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Dallas climbs back up in ranking of 'World's Best Cities' for 2025

Dallas soared to No. 55, up from No. 73.

Dallas has made a big rebound in its status among the top 100 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report by Resonance Consultancy.

The Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors ranked Dallas the 55th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.

A ranking of 55 might not seem all that, but it represents a major rebound after Dallas plummeted to No. 73 in last year's report. (Let's ignore the fact that, in 2022, Dallas ranked No. 47.)

London held onto its crown as the No. 1 best city in the world for 2025, followed by New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Singapore (No. 5).

The report quantifies the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity for the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of 1 million or more. New to the 10th anniversary edition, Resonance partnered with global market researchers Ipsos to include perception-based data into the rankings, surveying over 22,000 people in 30 countries worldwide to determine "the most desirable places to visit, live or work."

Resonance refers to its previous "World's Best Cities" reports and its 2024 "America's Best Cities" list – which ranked Dallas in the top 20 – when explaining the city's successes. The report praised Dallas' booming population, a thriving corporate economy, and its diverse culture.

"From 2021 to 2022, Dallas experienced the largest population increase of any U.S. metro area, with a net increase of more than 170,000 people, according to the Census Bureau," the report's author wrote. "Home to more than 10,000 corporate headquarters — the largest concentration in the U.S. — the city ranks No. 33 globally for Fortune 500 companies."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Houston also earned spots on the World's Best Cities list for 2025, but only one made a similar rebound from the previous year's rankings. Houston moved up from No. 66 in last year's report to its current rank as No. 40. Meanwhile, Austin took its first tumble out of the 43rd spot (which it had occupied for two years straight) and now ranks No. 53.

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2. Plano ranks as No. 2 safest big city in the U.S. for 2026. Plano can add a new title to its growing list of superlatives. A new study ranks the Dallas suburb as the second-safest city in the U.S. among those with at least 250,000 residents.

3. Shaquille O'Neal cruises Dallas lake in custom '64 Chevy Impala boat. Those on Lake Ray Hubbard in early July witnessed basketball superstar Shaq cruising the waters in a convertible 1964 Chevrolet Impala. A surreal sight, onlookers say.

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4. This Dallas neighbor is the No. 2 hottest ZIP code to move to in 2026. A new migration report has reaffirmed Texas as one of the hottest destinations for movers during the first half of 2026, and one Dallas suburb is attracting more movers than almost any other ZIP code in America.

5. Chinese restaurant Yang's Smokehouse in Plano has sensational skewers. A new family-owned Asian restaurant specializing in skewers has opened in Plano. Called Yang's Smokehouse, it's a Chinese place now open at the Mitsuya Marketplace center with a menu featuring dishes you won't find anywhere else in Dallas.