Texas cities

The best places to live in Texas

Texas's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Corinth leads the list.

We scored Texas's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
78 Plano $358,100 $1,541 43 55
104 Austin $381,400 $1,415 26 48
123 Arlington $210,800 $1,172 27 43
131 Fort Worth $212,300 $1,187 31 42
141 El Paso $137,600 $910 38 40
143 Corpus Christi $157,400 $1,099 40 40
158 Dallas $230,000 $1,178 20 36
161 Lubbock $156,400 $1,000 34 35
187 Houston $200,700 $1,136 15 25
193 San Antonio $167,700 $1,090 23 21

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Texas. Updated 2026.