Report: Houston reclaims top 10 ranking among America's best cities

The 10-county Houston metro added 126,720 residents from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025. Photo via Getty Images

Houston has made a triumphant return to America's 10 best cities for 2026, certifying the city is a cornerstone of the country's growth and economic prosperity.

Houston ranks No. 9 nationwide in the annual "America's Best Cities" report from Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing firm Resonance Consultancy. Each year, the report ranks the relative qualities of livability, cultural "lovability," and economic prosperity in 393 American cities with metropolitan populations of 500,000 or more.

Dallas surpassed H-Town as the No. 8 best city in America, and the Lone Star State boasts a strong presence among the top 25. Austin and San Antonio, respectively, were named the 11th and 24th best American cities this year.

Previously, Houston was dubbed the 13th best American city in 2025, down from its No. 10 ranking in the 2024 report.

Rather than profiling each individual city like in past reports, the 2026 edition focuses on regional and state prosperity. Texas' economic dominance is second only to Florida's, and the state's growth is solidified by the Dallas-Houston-Austin "triangle," where each metro has its own distinct economic identity, but when combined "form one of the most formidable regional economies in the world."

"In our 2026 survey, Dallas ranks third nationally as the place Americans believe offers the best job opportunities, Austin fifth, and Houston seventh," the report's author wrote. "That concentration of perceived economic opportunity in a single state is unmatched, and the GDP data confirms it isn’t just perception."

After being named one of the best places to start a business or a career earlier in 2026, Houston has continued to punch above its weight with its success in tourism, education , and housing growth .

Overall, the report found a correlation between a city's population growth and its latest ranking, with bigger cities appearing higher up on the list. The top three best American cities — New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago — are coincidentally the three largest metros, while Dallas and Houston are the fourth and fifth largest but appear eighth and ninth on the list.

"Scale compounds at the large city level — more people generate more economic activity, more cultural infrastructure, more employer presence, which attracts more people," the report said.

The top 10 best cities in America for 2026 are:

No. 1 – New York
No. 2 – Los Angeles
No. 3 – Chicago
No. 4 – Miami
No. 5 – San Francisco
No. 6 – Seattle
No. 7 – Las Vegas
No. 8 – Dallas
No. 9 – Houston
No. 10 – Boston

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It's a solid ranking for the Bayou City. Photo via Getty Images

Houston triumphs in new list of America's top 10 best cities

new report

Houston is earning high praise for its prosperity, lovability, and livability in a prestigious new report by Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors Resonance Consultancy.

The annual "America's Best Cities" report ranks the relative qualities of place, cultural diversity, and economic prosperity for America's principal cities with metropolitan populations of 500,000 or more. These top 100 cities are "the engines of their regional and national economies and, importantly, the global economy," according to the report.

Houston ranked No. 10 on the list, with New York City (No. 1), Chicago (No. 2), and Los Angeles (No. 3) claiming the coveted top three spots.

Resonance refers to its 2023 report of the "World's Best Cities" when describing Houston's achievements, specifically reiterating how the city appears as an underdog among Texas' major cities, specifically Austin.

"Austin may get the attention, but the promise of the Lone Star State drawing Californians and New Yorkers is quietly being fulfilled in Houston," the report restated.

Houston's reputation as Space City, combined with its vibrant culture (driven by major events like the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival and the various Juneteenth celebrations) are two standout qualities in the report.

Of course, you can't forget about Houston's strong economic ties with the oil and gas industry, where over a dozen major employers were recently listed among the best companies to work for by U.S. News and World Report.

"While hometown companies like ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil andPhillips 66 have ensured that 40 percent of Houston’s economy is tied directly or indirectly to oil and gas, the energy talent in the city has made it an unlikely green power destination," the report said. "According to a recent McKinsey report, investment of up to $250 billion may be headed Houston’s way by 2040 to leverage the skilled workforce and existing infrastructure."

Moreover, Houston's dining scene ranked No. 4 in the report's restaurants subcategory, above renowned foodie cities like San Fransisco, Las Vegas, and Miami. Resonance described the city's "underappreciated" culinary field as a three-way amalgamation of "Southern Soul," barbecue, and Mexican influences "that's then seasoned with global cuisine."

For locals and Newstonians looking for restaurant recommendations, the report gives only one: The newly opened Late August, in Midtown, whose talented executive chef Sergio Hidalgo and sommelier/general manager Danny Davis mix "southern Mexican cuisine with West African magic."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin (No. 15) and Dallas (No. 16) ranked among the top 20 best U.S. cities, with San Antonio coming in at No. 32 nationally. Landing outside the top 50 in the report were El Paso (No. 83) and McAllen (No. 88).

The top 10 best American cities, according to Resonance Consultancy, are:

No. 1 – New York, New York
No. 2 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 3 – Los Angeles, California
No. 4 – Miami, Florida
No. 5 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 8 – Washington, D.C.
No. 9 – Seattle, Washington
No. 10 – Houston, Texas

The full list of cities and the report's methodology can be found on worldsbestcities.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Rice lands $15M U.S. Army award to launch next-gen wireless research center

defense funding

The U.S. Army Research Office has awarded Rice University $15 million to establish a new center for next-generation sensing and communications.

The five-year research center—dubbed the Center for Large Aperture Secure Sensing, Imaging and Communications (CLASSIC)—will unite researchers from universities and national laboratories to develop advanced antenna technologies for future wireless systems. Edward Knightly, the Sheafor-Lindsay Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice, will lead the center that “combines expertise in wireless networking, antennas, radar, artificial intelligence, circuits and physics to address growing demands on wireless systems,” according to Rice.

“The challenges we’re tackling require advances that span physics, hardware, communications and computing," Knightly said in a news release. “By combining those strengths in a single center, we can accelerate the development and demonstration of technologies that would not be possible through individual efforts alone.”

Joining Knightly will be Ashutosh Sabharwal of Rice, Sensen Li of the University of Texas at Austin, Hou-Tong Chen of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Danijela Cabric of UCLA, Josep M. Jornet and Tommaso Melodia of Northeastern University, Daniel M. Mittleman of Brown University, and Willie Padilla of Duke University.

Industry partners include Booz Allen Hamilton, Intel, Keysight, Lockheed Martin, MITRE, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm and Raytheon.

CLASSIC researchers will investigate how large-scale antenna arrays (ELSAAs) can expand the capabilities of wireless systems where technology is limited.

ELSAAs use thousands of coordinated antenna elements to direct radio waves. Researchers aim to develop ways to use the technology to help maintain steady communication when signals are blocked or disrupted and to detect and generate detailed images of concealed objects.

Along with ELSAAs, the center will work to develop sensing techniques for threat detection, study wireless jamming and build resilient high-speed wireless networks. Researchers will ultimately validate the technology in labs and via drone-based field trials.

CLASSIC will also work on developing an AI-driven modeling framework that will simulate complex electromagnetic environments in real time.

“This award demonstrates Rice’s leadership in tackling complex national research challenges through collaboration across disciplines and institutions,” David Sholl, executive vice president for research at Rice, added in the release.

UH scores $18M NIH grant for chronic disease research

research funding

The University of Houston has received a coveted $18.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to launch a program to address the root causes of chronic disease.

Only 22 institutions nationwide receive this NIH award, and the 5-year process aligns with the newly established UH Health’s mission to expand healthcare innovations in Texas and beyond. The initiative will be housed in the UH Population Health department.

"This generous funding allows us to directly confront the root causes of chronic illness that place a heavy burden on so many families," Dr. Jonathan McCullers, vice president for health affairs at UH, said in a news release. "With the recent launch of UH Health, we have an unprecedented opportunity to translate scientific discovery into healthier outcomes for our communities by bringing together experts from across the university to improve health where it matters most.”

Through the program, UH researchers from different areas of expertise will work together to address the challenges of chronic illness by looking at biological, social and behavioral factors.

According to the university, chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, strokes and others are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in the U.S. They account for 90 percent of the nation’s $5.3 trillion in annual healthcare spending.

Bettina Beech, chief of population health and translational science at UH, serves as principal investigator for the program.

“Chronic disease management largely happens during the 8,700 hours each year that people are not visiting their healthcare provider,” Beech added in the news release. “While healthcare is indispensable, it only accounts for 20 percent of how health is created — genetics accounts for another 10 percent, and the other 70 percent is determined by behavior, social conditions and environment.”

With the funds from the grant, UH will also be able to expand research infrastructure, add to community partnerships, support complementary research, and invest in early-career investigators, according to the news release. UH also aims to develop solutions that could help ease the economic burden of chronic disease.

Report: Where Texas ranks among best and worst states to live in 2026

Texas Talk

After earning its worst-ever ranking last year, Texas has improved slightly on an evaluation of the best states to live, but it's still at the bottom of the pack.

Each year, WalletHub's analysts compare all 50 states using 51 livability metrics to measure their affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were weighed include the cost of living, homeownership rates, population and income growth rates, wealth gaps, public school system quality, road quality, crime rates, and many others.

The Lone Star State landed at No. 36 in 2026, making it the 15th worth state to live right now. That's on par with its 2024 ranking, and it's a two-spot improvement over its 2025 performance.

While Texas residents can brag about living in a state with the No. 1 highest number of restaurants per capita and the 7th best quality of life in the country, that's about it. Texas earned middling-to-poor scores among the four remaining livability rankings: safety (No. 33), affordability (No. 35), economy (No. 37), and education and health (No. 40).

Here's how Texas fared in other nationwide rankings in the study:

No. 27 – Income Growth
No. 30 – Housing Costs
No. 39 – Percentage of Population in Poverty
No. 42 – Percentage of Adults in Fair or Poor Health
No. 46 – Homeownership Rate
No. 49 – Percentage of Population Aged 25 and Older with a High School Diploma or Higher
No. 48 – Average Weekly Work Hours
No. 50 – Percentage of Insured Population

Texas has a lot of work to do to improve its livability for all of its residents, but especially for women, according to several other 2026 WalletHub studies. Texas is the fourth-worst state for women, the ninth-worst state for working mothers, and the seventh-worst place to have a baby based on limited access to maternal and pediatric healthcare.

At the very bottom of the report is New Mexico, ranking 50th overall, with Louisiana (No. 49), Mississippi (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46) rounding out the bottom five.

After holding on as the No. 1 best state to live for a few years in a row, Massachusetts now ranks No. 4 and was overtaken by Idaho (No. 1), New Jersey (No. 2), and Wisconsin (No. 3). New Hampshire rounds out the top five best states to live.

WalletHub's top 10 best states to live in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Idaho
No. 2 – New Jersey
No. 3 – Wisconsin
No. 4 – Massachusetts
No. 5 – New Hampshire
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Utah
No. 8 – Minnesota
No. 9 – Pennsylvania
No. 10 – Florida

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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