AUSTIN, Texas – Six Central Texas cities made the top 150 of the new Best Places to Live in the U.S. list.
The annual list by US News & World Report ranks 250 cities across the country based on value, desirability, strength of the job market and quality of life.
Who made the list?
What we know:
Six Central Texas cities made the top 150: Leander at number 8; Pflugerville at number 15; Cedar Park at number 23; Round Rock at number 28; New Braunfels at number 77 and Georgetown at number 113.
Austin lay just outside the top 150 at number 164. Temple and San Antonio also made the list, at 99 and 236 respectively.
The top 10 cities on the list are:
- Johns Creek, Georgia
- Carmel, Indiana
- Pearland, Texas
- Fishers, Indiana
- Cary, North Carolina
- League City, Texas
- Apex, North Carolina
- Leander, Texas
- Rochester Hills, Michigan
- Troy, Michigan
Big picture view:
In total, 54 Texas cities made the top 250, or about 21.6 percent of the list.
The following cities also made the list: Flower Mound (14), Sugar Land (16), McAllen (20), Mansfield (27), Frisco (30), McKinney (37), Laredo (41), The Woodlands (44), Katy (45), Pharr (58), Allen (61), Edinburg (62), North Richland Hills (64), Midland (65), Missouri City (67), Mission (70), Spring (73), Carrolton (82), Rowlett (83), San Angelo (90), Brownsville (97), Wylie (102), Grand Prairie (105), El Paso (107), Victoria (108), Conroe (111), Harlingen (112), Abilene (120), Amarillo (137), Odessa (145), Irving (149), Plano (150), Bryan (153), Lubbock (169), Wichita Falls (178), Richardson (189), Eagle Pass (205), Lewisville (206), Corpus Christi (209), Fort Worth (212), Tyler (222), Longview (233), and Arlington (249),
How were the cities ranked?
Dig deeper:
U.S. News & World Report used data from Applied Geographic Solutions (AGS) and U.S. News’ own internal resources.
AGS develops its core database and specialized indexes from both private and government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce, the Federal Reserve and the Bureau for Economic Analysis, as well as state and local sources.
The data was then categorized into five indices: Quality of Life, Value, Desirability, Job Market, and Net Migration. Each was weighted on a percentage based on the answers to a February 2025 public survey.
Read more about their methodology here.
Pflugerville celebrates spot on the list
What they’re saying:
“In Pflugerville, our community is at the heart of every decision we make. Whether you’re a newcomer, long-time community member, or visiting, our goal is to make every person feel at home and welcome,” said Pflugerville Mayor Victor Gonzales.
“Pflugerville is a wonderful place to live, and we’re thrilled that the advancements we’ve made in our infrastructure, amenities and services earn us a #15 ranking in the distinguished U.S. News and World Report 2025-2026 Best Places to Live,” he added.
Pflugerville calls itself the Trail Capital of Texas, boasting about 56 miles of trails.
The city says it continues to invest in the future with ongoing initiatives that expand its infrastructure, water & wastewater
capacity and mobility to keep up with growth.
The Source: Information in this report comes from the US News & World Report and the city of Pflugerville