We're crushin' it

San Antonio gets some love as one of the best U.S. cities for singles, study says

Looking for love in Alamo City? You could be in the right place!

Photo courtesy of iStock

If you’re single in San Antonio and looking for love, you have a better-than-average chance of falling head over heels in Alamo City.

According to personal finance website WalletHub, San Antonio ranks 58th among cities that are best for singles out of more than 180 metros.

To determine where singles enjoy the best prospects for finding love, WalletHub compared 182 cities across 32 key indicators of dating friendliness. Those indicators include the number of single people, number of online dating opportunities, and average price of a two-person meal.

San Antonio ranks 49th in the “fun and recreation” category, 87th in the “dating opportunities” category, and 82nd in the economic category.

No. 1 on the list is Madison, Wisconsin, followed by Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Denver.

Rebecca Johnson, a graduate teaching assistant in communication studies at the University of Kansas, tells WalletHub that she doesn’t think people should choose where to live based solely on how likely they are to find a partner there.

“My advice is to live your life according to your own pursuits and interests. If you are in a place where you can pursue the activities and hobbies you have an interest in, you are likelier to find others around that are interested in such things and follow the commonalities into building a relationship,” Johnson says.

While San Antonio ranks higher than other Texas cities on the list in some categories, namely economics (aka affordability), several other spots in the Lone Star State are better for singles, according to the WalletHub list.

Nearby Austin ranks fifth best for singles, coming in 15th in the “fun and recreation” category, 26th in the “dating opportunities” category, and 91st in the economic category.

Aside from Austin, only one other Texas city appears in WalletHub’s top 50: Lubbock, ranked No. 47. Here’s how several other Texas cities fared in the study:

Houston, No. 55.
Dallas, No. 77.
Irving, No. 87.
Arlington, No. 109.
Fort Worth, No. 115.
Plano, No. 119.
Garland, No. 162.
Grand Prairie, No. 168.

Vehicle News

What to know about new car inspection requirements in San Antonio

Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

Texas is changing requirements for vehicle registration.

Beginning January 1, 2025, Texas vehicle owners will no longer need to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration. House Bill 3297, passed during the 88th Legislature in 2023, eliminates the safety inspection program for non-commercial vehicles.

We'll all be free, free, free of the oppression of the safety inspection process. However …

Under the new law, the $7.50 fee that drivers had to pay as a safety inspection fee has not gone away. It now appears on your registration notice under a new name: "Inspection Program Replacement Fee."

This name change comes courtesy of the legislature, who want to keep collecting this fee because the funds go to state programs such as construction and expansion of state highways — funds they previously collected from the Safety Inspection Fee.

And while the safety inspection is gone, state law will still require that drivers in 17 counties must pass an "emission inspection" on vehicles that are 2 to 24 years old, in order to get your vehicle registered. In Bexar County, the new requirement will go into effect in 2026.

But what does an "emissions inspection" mean?

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) details the following changes:

Safety inspection out, emissions testing in
Until December 31, 2024, safety inspections are required for vehicle registration in all 254 counties. Beginning January 1, 2025, noncommercial vehicles in Texas will no longer be required to have an annual safety inspection. Instead, vehicles will have to get an emissions inspection on gasoline-powered vehicles that are 2 to 24 years old.

What is no longer going to be "inspected"?
Texas Transportation Code §548.051 specifies the list of old-school inspection items which will no longer be checked. Moving forward, they will no longer be checking: tires, wheel assembly, safety guards, safety flaps, brakes, steering, lighting, horns, mirrors, windshield wipers, sunscreening devices, and front seat belts in vehicles on which seat belt anchorages were part of the manufacturer's original equipment.

What will still be inspected are listed as "Items 12–15": exhaust system, exhaust emissions system, fuel tank cap, and emissions control equipment. These will be part of the emissions inspection process in 17 counties.

Those 17 counties where this is relevant include:

Austin: Travis and Williamson
DFW: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant
Houston: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, and Montgomery
El Paso County

In Bexar County, emissions inspections will be required beginning on November 1, 2026.

Where will emissions inspections be obtained?
Emissions inspections can be obtained at DPS-certified vehicle inspection stations in the 17 emissions counties. These will be the exact same inspection locations we've been going to all along, when it was called a safety inspection. Emissions inspections are not available in the other 237 Texas counties.

DPS offers an inspection station locator online.

What is the estimated cost of an emissions inspection?
Vehicle owners will pay an emissions inspection fee of $2.50 annually to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) at the time of registration. The actual fee you'll pay at the inspection station (as listed on TCEQ’s website) will be $25.50. Just like the former "safety inspection" fee.

In short: There is little that's changing about the entire inspection process, except they won't bother making you honk your horn.

transportation