Suburban Life
This surprising suburb is the best place to live in Texas
Suburban living leads the way in the Lone Star State. In fact, the top 10 Best Places to Live in Texas surround the Houston and Dallas areas.
A new study from NerdWallet analyzed several metrics — such as public schools, walkability, crime rates, homeownership, commute time and unemployment rates — to determine which of Texas' 50 largest cities have the highest quality of life.
The best place to live in Texas is The Woodlands, near Houston.
Coming in as the best place to live in Texas is The Woodlands, outside of Houston. The community is praised for its high marks for education as well as its lower crime and unemployment rates. Although it ranks highest on the list, The Woodlands scored poorly in transportation with one of the worst walkability scores and an average commute time of 31 minutes.
Following The Woodlands are Allen (No. 2), Frisco (No. 3), Sugar Land (No. 4) and McKinney (No. 5). Pearland (No. 6), Plano (No. 7), League City (No. 8), Missouri City (No. 9) and Carrollton (No. 10) round out the top 10 spots.
The state's largest cities rank near the bottom of the list. Austin is No. 37, followed by Fort Worth at No. 45, Dallas at No. 46 and Houston at No. 47. However, the study omits factors like the arts, restaurants and other top amenities of urban living.
The Central Texas city with the highest ranking is Round Rock (No. 18). Temple is close behind at No. 21.