Best 'burbs

2 desirable Dallas neighbors unlock rankings among best cities to live in U.S.

Richardson repeats as No. 12.

Photo courtesy of the City of Richardson

For the second year in a row, two Dallas suburbs have captured top-15 spots on a prestigious list of the Best Cities to Live in America. Drumroll, please ... they are Plano, at No. 9, and Richardson, at No. 12.

Both cities are repeat entrants in Niche.com’s ranking of the best cities to live in the U.S. Richardson also came in at No. 12 in the 2021 list, while Plano was No. 7 last year.

Niche specializes in supplying data, reviews, and ratings of schools, colleges, and universities in the U.S. This year, researchers combed through data for 228 cities, as well as 18,515 towns and neighborhoods, to develop its annual rankings. Niche relies on data from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau and FBI, along with residents’ ratings.

“Whether our users are young professionals, parents with young kids, or retirees, Niche’s … rankings serve as an excellent starting point for considering a move,” says Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche.

“The pandemic triggered a new set of possibilities — suddenly, many individuals and families found themselves more mobile than ever before, and in the past two years they have continued to think hard about where they really want to live,” Skurman adds. “Families wondering about an area’s school district, a major part of many relocation decisions, can also use our comprehensive school profiles and rankings to get a sense of what their child’s future school might be like.”

Other notable local rankings:

Plano ranks fifth among the best cities to buy a house, and Richardson takes the No. 9 spot.
Plano ranks ninth on the list of the cities with the best public schools.
Arlington (No. 11) and Irving (No. 12) are the top-ranked Texas cities on the list of the most diverse cities.
Austin is the top-ranked Texas city (No. 19) on the list of the best cities for young professionals, with Plano five places behind at No. 24.
Richardson is the No. 1 Texas city for retirees.
At No. 42 nationally, Plano is the healthiest city in Texas, followed by Richardson at No. 43.

Houston suburb The Woodlands earned the No. 1 overall ranking for the second year in a row. Aside from being named the best city to live, The Woodlands ranks second on Niche’s list of the best cities to buy a house, and sixth on its lists of the cities with the best public schools and the best cities for retirees.

Nationally, the top five cities to live (after The Woodlands) are:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, No. 2.
Naperville, Illinois, No. 3.
Arlington, Virginia, No. 4.
Overland Park, Kansas, No. 5.

What follows is a breakdown of other communities in Texas that earned places in Niche’s ranking of the best cities to live.

Dallas-Fort Worth:

Plano, No. 9
Richardson, No. 12
Irving, No. 40
Denton, No. 56
Dallas, No. 80
Arlington, No. 89
Fort Worth, No. 135

Houston metro area:

The Woodlands, No. 1
Houston, No. 71

Austin metro area:

Austin, No. 25
Round Rock, No. 29

San Antonio metro area:

San Antonio, No. 101

Elsewhere in Texas:

College Station, No. 27
Lubbock, No. 72
Tyler, No. 94
Wichita Falls, No. 98
El Paso, No. 100
McAllen, No. 102
Abilene, No. 112
Amarillo, No. 122
Waco, No. 130
Corpus Christi, No. 132
Midland, No. 158
Beaumont, No. 170
Killeen, No. 189
Brownsville, No. 193

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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