Dallas is not the richest metro area in the country

Maserati drivers, I'm sure you're crushed.

George Bush Presidential Library

Yes, that's young George W. Bush on a trip with his father to the oil fields of Midland, Texas in the mid-1950s.

Each week -- sometimes each day -- we get a list of how Dallas ranks among other cities. (Dallas has quite a nice airport, a very green college at UNT in Denton, and is the fourth most entertaining city in the U.S., for instance.) Today, we're here to report that Dallas is not the richest city in America, and didn't even make the top 20.

What!?! said every sports car driver in Dallas.

In a story in The Atlantic, Bridgeport, Connecticut, takes top dollar. Midland, Texas is the second richest, with no other Texas cities making the list.

The Atlantic writer seemed surprised that Midland ranked so high, but anyone who knows someone in oil'n'gas won't be so surprised. The study gauges personal income per capita, which averages at $65,000 in Midland, called a "small city" with "big wages" all because of the "natural resources and globally-determined price of energy." For comparison, the median household income sits at about $30,000. (Dallasites who are $30,000 millionaires, take note.)

A city with just over 100,000 people, many more oil and gas professionals come to Midland for work in the Permian Basin. It's tough to get a hotel room, in fact. If we wanted to snag one for tonight, for instance, at least a half-dozen hotels in Midland are charging more than $200 for one night. Business is booming.

Ah, Midland: the West Texas land of opportunity. Couldn't pay me to move there.