According to home repair services app and website Thumbtack, DFW is the fourth-sweatiest city in America. Now, let’s look past the fact that Dallas and Fort Worth are in fact, two very different cities. None of us can argue that most of us here in North Texas go through multiple shirts a day once the temps start rising in May and June.
As silly as this particular set of rankings may sound to some, Dallasites will surely recognize this as serious business. And Thumbtack seems to have taken a pretty serious approach to its methodology for the report too. The site examined which of the top 40 metropolitan areas had the most requests for air conditioning-related projects in May and June 2024, while adjusting for population size, by ranking cities based on the number of project requests per capita.
And for any locals who might look down upon Austin, you either laugh at how the capital city was named as the sweatiest city in America, or you’re pissed off because Austin beat Dallas at something. We at least beat Houston, which came in ninth on the list. Is that a good thing or a bad? You decide.
“Austin topped the list of sweatiest cities in America, with temperatures in Texas reaching triple digits in May, one of the hottest Mays ever recorded,” the Thumbtack report stated. “With Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston also topping the list, Texans have been diligent about trying to stay cool this summer. Temperatures have surged in the south — with both Atlanta and D.C. experiencing hotter than average temperatures.”
OK, so maybe The Lovin' Spoonful was singing about Texas as a whole. If Thumbtack can name Dallas-Fort Worth as a single city, then an oldies band can refer to a state as a city, too, the way we see it.
As Thumbtack is a home repair-centered website, it also listed the costs associated with living in such a sweaty city.
- Central AC Installation or Replacement - $1,883-$7,621 (cost depends on size of home and complexity of system)
- Central AC Repair or Maintenance - $221-$1,040
- Fan Installation - $190-$447
- Thermostat Installation or Repair - $104-$284
- Window, Wall, or Portable AC Repair or Maintenance - $141-$260
Weather topics tend to dominate local headlines between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year, and 2024 has been no different. Although thankfully, things haven't been quite as sweltering this year. Such a reprieve hasn't kept Texas from leading the way in another significant category, however.
A recent study showed that the Lone Star State leads the nation in power outages. This is another realm where “leads the nation” could also just as easily be listed as “comes in last.”
