six-figures of wealth

Here's what it takes to be in the top 1 percent of earners in Texas

Texas has the 14th highest threshold of income needed for the exclusive classification.

It's always been said that the rich get richer as the years go on, and those who hold the most wealth are certainly making that phrase a reality. More than a third of the overall wealth in the United States is held by the top one percent of earners, who make about $652,657 a year.

But how much money does a Texan need to make to secure a place in the top one percent of earners in the state? A new study from SmartAsset, published July 17, determined that the answer is not too far off from the national amount, but is still well into the six-figure range: $631,849.

Texas has the 14th highest threshold of income needed for the exclusive classification.

Texas' latest ranking is a four-place drop from an earlier SmartAsset report from February 2023 that put Texas' one percent threshold at $641,400. SmartAsset typically publishes this report annually, but released an all-new report in July when new data from the IRS became available.

The new report further revealed that Southern states have the lowest income thresholds, with six out of the bottom 10 states being located in the Southeast.

"While Northeastern states like Massachusetts and New Jersey have some of the highest income thresholds for the one percent, it takes considerably less income to be considered in the top one percent in many Southern states," the study says.

However, holding onto that much wealth isn't without financial responsibility. Texans who are in that top one percent category have a tax rate of 25.83 percent.

The top 10 states with the highest thresholds to be considered in the top one percent of earners in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Connecticut ($952,902)
No. 2 – Massachusetts ($903,401)
No. 3 – California ($844,266)
No. 4 – New Jersey ($817,346)
No. 5 – Washington ($804,853)
No. 6 – New York ($776,662)
No. 7 – Colorado ($709,092)
No. 8 – Florida ($694,987)
No. 9 – Illinois ($660,810)
No. 10 – New Hampshire ($659,037)

To determine the different income thresholds for every state, SmartAsset used 2020 data from the IRS and adjusted the numbers to be accurate for May 2023.

The full report can be found on smartasset.com.

SmartAsset Top 1% Earners finance reports texas

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