Austin named 9th best place to live, but falls out of top 10 largest cities

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin is one of the best cities in which to live in the country, at least according to one report. 

Every year, U.S. News and World Report releases its list of the “150 Best Places to Live in the U.S.” 

The method behind the rankings comes from looking at the most recent data from the federal government and a public survey of thousands of individuals throughout the U.S. on what they value in a place. Those factors include looking at the quality of life, job market, desirability and housing affordability of each city. 

Austin came in at No. 9 right behind Virginia Beach, Virginia, and ahead of Boulder, Colorado. The outlet’s reasoning behind the high ranking was because of Austin’s “contagious vibrancy and enthusiasm,” job opportunities and live music scene. 

U.S. News and World Report gave Austin an overall score of 6.8 out of 10. The highest-ranked city–Naples, Florida–had an overall score of 7.1 out of 10. 

Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement that this only confirmed what Austin residents already knew. 

“We’re honored to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report with this distinction that confirms what Austinites know—our city is a special place,” Watson said in a news release. “Our access to nature, our dynamic and diverse economy, and an unparalleled music scene make Austin a vibrant place to live, work, and play.”

The next closest Texas city on the list was McAllen coming in at No. 48 because of its “good quality of life” and “bicultural community” according to the report. The next three on the list are all along the edges of the Lone Star State with El Paso at No. 62, Corpus Christi at No. 77 and Brownsville at No. 87.

Texas’ three most populated cities were further down the list with San Antonio at No. 89, Dallas at No. 95 and Houston at No. 97.

The last two Texas cities to make the top 150 were Beaumont at No. 99 and Killeen at No. 107.

These U.S. News and World Report rankings used the U.S. Census Bureau’s population data, which was recently updated to include the first half of 2023. This update saw a big change for Texas’ capital city. 

Austin fell out of the top 10 largest cities in America after being surpassed by Jacksonville, Florida. Austin is now at No. 11 with approximately 980,000 people. 

Texas’ other metropolitan areas stayed at the same rankings with Houston coming in at No. 4, San Antonio at No. 7 and Dallas at No. 9. 

Fort Worth moved up the list to No. 12, surpassing San Jose, California.

Austin also saw its 12-year streak as the nation’s fastest-growing large metro area come to an end, with the greater Austin area slipping to second place behind Jacksonville. 

Another notable thing to come out of the data was that three of the top five counties with the largest number of growth in housing were in Texas. Harris County–home to Houston–ranked at No. 1, while Travis County–where Austin is located–and Collin County–north of Dallas–came in at No. 4 and No. 5. 

Texas cities also dominated the lists of the fastest-growing cities for both larger and smaller metro areas.