Highly rated hamlet

This Austin neighbor rolls onto new ranking of best cities in the U.S.

Round Rock rocks this new national ranking.

Photo by Riser Aerial

When it comes to livability, the Austin metro area, ahem, rocks. Both Round Rock and Austin rank on Niche.com’s 2020 list of the best cities to live in the U.S.

Round Rock, No. 22 on the Niche.com list, is no stranger to rankings like this one, either. Last year, Money magazine named Round Rock the second best place to live in America. In lauding the Austin 'burb, Money cited the suburb’s stellar schools, robust economy, and array of spare-time activities.

A post on the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce website says the city of about 118,000 residents is “a special place to locate and grow a business with a vibrant business community that provides a conducive environment for any success that one might dream of. It is a special place to make a home and raise a family. It is a special place for friends and activities and purposes that fill one’s life.”

Austin followed right behind at No. 23. As CultureMap previously reported, the Capital City is so popular, it's on the brink of becoming the 10th largest city in the U.S.

Niche.com, a review website, used various factors to judge the livability of a city include cost of living, quality of schools, home values, crime rates, employment rates, diversity, and health and fitness.

The Woodlands takes the No. 2 spot, the highest in Texas. The Houston community ranks as the second best city to raise a family, the third best city to buy a house, and the seventh best city for public schools. Nearly 120,000 people live in The Woodlands.

“The Woodlands is a great place to live. It offers [a] good cost of living and quality of life. Great food and events. Beautiful trees everywhere and lot of green space to spend time outdoors,” a Niche.com reviewer writes.

Arlington, Virginia, tops this year’s Niche.com rankings of the best cities to live in. Other Texas cities in the top 25 are Plano (No. 5) and Richardson (No. 12).

Plano, Dallas-Fort Worth’s top city on the Niche.com list, regularly receives accolades like this one. For instance, Plano ranks first on WalletHub’s 2020 list of the best places in the U.S. for summer staycations. Also this year, Plano appears at No. 2 on WalletHub’s list of the happiest places in the country.

Livability.com says Plano, home to roughly 290,000 residents, “boasts great neighborhoods, strong education, iconic and authentic Texas cuisine, affordable living, and plenty of entertaining things to do.”

Here are the Texas cities that made Niche.com’s top 100 list of the best cities to live in America:

Plano, No. 5
Richardson, No. 12 (No. 5 among best cities for retirees)
Round Rock, No. 22
Austin, No. 23 (No. 17 among best cities for young professionals)
College Station, No. 26
Irving, No. 40
Denton, No. 53
Lubbock, No. 58
Houston, No. 66
Arlington, No. 77 (No. 11 among most diverse cities)
Dallas, No. 79
San Antonio, No. 85

rankings lists

keep austin healthy

Austin is the 2nd 'healthiest' city in America, Forbes says

Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash

There are plenty of places for Austinites of varying abilities to be active.

The city's abundance of yoga studios, health-conscious restaurants, and run clubs is paying off: Austin was just named the second healthiest city in the nation in a new study by Forbes Advisor.

The report, "Cities With The Least Healthy (And Healthiest) Populations, Ranked" examined 2021 health data from the City Health Dashboard for 46 of the most populated cities in America. Eight metrics were analyzed for each city, such as the number of heart disease or opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents, the percentage of adults with diabetes or high blood pressure, among others.

The study focuses exclusively on physical health, and leans on broad risk factors more than the actual occurrence of specific diseases or conditions.

Austin ranked second to San Jose, California, which was dubbed the No. 1 healthiest city in America.

Forbes found that Austin has the lowest percentage of adult high blood pressure out of all 46 cities in the report, at just 22.5 percent. Only 7.4 percent of Austin residents have diabetes, which is the fourth-lowest rate nationwide. The city also boasts the fifth-lowest percentage of adults who smoke (11.3 percent).

Here's how the report ranked four other metrics for Austin:

Eighth-lowest number of heart disease deaths per 100,000 residents (175.5)
Eighth-lowest number of opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents (9.6)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report having obesity (28.2 percent)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report being physically inactive (18.5)

Austin has a reputation for being an accommodating city, whether it's through restaurants expanding their culinary offerings for vegans and vegetarians, or through local organizations adding exercise equipment to outdoor trails. And you can't forget about all the new gyms and country clubs opening around the city.

At the opposite end of the study, Detroit, Michigan landed as the most unhealthy city in the country.

Elsewhere in Texas
Though Austin is one of the healthiest cities in the U.S., and the healthiest in the state, several other Texas cities fell far behind. Houston appeared as the No. 12 most unhealthy American city on the list, and unhealthiest in Texas. The report attributes this to a high percentage of adults who report binge drinking (18.2 percent), smoking (17.2 percent), and more.

"Houston has the seventh-highest percentage of adults who report having obesity (37.7 percent) and the eighth-highest percentage of adults with diabetes (12 percent)," the report said.

San Antonio ranked as the 15th unhealthiest U.S. city, followed by Dallas (No. 18), El Paso (No. 22) and Fort Worth (No. 25). Arlington appeared as No. 30, technically making it the No. 18 healthiest city in the U.S.

The top 10 cities with the most healthy populations are:

No. 1 – San Jose, California
No. 2 – Austin, Texas
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – San Diego, California
No. 5 – Denver, Colorado
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 8 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 9 – Colorado Springs, Colorado
No. 10 – Minneapolis

The full report can be found on forbes.com.

austin healthy reports rankings

Highly rated hamlet

This Austin neighbor rolls onto new ranking of best cities in the U.S.

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