Best in Texas

New ranking honors Dallas suburb as very best place to live in Texas

Flo Mo is a fave.

Town of Flower Mound, Texas/Facebook

Everything's bigger in Texas, especially pride in our towns. Chamber of Commerce, a digital resource for small business owners, recently evaluated 2,509 Texas cities and ranked the top 100 best in which to live.

The five factors used to build the list included employment (number of establishments, median earnings); housing (owner-occupied housing with a mortgage, monthly housing costs); quality of life (work commute, poverty levels); education (percentage with a bachelor's degree or higher); and health (obesity ratios). Only cities with a population above 25,000 and enough data for analysis were considered.

And the top spot goes to — drum roll, please — Flower Mound, the affluent Dallas and Fort Worth suburb. As the ranking notes, "Flo Mo" boasts a strong economy driven by its retail sector and the introduction of light industry in recent years. A large percentage of its population is originally from outside the state.

Second on the list is Houston, Texas' largest city and the fourth largest in the nation. Being a business hub works in H-Town's favor, as it's home to the fourth-most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U.S. metropolitan area, with the energy, aeronautics, and manufacturing industries bringing tons of jobs into the city.

We head back to DFW for No. 3, where Richardson also displays a wealth of big-name businesses. AT&T, Samsung, and Texas Instruments call the area home, along with University of Texas at Dallas.

A little further north is No. 4 Frisco, one of the fastest-growing cities in the entire country. A lot of retail development is happening here, and it boasts a reputation of being a great commuter city for those who work in Dallas proper.

Finally, the Austin area gets a little love with Pflugerville claiming No. 5. The city's German heritage is proudly honored by plenty of festivals, and millions have caught a glimpse of the area's idyllic charm through the popular TV show Friday Night Lights, which used the city's stadium as a filming location. It's also a popular real estate enclave for hopeful homebuyers who've been priced out of Austin.

texas rankings bests

Turkey Day news

Dallas eats up top-5 rank on list of best cities for Thanksgiving

Photo courtesy of Razzoo's

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Dallas is sitting at the head of the table as one of the best places in the country to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, a new study has revealed.

Dallas ranked No. 5 out of 100 of the largest U.S. cities in WalletHub's annual "Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving" report, published November 12. The city made a huge leap over its 2023 ranking as No. 17, and remains the highest-ranking Texas city.

The study analyzed each city based on 18 metrics to determine the best places for Thanksgiving, such as the number of pumpkin patches per capita, the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, the number of volunteer opportunities, the average weather forecast, and more. The metrics were then organized into five overall categories to determine the rankings.

The category that Dallas ranked the highest in was the number of celebrations and traditions (No. 2), and the average weather forecast during the holiday period (No. 9), while the lowest-ranked category was for safety and accessibility (No. 82). Other categories that determined Dallas' overall ranking were affordability (No. 60), and a "giving thanks" rank (No. 26).

Dallas restaurants are getting prepared for their big Turkey Day feasts, and CultureMap has rounded up a thorough list of all of the local restaurants hosting holiday feasts, from brunch to dinner.

"The best cities for celebrating Thanksgiving all have an abundance of high-quality restaurants and places to buy festive decorations, and their residents get very excited for the holiday based on their Google search history," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

By Thanksgiving on November 28, Dallas will be fully decked for the December holidays. Dallasites who will have extended family in town during Thanksgiving weekend can take in of all the marvelous Christmas lights brightening the city. Dallas-Fort Worth goes all out for the most wonderful time of year.

Across North Texas, three Dallas-area cities also made big improvements from their 2023 rankings. Irving moved up 10 spots to claim No. 19 this year, and Garland jumped up 21 spots on the list as No. 34. Arlington made the biggest improvement in the region, moving from No. 78 last year to No. 55 this year.

Meanwhile, Plano and Fort Worth slipped in the rankings, falling into No. 44 and No. 45 in 2024, respectively. Plano previously ranked No. 38 in 2023, and Fort Worth was No. 36.

San Diego, California (No. 1) topped the overall list of best places to go for Thanksgiving this year, followed by its Golden State neighbors San Francisco (No. 3) and San Jose (No. 4). Atlanta, Georgia (No. 2) rounds out the top five.

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