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Austin climbs back into the top 10 best places to live in 2024 by U.S. News

Austin is now the ninth best place to live in America, according to U.S. News.

Things are looking much brighter for Austin: The Texas Capital has soared right back into the top 10 in U.S. News and World Report's "Best Places to Live" list for 2024-2025, ranking the No. 9 best place to live in America.

Austin was previously the No. 1 place to live in America for from 2017 to 2019, and began to slip in 2020 when it dipped to No. 3. The downhill slope continued with Austin falling to No. 5 in 2021, then it tumbled out of the top 10 to No. 13 in 2022. The City of Weird performed the worst in 2023 when it shockingly tumbled into No. 40.

U.S. News annually measures 150 of the top American cities for their livability and ranks them based on four major indexes: quality of life, value, desirability, and job market.

New for the 2024-2025 report, U.S. News updated its methodology to analyze city-based data rather than metropolitan area data. Secondly, the report's annual survey now places greater weight on a city's "value and job market," while "weights for desirability and quality of life took a slight dip" on the grading scale.

"Rising concerns about career prospects, housing affordability, and increased cost of goods and services are reflected in this year’s rankings," said U.S. News loans expert and reporter Erika Giovanetti in a press release. "While quality of life remains the top priority for many Americans, a city’s value and job market are becoming increasingly important for those looking for a place to live."

There's many factors that draw folks to the state capital, among them our city's live music scene, a growing sports presence, highly esteemed schools and universities, and much more. U.S. News found Austin had "high desirability and job market scores" to help boost its ranking, showing that the city truly has something for everyone.

The good news applies statewide: Austin is still holding strong as the Best Place to Live in Texas for 2024.

Elsewhere in Texas
The recent focus on city-based data was likely a major factor that fueled Austin's improvement in the national rankings, but it also favorably shifted nine other Texas cities.

Three cities in the Rio Grande Valley ranked higher than some of Texas' major cities like Dallas (No. 95) or Houston (No. 97). The border towns of McAllen (No. 48) and Brownsville (No. 87) climbed into the overall top 100 this year after formerly ranking No. 137 and No. 134 last year. Meanwhile, Corpus Christi moved up from No. 132 last year to No. 77 in 2024.

Here's how other Texas cities faired in 2024's Best Places to Live report:

No. 62 – El Paso (up from No. 128 last year)
No. 89 – San Antonio (up from No. 103 last year)
No. 99 – Beaumont (up from No. 131 last year)
No. 107 – Killeen (up from No. 122 last year)

Naples, Florida took home the gold medal as the No. 1 best place to live in the U.S. in 2024. Rounding out the top five are Boise, Idaho (No. 2); Colorado Springs, Colorado (No. 3); Greenville, South Carolina (No. 4); and Charlotte, North Carolina (No. 5).

The full report and its methodology can be found on realestate.usnews.com.

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Top of the class

UT Austin ranks among best U.S. schools for entrepreneurship in 2025

UT Austin, University of Texas at Austin, top Texas schools, best public universities, best colleges

Photo by Alexander Williams on Unsplash

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The University of Texas at Austin has earned two top-10 spots on The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur’s lists of the best graduate and undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies for 2025.

UT Austin's McCombs School of Business ranks seventh in the graduate category, and UT ranks second in the undergraduate category.

The school is no stranger to the prestigious national lists. In the 2024 rankings, UT also appeared as No. 2 among undergraduate programs, and No. 6 in the ranking for the best graduate programs.

This year marks the fourth time that the school has landed in the top 5 on the undergraduate side, and the 12th time in 15 years that McCombs has made the top 10 among graduate programs in the annual ranking, UT notes in a news release.

The only other schools in Texas to make either top-10 list for 2025 were Rice University (No. 1 graduate school) and the University of Houston (No. 1 undergraduate program).

Rankings for The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur’s 2025 lists were based on a survey of administrators at nearly 300 schools in the U.S., Canada, and Europe that offer entrepreneurship studies. Among the more than 40 factors used for the rankings were academic programs, faculty credentials, mentorship opportunities, and alumni entrepreneurship ventures.

"If the focus of the MBA program at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin were to be summed up in one word, it would be 'collaboration,'" reads the 2025 graduate schools report. "Students in more than 20 concentrations uniformly crow over its 'incredibly collaborative culture,' citing the 'supportive culture' as a top reason they ultimately picked the program. As a 'top 20 school,' the 'rigorous academic[s]' and 'focus on clean energy,' 'technology,' and 'entrepreneurship,' are other stand-out elements of the program."

The top 10 schools on the list of 50 best graduate schools for entrepreneurship studies in 2025 are:

1. Rice University
2. University of California-Los Angeles
3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
4. Washington University in St. Louis
5. Babson College
6. University of Washington
7. University of Texas at Austin
8. University of Virginia
9. Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands
10. University of South Florida

The top 10 schools on the list of 50 best undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies in 2025 are:

1. University of Houston
2. University of Texas at Austin
3. Babson College
4. University of Washington
5. Washington University in St. Louis
6. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
7. University of Maryland-College Park
8. Miami University of Ohio
9. Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico
10. Northeastern University

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The story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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