Best places to live in Texas

We grade 1,012 Texas cities and towns of 1,000 or more people, and 2,617 neighborhoods inside them. Each place is compared with Texas places of a similar size. Pick a list below or rank them your way.

Data: 2020-2024 ACS 5-year, Texas Education Agency 2025, FBI 2025, FEMA, NOAA, CDC PLACES 2025. Updated 2026-10-04.

Map of 1012 Texas places shaded by grade

Texas top lists

Best for familiesFulshear, Flower Mound, Trophy ClubBest for young professionalsUniversity Park, Richardson, West University PlaceBest to retireTaylor Lake Village, Trophy Club, PanhandleBest for remote workersTaylor Lake Village, Cross Mountain, Cinco RanchCheapest places to liveWest Odessa, Pharr, San ElizarioSafest citiesFair Oaks Ranch, Trophy Club, ColleyvilleBest public schoolsUniversity Park, Southlake, LucasBest small townsTaylor Lake Village, Bunker Hill Village, PanhandleFastest-growing citiesFulshear, Celina, Princeton

Rank Texas places your way

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The grade is our overall grade. Fit shows how well each one matches your sliders, from 0 to 100, against the others in this list.

75 Texas places, ranked by your priorities
  1. 1A+Flower MoundCity in Denton County, 78,389 people100fit
  2. 2A+FriscoCity in Collin County, 219,304 people99fit
  3. 3A+AllenCity in Collin County, 110,265 people97fit
  4. 4A+Sugar LandCity in Fort Bend County, 110,016 people96fit
  5. 5A+The WoodlandsCity in Montgomery County, 121,002 people95fit
  6. 6APlanoCity in Collin County, 290,594 people93fit
  7. 7AMcKinneyCity in Collin County, 210,600 people92fit
  8. 8ALeague CityCity in Galveston County, 116,215 people91fit
  9. 9APearlandCity in Brazoria County, 127,514 people89fit
  10. 10ACarrolltonCity in Denton County, 133,740 people88fit
  11. 11ACedar ParkCity in Williamson County, 78,301 people86fit
  12. 12ARockwallCity in Rockwall County, 51,168 people85fit
  13. 13A-RichardsonCity in Dallas County, 118,731 people84fit
  14. 14ALeanderCity in Williamson County, 74,067 people82fit
  15. 15A-WylieCity in Collin County, 60,334 people81fit
  16. 16A-North Richland HillsCity in Tarrant County, 70,780 people80fit
  17. 17A-MansfieldCity in Tarrant County, 77,510 people78fit
  18. 18A-GrapevineCity in Tarrant County, 51,139 people77fit
  19. 19A-BurlesonCity in Johnson County, 52,918 people76fit
  20. 20B+Round RockCity in Williamson County, 127,786 people74fit
  21. 21B+EulessCity in Tarrant County, 60,421 people73fit
  22. 22B+McAllenCity in Hidalgo County, 145,385 people72fit
  23. 23B+AtascocitaCity in Harris County, 99,354 people70fit
  24. 24B+PflugervilleCity in Travis County, 65,971 people69fit
  25. 25B+New BraunfelsCity in Comal County, 104,643 people68fit

Best suburbs by metro area

Best suburbs of Dallas-Fort WorthFlower Mound, Trophy Club, University ParkBest suburbs of HoustonTaylor Lake Village, Bunker Hill Village, West University PlaceBest suburbs of AustinThe Hills, Rollingwood, Brushy CreekBest suburbs of San AntonioCross Mountain, Shavano Park, Hollywood ParkBest suburbs of McAllenPalmhurst, Hidalgo, MissionBest suburbs of WacoCrawford, Willow Grove, WoodwayBest suburbs of BeaumontHamshire, Beauxart Gardens, Central GardensBest suburbs of BrownsvilleSouth Point, Palm Valley, Rancho ViejoBest suburbs of El PasoVinton, Horizon City, CanutilloBest suburbs of LongviewHallsville, White Oak, Lake CherokeeBest suburbs of Corpus ChristiPortland, Lamar, OdemBest suburbs of KilleenSalado, Kempner, HollandBest suburbs of LubbockRansom Canyon, Shallowater, SundownBest suburbs of ShermanVan Alstyne, Gunter, TiogaBest suburbs of AbilenePotosi, Merkel, Cross PlainsBest suburbs of AmarilloPanhandle, Bushland, ClaudeBest suburbs of TylerHideaway, Bullard, LindaleBest suburbs of Wichita FallsLakeside City, Iowa Park, Archer City

The biggest Texas cities

  1. D+Houston2,328,253 people59 of 75
  2. DSan Antonio1,479,835 people64 of 75
  3. C-Dallas1,307,930 people54 of 75
  4. B-Austin979,539 people30 of 75
  5. D-Fort Worth963,194 people69 of 75
  6. C+El Paso680,130 people38 of 75
  7. DArlington397,742 people63 of 75
  8. D+Corpus Christi317,419 people55 of 75
  9. APlano290,594 people6 of 75
  10. C-Lubbock264,814 people51 of 75
  11. B-Laredo257,619 people31 of 75
  12. B-Irving256,492 people34 of 75

Top-graded Texas neighborhoods

  1. 1A+SienaLeague City
  2. 2A+Fairway ManorCinco Ranch
  3. 3A+The Park At Montgomery FarmAllen
  4. 4A+Highland MeadowsFlower Mound
  5. 5A+Cottage GroveCinco Ranch
  6. 6A+Washington Avenue Coalition / Memorial ParkHouston
  7. 7A+Cornerstone PlaceCinco Ranch
  8. 8A+Vistas at LakewayLakeway
  9. 9A+The Grove FriscoFrisco
  10. 10A+Boulevard OaksHouston
  11. 11A+Rice VillageWest University Place
  12. 12A+Banbury CrossPearland

Texas compared with the US

MeasureHereUS
Median household incomeAbout the same as US$78,476$80,734
Median home value15% lower than US$283,800$332,700
Median rentAbout the same as US$1,403$1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them3 points lower than US63%65%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher2 points lower than US34%36%
Average commuteAbout the same as US27 min26 min
Homes with broadband internetAbout the same as US91%91%
People below the poverty line1 points higher than US14%12%

Questions about living in Texas

What is the best city to live in Texas?

Among Texas cities with 50,000 or more people, Flower Mound scores highest with an A+. Among cities of 10,000 to 50,000, West University Place is first. Among towns of 1,000 to 10,000, Taylor Lake Village is first.

How do the big Texas cities grade?

Houston D+, San Antonio D, Dallas C-, Austin B-, Fort Worth D-, El Paso C+. Big cities are graded against other Texas cities of 50,000 or more, which includes many well-off suburbs, so their grades run lower. Their best neighborhoods often grade A.

How are these places ranked?

Each place gets ten grades: cost of living, jobs and income, schools, safety, errands and things to do, getting around, education levels, health, home ownership and internet access. The overall grade weights them, with cost, schools, income and safety counting most. You can change the weights with the sliders.

All Texas cities and towns, A to Z

Every place we grade.

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