Good Living

Dallas suburb deemed best place to live in America

The charm of downtown McKinney is just one reason why it was named the best place to live in America.

Photo courtesy of City of McKinney

Fort Worth may have a great downtown and Dallas may have the best skyline in the world, but McKinney has been named the best place to live in America, at least according to new rankings by Money magazine.

Take it with at least one grain of salt; Money only compared data for cities with populations between 50,000 and 300,000, thus ruling out small towns and big cities. If you live somewhere with less than 50,000 people, stay tuned: Money will repeat the rankings for those towns next year.

To compile the list, researchers factored in more than 50 elements, including the local economy, housing market, schools, healthcare costs and more. Out of 781 cities studied, McKinney came out on top.

The city of almost 150,000 was noted for its combination of a small-town feel — thanks to a charming downtown area — and big-city amenities. The proximity and relative ease to get to bigger cities also played a role in McKinney's high ranking, as did its relatively low, but escalating, real estate prices.

McKinney was the only small city in Texas to make the top 15 in Money'srankings, but two others fell within the top 20: Mansfield (No. 17) and Pflugerville (No. 20).

Minnesota arguably made the strongest showing, taking three spots in the top 15 (Maple Grove at No. 2, Eagan at No. 11 and Woodbury at No. 12). California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Utah also boasted three cities in the top 50.

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Texas races to the bottom in new list of best states for cyclists

Photo by Garry Neesam on Unsplash

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In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Dallas, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycling riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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