Lively Leander has landed among the top 10 best places to live in 2025, according to U.S. News & World Report.

New for the 2025-2026 "Best Places to Live in the U.S." rankings, U.S. News expanded its coverage from 150 to 250 U.S. cities, and updated its methodology to examine each city based on five livability indexes: Quality of life, value, desirability, job market, and net migration.

The top three best places to live are located in Johns Creek, Georgia (No. 1); Carmel, Indiana (No. 2); and the Houston-area suburb of Pearland, Texas (No. 3).

Leander ranked No. 8 nationwide, and it landed in the coveted No. 3 spot in U.S. News' separate state-level rankings of the best places to live in Texas for 2025-2026.

Aspects of Leander that put it at the top of the list include its median household income ($131,822), its median home values ($493,774), and its bustling population of less than 78,000 residents.

The city's population is a healthy mix of young individuals and families, with 28 percent of residents being under 20 years old and 38 percent of the population being between the ages of 20-44. Nearly a quarter of Leander's population is between 45-64-years-old, and 11 percent of residents are over 65, the report says.

Leander's reputation as one of the most livable and best small cities in America is also boosting its community appeal.

"Finding a community to be part of can play a major role in making a place feel like home," U.S. News said. "If you’re a parent with young children, you may want to live in a neighborhood with other people in that phase of life. If you’re a professional moving to a hot job market for your field, you may want to live in an apartment close to the office or within walking distance of friends and colleagues."

Leander also enjoys a better job market than other similarly sized metro areas, the report added. Leander's unemployment rate as of 2023 was only 3.1 percent, lower than the national average unemployment rate of 4.5 percent.

Public transport isn't as prevalent in Leander as it is in other cities.The City of Leander, Texas/Facebook

However, if people are looking for a public transportation-friendly city, they may need to look elsewhere. Almost all commuters in Leander drive to their workplaces, making access to a vehicle absolutely necessary for living in the suburb. Leander's 28.4-minute average commute time is also 6.2 minutes higher than the national average, U.S. News said.

The suburb's housing costs are admittedly more expensive than the national average home value ($370,489), but that shouldn't deter newcomers who are looking for a place to settle down.

"Leander offers a better value than similarly sized cities when you compare housing costs to median household income," the report said.

Other Austin-area suburbs
Pflugerville ranked nine spots behind Leander as the 15th best place to live in the U.S., and No. 5 in Texas. The city boasts a median household income of $118,047, and median home values at $441,873.

Workers in Pflugerville also predominantly rely on vehicles for their daily commutes, and only 1.5 percent of the population use public transport to get to work. Commuters spend an average time of 24 minutes driving to work, U.S. News determined.

More than half (53.6 percent) of all Pflugerville residents are married, and 59 percent of the population are between the ages of 25 and 64-years-old.

Here's how other Austin-area cities faired among the top 150:

• No. 28 – Round Rock
• No. 113 – Georgetown

Austin drops out of the top 100
Though Austin proper made substantial improvements to land among the top 10 best places to live in U.S. News' 2024-2025 report, the city has plummeted toward the bottom of the list for 2025-2026.

Austin slumped into No. 164 this year, and only ranked No. 43 in the statewide comparison, showing that the city has lost its charm in favor of its appealing suburban neighbors.

The top 10 best places to live in the U.S. are:

• No. 1 – Johns Creek, Georgia
• No. 2 – Carmel, Indiana
• No. 3 – Pearland, Texas
• No. 4 – Fishers, INdiana
• No. 5 – Cary, North Carolina
• No. 6 – League City, Texas
• No. 7 – Apex, North Carolina
• No. 8 – Leander, Texas
• No. 9 – Rochester Hills, Michigan
• No. 10 – Troy, Michigan