climbing the charts

Dallas-Fort Worth moves up 5 spots on U.S. News’ list of best places to live 2022

Who wouldn't want to live here?

Photo by Tony Shi Photography/Getty Images

Bad news for Austin, good news for Dallas-Fort Worth: While Texas' capital city has been knocked out of the top 10 in U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of the best places to live in the U.S., DFW has moved up five spots.

DFW landed at No. 32 on the 2022 list, up from No. 37 last year.

The Austin metro area tumbled from No. 5 last year to No. 13 this year. It does remain the top-ranked place in Texas, though; DFW is No. 2.

For this year’s ranking, U.S. News considered key factors for 150 metro areas such as job availability, housing affordability, quality of life, and desirability. This year, the publication added data about air quality for the first time.

Of DFW, U.S News says, "Offering both big-city excitement and quiet, suburban living, the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area has an interesting mix of Texas pride and cosmopolitan offerings. The cowboy life still exists in Fort Worth, while Dallasites love the trendy local bars and numerous retail shops. And no matter which part of the metroplex they call home, sports fans rally together behind their professional sports teams."

They cite DFW residents' friendliness and note that there are a lot more of us.

"People from both demographics are flooding the area, and the population has swelled from about 5.8 million people in 2005 to more than 7 million people today," they write. "New developments have drawn in both families looking for their dream home and professionals looking to advance their careers."

Huntsville, Alabama, grabbed the No. 1 spot in 2022 from last year’s top-ranked metro, Boulder, Colorado. Huntsville came in third place last year.

“Much of the shakeup we see at the top of this year’s ranking is a result of changing preferences,” Devon Thorsby, real estate editor at U.S. News, says in a news release. “People moving across the country today are putting more emphasis on affordability and quality of life than on the job market, which in many ways takes a back seat as remote work options have become more standard.”

Elsewhere in the U.S. News rankings:

Houston landed at No. 59, down from No. 39 last year.
San Antonio landed at No. 83, down from No. 75 last year.
Killeen landed at No. 108, up from No. 114 last year.
Beaumont landed at No. 109, up from No. 124 last year.
El Paso landed at No. 124, up from No. 131 last year.
Corpus Christi landed at No. 133, down from No. 129 last year.
Brownsville landed at No. 134, up from No. 140 last year.
McAllen landed at No. 138, up from No. 139 last year.

rankings

Sobering statistic

Texas ranks No. 9 among deadliest states for New Year’s crashes

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At more than 314,000 miles, Texas boasts the largest system of public roads among the 50 states. It also holds the unfortunate distinction of being one of the deadliest states for New Year’s car accidents.

An analysis of 2014-2023 traffic data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows Texas is the ninth worst state for traffic deaths on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

During the 10-year period covered by the analysis, commissioned by AutoAccident.com, Texas tallied 280 traffic deaths on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day — the highest total of any state. The 280-person toll in Texas works out to 9.61 deaths per one million residents, a rate that’s 37 percent above the national average of 6.99 deaths per one million residents.

The analysis reveals that nearly three-fourths (64 percent) of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day traffic deaths in Texas were drivers, nearly one-fifth (19 percent) were pedestrians, and 16 percent were passengers.

“New Year’s Eve is one of the most dangerous nights on American roads,” says Edward Smith, managing attorney at AutoAccident.com, a personal injury law firm.

“With impaired driving incidents spiking during holiday celebrations, every driver has a responsibility to make smart choices that protect themselves and others sharing the road,” Smith adds. “Even in states with strong safety records, one preventable death is too many.”

According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), more than 2,000 drunk driving-related crashes happened during the 2024 holiday season. Last year, December ranked as the No. 1 month in Texas for wrecks caused by drunk drivers.

“The holidays are a wonderful time to be with family, and yet they can also be a painful reminder for those who have lost loved ones to preventable crashes,” says Marc Williams, executive director of TxDOT. “Let’s make a new holiday tradition to drive like a Texan: kind, courteous, and safe. That means always getting a sober ride.”

TxDOT offers these four tips for staying safe on the roads as the calendar switches from 2025 to 2026:

Designate a sober driver before the celebrations start.
Ask a sober relative or friend to pick you up if you’re too tipsy to drive.
Use public transit or rideshare services.
Stay off the roads until you’ve sobered up.

Several organizations in Dallas-Fort Worth are offering ways to get home safely around New Year’s if you’re too drunk to drive:

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has teamed up with Coors Light to provide free rides on New Year’s Eve. To get a free ride, enter the promo code COORSNYE25 in the GoPass app. The offer is available to the first 10,500 riders who enter the code in the GoPass app.
Trinity Metro will offer free Trinity Railway Express rides in Tarrant County from 6 pm-midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Various bars and entertainment venues in Dallas County are supplying QR codes for one free Lyft ride worth up to $35. The EpicCentral entertainment district in Grand Prairie is among the participants.
In collaboration with TxDOT and the Frisco Police Department, Uber is offering $30-per-ride vouchers for people in Frisco who aren’t sober enough to drive. Frisco ranks first on Allstate’s 2025 list of the Texas cities with the best drivers.
Fort Worth Limousines provides designated-driver services in Dallas-Fort Worth via limo, luxury sedan, SUV, and bus.
Pro-Tow Wrecker Service is offering free tows to tipsy motorists in Denton County who need a ride on New Year’s Eve.

traffic fatalities crime holidays new year's day new years eve traffic