Highly rated hamlet

This Dallas neighbor earns new bragging rights as 5th best city to live in U.S.

The Plano Balloon Festival is one of the hottest events of the year in DFW.

Photo by Silvana Baumann

Plano is on a hot streak. It can add yet another accolade to its resume. The city ranks fifth on Niche.com’s 2020 list of the best cities to live in the U.S.

Factors that Niche.com uses to judge the livability of a city include cost of living, quality of schools, home values, crime rates, employment rates, diversity, and health and fitness. Niche.com is a review website that crunches data about communities, schools, and employers.

"Living in Plano offers residents a dense suburban feel and most residents own their homes," the report says. "In Plano there are a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. Many families and young professionals live in Plano and residents tend to have moderate political views. The public schools in Plano are highly rated."

IN all 228 U.S. cities were ranked. Plano also was got No. 4 in "best cities to buy a house in America" and No. 8 in "best cities to raise a family."

Plano regularly receives accolades like this one. For instance, Plano ranks first on WalletHub’s 2020 list of the best places in the U.S. for summer staycations. Also this year, Plano appears at No. 2 on WalletHub’s list of the happiest places in the country.

Livability.com echoes Niche's assessment, saying Plano, home to roughly 290,000 residents, “boasts great neighborhoods, strong education, iconic and authentic Texas cuisine, affordable living, and plenty of entertaining things to do.”

Not too far behind Plano is Richardson, which ranks as the 12th best city to live.

"Living in Richardson offers residents an urban suburban mix feel and most residents own their homes," Niche.com says. "In Richardson there are a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and parks.

Among Texas cities, only the Houston suburb of The Woodlands beats Plano, coming in at No. 2.

Arlington, Virginia, tops this year’s Niche.com rankings of the best cities to live in. Other Texas cities in the top 25 are Round Rock (No. 22) and Austin (No. 23).

Aside from being No. 2 overall, The Woodlands ranks as the second best city to raise a family, the third best city to buy a house, and the seventh best city for public schools. Nearly 120,000 people live in The Woodlands.

“The Woodlands is a great place to live. It offers [a] good cost of living and quality of life. Great food and events. Beautiful trees everywhere and lot of green space to spend time outdoors,” a Niche.com reviewer writes.

Round Rock, the Austin metro area’s No. 1 city on the Niche.com list, is no stranger to rankings like this one, either. Last year, Money magazine named Round Rock the second best place to live in America. In lauding Round Rock, Money cited the suburb’s stellar schools, robust economy, and array of spare-time activities.

Here, in list form, are the Texas cities that made Niche.com’s top 100 list of the best cities to live in America:

The Woodlands, No. 2
Plano, No. 5
Richardson, No. 12
Round Rock, No. 22
Austin, No. 23
College Station, No. 26
Irving, No. 40
Denton, No. 53
Lubbock, No. 58
Houston, No. 66
Arlington, No. 77
Dallas, No. 79
San Antonio, No. 85

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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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