Wrong direction

Dallas-Fort Worth tumbles out of top 100 places to live, says U.S. News & World Report

Who wouldn't want to live here?

Photo by leekris Getty Images

Dallas-Fort Worth has fallen from grace in a closely watched annual report of the best places to live in the U.S. The Metroplex appears at a dismal No. 113 (out of 150) in U.S. News & World Report's Best Places to Live ranking for 2023-2024.

Last year, DFW landed at No. 32; it was No. 37 in 2021.

Why such a plummet from the top tier to the bottom?

It has to do with criteria and how the metrics are weighted, which U.S. News changes from year to year.

“This year’s rankings are a reflection of the current economic, social, and natural factors that impact a place’s livability for its residents,” says Devon Thorsby, real estate editor at U.S. News, in a release. “People are considering more than housing when they look at an area’s affordability – they want to know how much goods cost in that area. The ever-present risk for severe weather and a community’s ability to recover – coupled with the area’s opportunities for social activities – are also taken into account when evaluating a best place to live.”

As in years past, 150 large metro areas were evaluated using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. News' own internal resources. This data was categorized into the four indexes and evaluated using a methodology determined by Americans' preferences, the report's authors say.

In 2023, the report evaluated quality of life (36% of total score); value, including housing affordability (23%); desirability, including net migration (22%); and job market strength (19%).

DFW scored a middling 6 out of 10 overall. Breaking down the categories, ratings were:

Desirability: 6
Value: 5.8
Job market: 6
Quality of life: 6.1
Net migration: 6.3

A few differences from previous years' metrics: 1) The Desirability Index this year included weather temperateness (the number of days annually that the temperature falls between 33 degrees and 89 degrees F). 2) Desirability Index also includes establishment-to-population ratio, meaning the number of restaurants, bars and activities per 1,000 residents. 3) Having been its own Index in previous editions of Best Places to Live, net migration is also now part of the Desirability Index. 4) In light of inflation, the Value Index – which previously focused solely on housing affordability – now factors in price parity, a U.S. census data point on the general cost of goods within an area, they say.

As in past years, DFW gets praised for "both big-city excitement and quiet, suburban living" and "an interesting mix of Texas pride and cosmopolitan offerings."

They cite DFW residents' friendliness and note that there are a lot more of us.

The Metroplex landed at No. 98 in U.S. News' 2023 Best Places to Retire rankings.

Dallas-Fort Worth isn't alone in its downward spiral. Almost every Texas city took a hit in this year's national rankings:

No. 40 – Austin, down from No. 13 last year (and No. 1 from 2017 to 2019)
No. 103 – San Antonio, down from No. 83 last year
No. 122 – Killeen, down from No. 108 last year
No. 128 – El Paso, down from No. 124 last year
No. 131 – Beaumont, down from No. 109 last year
No. 132 – Corpus Christi, up from No. 133 last year
No. 134 – Brownsville, unchanged from last year
No. 137 – McAllen, up from No. 138 last year
No. 140 – Houston, down from No. 59 last year

In U.S. News' separate Best Place to Live in Texas for 2023, Austin landed at No. 1, followed by San Antonio at No. 2 and DFW at No. 3.

Green Bay, Wisconsin, grabbed the No. 1 spot nationally in 2023. Huntsville, Alabama (last year's No. 1) came in second, followed by Raleigh & Durham, North Carolina (No. 3), Boulder, Colorado (No. 4), and Sarasota, Florida (No. 5).

Best Places to Live US News & World Report rankings reports

population explosion

7 Fort Worth neighbors saw biggest population booms in U.S. for 2023

City of Denton, TX - City Hall/Facebook

Denton had the biggest population growth rate in Dallas-Fort Worth from 2022 to 2023.

Several Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs are among the fastest-growing cities in the nation, according to a new population growth study by SmartAsset.

The report, "These Cities Saw the Largest Growth in Population – 2024 Study," examined U.S. Census population estimates for 2023, 2022, and 2018 to determine one-year and five-year population changes for 610 U.S. cities with populations of at least 65,000 residents in 2023 (where the most recent data was available).

Denton took the lead over all other Dallas-Fort Worth cities with the 16th-largest one-year population growth rate in the U.S., at 5.32 percent. Denton gained over 8,000 residents from 2022 to 2023, bringing the city's total population to 158,361 in 2023.

This should come as no surprise to those who already live in Denton, who may know their hometown was ranked one of the safest suburbs in America.

Mansfield trailed close behind with a 4.16 percent increase in population during that same period, which landed it the No. 26 spot in the one-year population change analysis. The city gained 3,189 new residents in that time, adding up to a total population of 79,775 residents in 2023.

McKinney appeared farther down the list as No. 49 with just a 2.89 percent one-year growth rate from 2022 to 2023, and a total population of 213,504 residents.

Only four other Dallas-Fort Worth cities appeared in the top 100 fastest growing cities in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023:

No. 61 – Frisco (2.48 percent increase)
No. 72 – Rowlett (2.48 percent)
No. 73 – Lewisville (2.17 percent)
No. 99 – Flower Mound (1.73 percent)

The report suggested major population shifts in communities like Denton or Mansfield can result in "a variety of interwoven economic and social impacts."

"The magnitude of the population change can affect demand for businesses and services, which in turn may impact costs – or even the availability of such amenities," the report's author wrote. "Similarly, the relative age of the population can determine the strength or weakness of the local job market, as well as have an impact on local culture, economic trajectory, tax base and more."

Silver Spring, Maryland had the No. 1 biggest population boom nationwide from 2022 to 2023, SmartAsset found. The Washington, D.C. suburb grew 12.86 percent year-over-year, bringing the city's total population from 75,313 to 84,996 residents in 2023.

Fast-growing cities elsewhere in Texas
Texas cities dominated the top 10 list of cities where population grew the most from 2022 to 2023.

New Braunfels, a San Antonio suburb, ranked No. 2 nationally with an 12.49 percent one-year population boom, and a 29.68 percent growth rate from 2018 to 2023. The city gained 12,318 new residents in that time, adding up to a total population of 110,961 residents in 2023.

Just two spots behind New Braunfels is the North Austin suburb of Georgetown (No. 4), which grew 11.34 percent to 96,317 residents in 2023. According to the report's five-year population change analysis, Georgetown ranked seventh with a 29.85 percent growth rate.

The Houston suburbs of Atascocita and Conroe ranked No. 5 and No. 9, respectively. Atascocita's total population grew to 119,502 residents in 2023, which represented a 11.03 percent growth rate from 2022, and a whopping 38.56 percent population increase since 2018. Conroe's 6.73 percent one-year population increase paled in comparison, but the city grew 23.49 percent during the five-year period from 2018 to 2023.

The top 10 U.S. cities where population grew the most from 2022 to 2023 are:

No. 1 – Silver Spring, Maryland
No. 2 – New Braunfels, Texas
No. 3 – Glen Burnie, Maryland
No. 4 – Georgetown, Texas
No. 5 – Atascocita, Texas
No. 6 – Pine Hills, Florida
No. 7 – Elgin, Illinois
No. 8 – Lehi, Utah
No. 9 – Conroe, Texas
No. 10 – Dale City, Virginia

population growth reports smartasset dallas fort worth denton suburbs mansfield