Texas Accents Are Among the Most Attractive in America, Survey Says

Apparently, sounding like you're from Texas has its advantages.

A new survey ranking America's most attractive accents puts the Southern accent at No. 1 — with Texas ranking second among individual states. So where does that leave Dallas-Fort Worth, where you're just as likely to hear a subtle Texas drawl as a full-on “y'all”?

Texas Comes in at No. 2

Language-learning company Preply asked 2,551 adults across all 50 states which American accents they find the most attractive.

The South came out on top.

About 17.7% of respondents picked a Southern accent, putting it comfortably ahead of Boston/New England at 10.2%, the Midwest at 10% and New York City at 9.1%.

When the survey broke the results down by individual states, Texas did pretty well there, too.

Louisiana claimed the No. 1 spot, with 7.3% of respondents choosing its accent. Texas finished second at 6.4%, followed by California, Georgia and New York.

Second place?

We're guessing a few Texans might have something to say about that.

If you've ever said “I don't have an accent” only to have someone from another state immediately tell you that you absolutely do... we may already have our answer.

But Does Dallas-Fort Worth Really Have a “Texas Accent”?

That's where this gets more interesting for those of us in DFW.

Say “Texas accent” to someone outside the state and they probably have a pretty specific sound in mind: a noticeable Southern drawl, a stretched-out word here and there and, of course, plenty of “y'all.”

But spend a day traveling around Dallas-Fort Worth and you'll hear a much bigger mix.

North Texas has longtime locals who were born and raised here, but it's also home to millions of people who arrived from other parts of Texas, other states and other countries. That can make the stereotypical Texas accent a lot harder to pin down around the Metroplex.

You may hear it immediately from one person and barely detect it from the next.

And sometimes you don't realize you have an accent until you leave Texas and somebody else points it out.

Are Regional Accents Starting to Fade?

That may be happening beyond DFW, too.

In the same survey, 32.8% of respondents pointed to people moving between states as a reason regional accents and slang may be becoming less distinct. Social media and TikTok came next at 28.4%, while 27.8% cited internet and Gen Z slang replacing more localized expressions.

That doesn't mean regional accents are disappearing. In fact, 12.2% of respondents said they don't believe they're disappearing at all. But the results suggest Americans themselves notice that the way we speak may be getting a little less tied to where we live.

For a place growing and changing as quickly as Dallas-Fort Worth, that makes sense.

Your Accent Still Says Something About Home

There's another part of the survey that stood out.

Among people who feel pride in their regional accent or slang, the biggest reason was connection: 21.9% said it helps connect them with other people from their area, while 20.5% said it reminds them of home.

And maybe that's why this is fun to argue about.

An accent isn't just about how somebody pronounces a word. Sometimes it's one of those little things that tells you where somebody grew up — or makes you recognize a fellow Texan when you're hundreds of miles from home.

So, DFW — Do We Have an Accent?

Texas officially has some bragging rights from this survey.

But now we're curious about North Texas.

If you've lived in Dallas-Fort Worth for years, do you think people here have a noticeable Texas accent?

And when you travel outside the state, can people tell you're from Texas as soon as you start talking?

Maybe the real test is simple:

If you've ever said “I don't have an accent” only to have someone from another state immediately tell you that you absolutely do... we may already have our answer.