kick off your career
Fort Worth suburb hustles onto list of top 40 U.S. career hotspots

Fort Worth has already proven to be a major hub for new businesses, and now one of its neighbors - Mansfield - is rising up among the best small U.S. cities for big career opportunities.
A new nationwide survey from CoworkingCafe ranked Mansfield at No. 37 among career hotspots with populations under 250,000 residents.
Three more North Texas cities – Frisco, Flower Mound, and McKinney – made it into the top 20.
Other local cities that made it into the top 100 include Allen (No. 43), Richardson (No. 58), and Lewisville (No. 80).
According to the study, these standout U.S. suburbs "combine economic acceleration with day-to-day livability, offering residents both upward mobility and stable community fundamentals."
Frisco ranked the highest, climbing up into No. 11, and CoworkingCafe said the suburb has a "highly engaged" workforce whose wages have surged 33 percent since 2019. Frisco households make a median income of $145,444 a year, the report added.
"The labor force is highly engaged (74.2 percent) with low unemployment and a strong employer base supported by 3,050 establishments per 100[,000] residents," the report said. "With 95 percent [of residents having] fiber access, excellent healthcare and top-tier safety, Frisco backs its economic strength with day-to-day comfort."
Affluent Flower Mound, which was crowned the best place to live in the U.S. in 2025, followed after Frisco in the No. 15 spot. CoworkingCafe said the suburb's $166,624 median household income has grown 25 percent from 2019 to 2024, and the city's "affordability remains favorable relative to income levels."
If North Texans are seeking affordability over all other factors, No. 20-ranking McKinney is the place to be. The report said McKinney offers the perfect balance between "affordability, opportunity and amenities." It doesn't hurt that households earn a median annual income of $124,177, a figure that has ballooned 24 percent over the last five years.
Mansfield is a fast-growing Tarrant County city booming with new retail and restaurant offerings like Boomer Jack's, Rotolo's pizzeria, the first DFW location of Utah-based Beans & Brews Coffeehouse, and the forthcoming Geyer Commons development. Major employers in Mansfield include Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, Mouser Electronics, and the Mansfield Independent School District.
"The findings reveal two clear paths to success: fast-growing suburban hubs buzzing with innovation and more established tech-driven economies that already have a global reach," the report said. "Together, they show that even smaller places can give you big advantages professionally, sometimes even more than the big metros."
Here's how other Texas cities fared among CoworkingCafe's top 100 best career hotspots in 2026:
- No. 17 – Pflugerville
- No. 22 – Cedar Park
- No. 31 – Round Rock
- No. 59 – Pearland
- No. 73 – League City
- No. 76 – Sugar Land
- No. 89 – Temple
- No. 90 – Georgetown
- No. 97 – Amarillo

Guests at Bubbles & Bites. Photo courtesy of FWSSR