, the average income of the bottom 20 percent, and the median income for all residents in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Income was adjusted for the cost of living.

Although individual Texans are not quite making the national median, the state as a whole ranked 11th for "highest" incomes, moving up one spot from its 2024 ranking. Virginia claimed the No. 1 spot, followed by New Jersey (No. 2) and New York (No. 3). (As a note, the earnings of each state's top five percent were double weighted, meaning they counted twice as much as the median and bottom categories.)

Based on WalletHub's findings, the top five percent of Texans are making more than $504,000 per year, adjusted for cost of living. Meanwhile, the bottom 20 percent of Texas residents are making only an adjusted $17,461 annually.

In a major city like Houston, income disparities may appear to be even wider than other Texas cities. Earning a "comfortable" wage in Houston now costs $15,000 more than it did in 2024, and being a middle-class earner means making a minimum of $41,754 a year and as much as $125,274.

Yet Houston still ranks as one of the wealthiest cities in America with 18 billionaires and about 82,000 millionaires calling the city home. Even Houston's suburbs are attracting more high-earning households than many other U.S. cities.

"The highest-earning 10 percent of individuals in the United States earn over 12 times more than those in the lowest-earning 10 percent, based on the latest Census data," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "By measuring the income of various percentiles against a state's median income, we can better identify where income disparities are more prevalent, which could help us better understand why residents of certain states struggle more to make ends meet."

The top 10 states with residents earning the highest income are:

No. 1 – Virginia
No. 2 – New Jersey
No. 3 – New York
No. 4 – Connecticut
No. 5 – Washington
No. 6 – Utah
No. 7 – Minnesota
No. 8 – Colorado
No. 9 – Illinois
No. 10 – Massachusetts

texas wallethub reports income

toy story

Houston Toy Museum will shutter in the Heights after 4 years

Luke Skywalker action figure Houston Toy Museum

Photos via Houston Toy Museum

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Childhood whimsy took a mortal blow this week as the Houston Toy Museum announced it would be closing its storefront on 19th Street at the end of August.

"The truth is, we fell in love with the idea of being in a space that already held so much history and nostalgia for so many," wrote founders Matt and Sara Broussard in an Instagram post on Wednesday, July 22. "So we dreamed big, took a leap, and in some ways bit off more than we could chew. Even so, we are deeply proud of what we have built and have no regrets!"

The couple cited rising rent prices as the primary reason for the closure. The Greater Houston Partnership reports that gross office rent prices in the second quarter of 2026 had jumped to $31/square foot, up from a $28/square foot a year ago. For a 4,932 square foot building like the Houston Toy Museum at 321 W. 19th, such increases can compound into an untenable amount.

The Broussards assured their fans and supporters that the Houston Toy Museum was not disappearing completely. They plan to continue hosting events around the city, including pop-ups and LEGO builds. Their Instagram post ended with a hopeful promise that they will find another storefront location sometime in the future.

When the Houston Toy Museum first opened in 2022, it quickly became a one-of-a-kind hub of pop culture in the city. Built from donated toys and the Broussards' large personal collection, it housed an impressive array of everything from century-old dolls to the immense G.I. Joe playset the U.S.S . Flagg (which is 7.5 feet long) to modern video game systems. The museum hosted film screenings, community talks, and more on the history and importance of play. It also sold a lot of toys in the gift shop.

All of those items are headed to storage, but the Broussards remained upbeat and thankful for the four years they were able to entertain and delight Houston.

"What started as a daydream became a space filled with joy, nostalgia, creativity, connection, and community," said the statement. "We watched families make memories here, saw people reconnect with pieces of their childhood, hosted incredible events, and felt an outpouring of support that we will never forget.We owe so much to you, our community. You showed up for us again and again, and we cannot thank you enough for believing in what we created. Heights residents, and beyond, you helped spread the word about our little museum. Many of you have been our biggest cheerleaders from day one and we are forever grateful for that."

museums houston toy museum closings the-heights