Top-shelf reputation

Texas' favorite market topples Trader Joe's as No. 1 grocery store in America

H-E-B is the nation's top grocery store.

Photo by Dave Rossman

For fans of San Antonio-based grocery chain H-E-B, “No store does more than my H-E-B” goes far beyond an advertising slogan. It’s a mantra. And a new national ranking proves it.

In the newly released Retailer Preference Index from consumer research firm Dunnhumby, H-E-B knocks Trader Joe’s from its two-year perch atop the list. The firm’s third annual index came out January 8.

“Regional powerhouse H-E-B’s move into first place — due to sustained focus and excellence on assortment relevance and private brand — is consistent with Dunnhumby’s findings that some regional grocers are getting stronger and are now going toe-to-toe with leading non-traditional retailers,” the firm says. “By focusing on relevance, particularly assortment relevance, leading traditional grocers are leveraging their location advantages and making convenience a bigger part of determining which retailers are winning and losing.”

The firm surveyed 7,000 U.S. households to gather insights about the country’s 60 largest grocers. The index ranks grocers based on seven factors: price, quality, digital presence, operations, convenience, speed of service, and discounts and rewards.

“One of the most important findings is that leading traditional regional grocers [like H-E-B] are experiencing a resurgence in customer preference, by winning with relevance and convenience,” Jose Gomes, North American president of Dunnhumby, says in a release. “If they can compete on price and quality — the value core for grocers — they are especially well-positioned to fend off the growing threat of non-traditional players. This also leaves them better insulated against an economic downturn.”

As ranked by Dunnhumby, here are the top 14 grocers in the U.S.:

H-E-B
Trader Joe’s
Amazon (which owns Austin-based Whole Foods Market)
Market Basket
Wegmans Food Markets
Costco
Aldi
Sam’s Club
Walmart
Publix
WinCo Foods
Fresh Thyme
Sprouts Farmers Markets
ShopRite

shopping lists rankings

better luck next year

Austin drops out of top 50 'World's Best Cities' list for 2025

Photo by Tracy Vu on Unsplash

Austin needs to put in some major work to improve its ranking for the 2026 report.

In a surprising turn for the city, Austin is no longer considered one the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report by Resonance Consultancy.

The Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors ranked Austin the 53rd best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.

The report quantifies the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity for the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of 1 million or more. New to the 10th anniversary edition, Resonance partnered with global market researchers Ipsos to include perception-based data into the rankings, surveying over 22,000 people in 30 countries worldwide to determine "the most desirable places to visit, live or work."

Austin took a 10-place tumble after previously ranking as No. 43 for two consecutive years, starting in 2022.

Resonance refers to its previous "World's Best Cities" reports and its 2024 "America's Best Cities" list – which ranked Austin in the top 15 – when explaining the Texas Capital's successes. The report praised Austin's "progressive spirit," economic prosperity, and the award-winning University of Texas at Austin.

"Austin continues to position itself as a hub of innovation and talent," the report's author wrote. "Over the past decade, the Austin area has become a magnet for major corporations, with Tesla recently establishing headquarters here to join long-standing players like Whole Foods and Dell."

However, Resonance attribute's Austin's dip in the rankings due to rising office vacancy rates and high housing prices.

"The office vacancy rate is climbing as remote work continues to impact the demand for commercial spaces," the report said. "Moreover, housing remains among the least affordable in the U.S., despite home prices having dropped 18 percent from the pandemic highs seen in mid-2022, the most among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas according to Redfin."

Elsewhere in Texas, both Houston and Dallas made major rebounds on the World's Best Cities list for 2025 from the previous year's rankings. Houston had plummeted into No. 66 in 2023, but has now skyrocketed back into the top 50 to claim the No. 40 spot. Meanwhile, Dallas moved up from No. 73 in last year's report to its current rank as No. 55.

London held onto its crown as the No. 1 best city in the world for 2025, followed by New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Singapore (No. 5).

austin reports city life