The Woodlands named best place to live in Texas

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - It has a reputation for barbecue, wide-open spaces and thriving cities, but Texas is best known for its size.

Indeed, the largest state in the continental U.S. not only trumps others in land mass, but it is also No. 2 in the nation when it comes to population and population growth. And in the biggest state, growth is happening in the biggest cities.

According to a report about the most recent U.S Census Bureau estimates, seven of the 15 fastest-growing cities with populations of 50,000 or more are located in Texas. The state, which saw an overall population growth rate of 5.4% from 2010 to 2013, is seeing growth spikes as high as 9.2% in Austin, as millennials continue to flock to cities.

In a state overflowing with pride, the question of a “best city” is an area of debate. Looking at a variety of data sources, NerdWallet ranked the 50 largest cities in Texas on quality-of-life indicators to determine the best places to live.

NerdWallet’s analysis:

Crime. Using data from NeighborhoodScout, we gave every city a crime-risk index, ranging from “most safe” to “least safe” based on the quartile determined by the crime score.

Housing and demographics. Looking at data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we used homeownership rates, commute time and unemployment rates to measure a city’s housing and economic health.

Education. We used data from SchoolDigger.com to assign every city’s public school system a percentile score compared with the rest of the state.

Walk Score. Using data from Walk Score, which measures accessibility by walking to a city’s amenities, every city was assigned a number up to 100, a perfect score.

Our analysis looked at the 50 most populous cities in Texas as measured by the Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey.

The Woodlands easily passed with high scores for education, low crime, and unemployment rates...

The Woodlands, a census-designated place, is an across-the-board great place to live, with top marks for education and lower crime and unemployment rates. The community is about 30 miles from the 163,037-acre Sam Houston National Forest, which is a bonus for nature enthusiasts. There’s only one area where The Woodlands scores poorly: transportation. The community had one of the worst walking accessibility scores on our list, as well as a longer commute time of 31 minutes.



Here’s the top 10 cities on the list:

1. The Woodlands
2. Allen
3. Frisco
4. Sugar Land
5. McKinney
6. Pearland
7. Plano
8. League City
9. Missouri City
10. Carrollton

Other notable Texas cities:

15. College Station
18. Round Rock
31. Corpus Christi
37. Austin
43. San Antonio
46. Dallas
47. Houston

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