In celebration of July as National Park and Recreation Month, LawnStarter ranked the top U.S. cities for quality of life in 2024. In the Lone Star State, five North Texas cities made the cut.
According to LawnStarter, many North Texas cities ranked well in the state, but didn’t fare as well on the national scale. The city of Allen is ranked number one in Texas, but 59th in the U.S. Following closely are Frisco (62), McKinney (78) and Flower Mound (89). Plano holds the eighth spot in the state rankings, but 162 overall.
Notably, Allen stood out for its exceptional safety, education and economic rankings but fell short on the environmental ranking. Frisco also ranked highly for environmental factors, as well as education, safety and housing and infrastructure, but did not score as highly when it came to factors such as air and water quality and employment protection.
“When considering the quality of urban areas, we need to ask “high quality of life for whom?” Urban areas that offer a high quality of life for affluent households might be out of reach for average earners,” Professor of Geography at Calvin University, Mark D. Bjelland, Ph.D. said in a statement. “Or an urban area might offer a great quality of life for singles and double income no kids couples (DINKS) but cities need to emphasize the quality of life for families raising the next generation of children. When we map domestic moves within the United States, we can see the push factors of high housing costs and high taxes and the pull factor of strong employment opportunities.”
Cities on the West Coast, particularly in Washington and California, ranked highest on the list natiponally. Both provide greater employment protections and abundant social and personal freedoms. Redmond, WA (ranked No. 1), and Bellevue, WA (ranked No. 4), offer a high overall quality of life but face challenges due to low percentages of sunshine, which can affect vitamin D levels and depression rates.
To rank the cities, Lawnstarter evaluated 500 of the largest U.S. cities across 16 categories, considering factors such as life expectancy, unemployment rates, state rankings of workers' rights and food security, among a total of 53 metrics.
To view the study in full visit the link here.
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