Mo’ money

This affluent San Antonio suburb cashes in as richest city in Texas

Terrell Hills is less than seven miles from downtown San Antonio. This house is currently on sale for $775,000.

Photo courtesy of Kuper

Forget Beverly Hills. Move over, Manhattan. One San Antonio suburb is cashing in as the richest city in Texas.

A new list from data provider HomeSnacks ranks Terrell Hills as the richest place in Texas with at least 5,000 residents. The company analyzed four factors to arrive at that conclusion: poverty rate, median household income, and unemployment rate, as well as “where the richest of the rich live.”

Terrell Hills, with a population of 5,425 as of July 2018, boasts median household income of $175,913, a 1.2 percent unemployment rate, and a 0.7 percent poverty rate, according to the HomeSnacks ranking, released January 11. Terrell Hills also topped HomeSnacks’ 2019 list of the richest cities in Texas.

Last year, review website Niche.com also named Terrell Hills the best place to live in Texas, based on categories such as public schools, local housing, cost of living, diversity, and walkability.

In 2016, Terrell Hills, just five miles northeast of downtown San Antonio, was named one of the country’s most expensive suburbs. Real estate website Zillow says the median price of homes currently on the market in Terrell Hills is $699,000, well above the median home price of $230,600 for the San Antonio metro area.

One other San Antonio suburb makes the list of the state’s richest cities.

Ninth-ranked Fair Oaks Ranch has median household income of $125,806, a 2 percent unemployment rate, and a 3.6 percent poverty rate, according to HomeSnacks. It’s about 28 miles northwest of downtown San Antonio. Zillow says the median price of homes currently listed for sale in Fair Oaks Ranch is $464,450.

Here are the 10 richest cities in Texas, as determined by HomeSnacks.

1. Terrell Hills (San Antonio)

2019 rank: 1
Median household income: $175,913
Unemployment rate: 1.2 percent unemployment rate
Poverty rate: 0.7 percent

2. Bellaire (Houston)

2019 rank: 2
Median household income: $201,629
Unemployment rate: 2.4 percent
Poverty rate: 1.7 percent

3. Highland Park (Dallas-Fort Worth)

2019 rank: 25
Median household income: $207,019
Unemployment rate: 2.3 percent
Poverty rate: 2.7 percent

4. Melissa (Dallas-Fort Worth)

2019 rank: 5
Median household income: $113,532
Unemployment rate: 1.4 percent
Poverty rate: 0.3 percent

5. West University Place (Houston)

2019 rank: 3
Median household income: $250,001
Unemployment rate: 2.9 percent
Poverty rate: 1.7 percent

6. Trophy Club (Dallas-Fort Worth)

2019 rank: 6
Median household income: $142,483
Unemployment rate: 2.5 percent
Poverty rate: 2.4 percent

7. Willow Park (Dallas-Fort Worth)

2019 rank: Not ranked
Median household income: $119,511
Unemployment rate: 2.3 percent
Poverty rate: 2.1 percent

8. Southlake (Dallas-Fort Worth)

2019 rank: 4
Median household income: $230,700
Unemployment rate: 3 percent
Poverty rate: 2.2 percent

9. Fair Oaks Ranch (San Antonio)

2019 rank: 7
Median household income: $125,806
Unemployment rate: 2 percent
Poverty rate: 3.6 percent

10. Coppell (Dallas-Fort Worth)

2019 rank: 13
Median household income: $123,802
Unemployment rate: 2.5 percent
Poverty rate: 3.2 percent

lists rankings

Hold Your Horses

San Antonio City Council considers plan to phase out horse-drawn carriages

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A scant majority of San Antonians like the idea of ending the practice.

In a special session on Thursday, October 31, the San Antonio City Council will deliberate on possibly phasing out horse-drawn carriages. A proposal called "A Just Transition from Horse Drawn Carriages" has led to a one-to-three-year plan for replacing the horses with electric carriages.

An early project proposal in November of 2022 — written by District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran — laid out concerns for the horses' wellbeing, quoting the Animal Welfare Institute. Concerns included exposure to traffic and pollution, long periods standing and walking on hard surfaces, and extreme weather, among other things. In addition to the effect on horses, the request also mentioned environmental effects from slowed traffic.

It proposed completely stopping any new use of horse drawn carriages and letting any existing permits expire. The request also mentioned pedicabs as an alternative alongside the electric carriages, but the pedicabs seem to have fallen away from the public discourse.

Following up on the proposal, a city survey that concluded in August of 2024 found that of 50,476 respondents, a scant majority (51.98 percent) said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." Other options like changing hours and location of horse-drawn carriage use were unpopular, and 29.01 percent said they wanted to continue with the current system of use.

A majority of respondents (53.83 percent) had never ridden in a horse drawn carriage at all, and an strong majority of those survey takers cited the treatment of the horse as the reason they hadn't tried it. Those who had ridden on the carriages mostly liked it for the "historical and cultural experience," with examples including feeling nostalgic and learning about San Antonio's history.

The survey did not disclose how many of the people who rode on the carriages were tourists, but tourists made up 21.66 percent of respondents.

In addition to the survey, council members also unanimously voted on August 19, 2024, to have a plan drafted by city staff that would phase out the horse-drawn carriages in one to three years.

The only item on the special session agenda (aside from approval of minutes) is a briefing and possible action on the proposal, meaning that a decision is not guaranteed.

More information about city council meetings is available at sa.gov.

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