The annual list evaluates data from more than 2,000 cities in areas such as affordability, amenities, quality of life and opportunity. This year, several Texas cities stood out across different regions, reflecting the state\u2019s wide-ranging appeal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among the top-ranked communities were the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, the North Texas city of Plano, the Austin suburb of\u00a0Round Rock and the city of\u00a0New Braunfels<\/a>, each offering a unique combination of lifestyle, jobs and amenities that continue to attract new residents.<\/p>\n In the 2026 rankings, New Braunfels<\/a> landed in\u00a0No.\u202f10 overall with a LivScore of 772, making it one of the highest\u2011ranked communities in Texas. Nestled between Austin and San Antonio, the city of about 105,600 residents blends scenic Hill Country settings with access to the Comal and Guadalupe rivers, historic districts and growing recreational investments, from parks to water\u2011based attractions that appeal to both residents and visitors.<\/p>\n Just ahead of New Braunfels, Round Rock<\/a> claimed No.\u202f9 with a LivScore of 789, reflecting its parks, walkable downtown, safe neighborhoods and proximity to major employers in the Austin area. Plano<\/a>, north of Dallas, finished No.\u202f5 with an 813 LivScore, marking its first appearance in the top five and underscoring its strong job market and cultural offerings. Sugar Land, southwest of Houston, stood out with a No.\u202f3 ranking and a LivScore of 840, drawing praise for its affordability, educated workforce and family\u2011friendly environment.<\/p>\n Livability\u2019s 2026 list is built on more than 100 data points across eight categories, including economy, housing and cost of living, amenities, transportation, environment, safety, education and health. To qualify, cities must have populations between 75,000 and 500,000, and median home values under $500,000, ensuring the ranking reflects attainable, well\u2011rounded communities. Extra weight was given this year to housing affordability, a response to rising costs nationwide.<\/p>\n These top 10 appearances illustrate Texas\u2019 wide geographic appeal, from the Hill Country to North Texas suburbs and beyond. Additional Lone Star State cities also made Livability\u2019s Top 100, reinforcing the state\u2019s strong presence on the national stage. Arlington ranked No.\u202f22, College Station came in at No.\u202f25 and Midland earned the No.\u202f29 spot. Further down the list, Tyler placed No.\u202f60, and Abilene landed at No.\u202f63.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The annual list evaluates data from more than 2,000 cities in areas such as affordability, amenities, quality of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1113,847,820,82,84,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-240218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-mysahillcountry","9":"tag-mysanews","10":"tag-mysastaff","11":"tag-san-antonio","12":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","13":"tag-san-antonio-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}