Towering above
Dallas ranks No. 14 best city in U.S., says prestigious new report
According to a new report, Dallas is one of America's best. A new study from Best Cities, powered by Resonance Consultancy, puts Dallas at No. 14 among the best cities in the U.S.
What lifts Dallas to the No. 14 spot? These are some of the factors cited by Best Cities:
- Location of more than 10,000 corporate headquarters
- Strong showing (No. 2) in the airport connectivity category
- Kudos for the soon-to-be-expanded Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center Dallas
- Home of the country’s sixth largest LGBTQ+ community
- Presence of the 28-block, 68-acre Dallas Arts District
"It’s not only city sloganeering that’s big in Dallas. It’s economic reality," the report says. "'Big Things Happen Here' can refer to any one of investment, population growth, or cultural ascent in The Big D."
Best Cities bases its list of the best U.S. cities on Resonance Consultancy’s combination of statistical performance plus qualitative evaluations by locals and visitors. Those figures are grouped into six main categories. This year’s ranking features 100 U.S. cities. To come up with the ranking, Resonance Consultancy assessed all U.S. metro areas with at least 500,000 residents.
Austin is right behind Dallas, at No. 15, and Houston comes out slightly ahead, at No. 11. Two other Texas cities make the Best Cities list: No. 34 San Antonio and No. 94 McAllen.
Here are some of the individual rankings that contribute to Houston’s 11th-place finish:
- No. 4 for restaurants
- No. 7 for culture
- No. 8 for foreign-born population
“Educated, diverse and hard-working, Houston is America’s stealthy powerhouse on the rise,” Best Cities proclaims.
Best Cities also notes that while Austin grabs much of the best-city attention, “the promise of the Lone Star State drawing Californians and New Yorkers is quietly being fulfilled in Houston.” The website points out that the Houston metro area has gained nearly 300,000 residents in the past year, thanks to both domestic and international migration.
Best Cities praises Austin as “a place that’s incredibly livable. Talk to any entrepreneur leaving Silicon Valley or Seattle and chances are they’ve considered Austin.”
The website points to a number of Austin’s assets, such as:
- Growing presence of Fortune 500 headquarters
- Comparatively low unemployment rate
- Location of the University of Texas’ flagship campus
- Status as the Live Music Capital of the World
- Home of the annual SXSW gathering
So, which U.S. city tops the rest? That honor goes to New York.
"After a hellish two years, few places on the planet are as ready to relaunch as NYC," they say.