CultureMap Austin shares, "Austin and three other Texas cities were just hailed in U.S. News & World Report's new rankings of the best places to live for their high quality of life.
This new list, published July 11, is part of U.S. News' Best Places to Live rankings, but the 25 cities that made the list were chosen solely based on quality of life factors such as education, healthcare, crime rates, air quality, resilience to natural disasters, and more.
The top two cities that are the best places to live for their top-tier quality of life are Brookline (No. 1) and Newton (No. 2) in Massachusetts. Bethesda, Maryland (No. 3), Bellevue, Washington (No. 4), and Malden, Massachusetts (No. 5) round out the top five.
Austin ranked 13th on the list overall, and was the highest-ranked city in Texas. U.S. News praised Austin's role as an innovative, tech-driven city with "a stronger job market than many similarly sized cities" that draws in major companies like IBM, Dell, Tesla, and more.
The report also touted Austin's contested reputation as the "Live Music Capital of the World," specifically citing the 200-plus music venues sprawling throughout the city, plus iconic events like South by Southwest and Austin City Limits Music Festival.
"Despite its urban setting, Austin ranks in the top 5 percent for air quality and offers nearly 20,000 acres of green space for residents to hike, swim and picnic," the report said. "Austin also scores in the top 20 percent nationally for both college readiness and overall health care access, making it a great choice for many seeking a high quality of life."
Earlier this year, the University of Texas at Austin topped U.S. News' separate rankings of the best graduate schools in Texas.
According to U.S. News, the median income for an Austin household comes out to $96,149 a year, and the median value of a home is more than $584,000.
Other Texas cities on the list
Houston ranked two spots behind Austin as the 15th best place to live for its quality of life. Dallas ranked 20th, and the Rio Grande Valley city of McAllen earned a spot on the list as No. 23.
"The town of McAllen boasts year-round sunshine and a vibrant business scene for retail, international trade and manufacturing," the report said. "Situated on the Mexico border, this bicultural community ranks No. 32 for college readiness and reports a shorter commute time, 18.3 minutes, compared with the national average of 22 minutes. McAllen also is one of the most affordable cities, claiming the No. 9 spot for cost of living and No. 23 on the most affordable places to live list."
U.S. News' top 10 best places to live for their quality of life are:
- No. 1 – Brookline, Massachusetts
- No. 2 – Newton, Massachusetts
- No. 3 – Bethesda, Maryland
- No. 4 – Bellevue, Washington
- No. 5 – Malden, Massachusetts
- No. 6 – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- No. 7 – Cambridge, Massachusetts
- No. 8 – Kirkland, Washington
- No. 9 – Rockville, Maryland
- No. 10 – Passaic, New Jersey"
Source: CultureMap Austin
Written by: Amber Heckler
Published: July 21, 2025
Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on
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