Austin Among Best Places To Live In 2020: U.S. News

AUSTIN, TX — Austin is among the best cities in the U.S. to live/retire in 2020, according to new rankings released by U.S. News & World Report.

This year’s lists evaluate the 150 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S. based on affordability, job prospects and desirability. The upshot: The capital city of Texas ranked third on the list of the best cities in which to live, with an overall score of 7.4 on a 10-point scale. Moreover, Austin ranked 29th among the nation's best cities to retire, securing an overall score of 6.9 on the same point scale.

Two cities in Colorado — Boulder and Denver in the first and second slots, respectively — were the sole cities besting Austin as the best places to live. Two other Colorado cities, Colorado Spring and Fort Collins, rounded out the top 5 list.

Austin also was deemed the best city in Texas in which to live. Sorry, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. It's worth noting that Austin dropped off the top spot this year to its still-lofty third position. But still: In your face, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

See the full list of Best Places To Live

The capital city ranked highly largely for its quality of life, particularly aspects centered around music in a city that has long nicknamed itself the "live music capital of the world." The city scored highly on a scorecard tallying up various metrics, among them desirability, with an overall score of 7.8 points; value (6.6 points); job market (7.5); quality of life (7.1); and net migration (8.8).

As part of its methodology, the publication increased the number of metropolitan areas evaluated for both sets of rankings from 125 to 150 to yield a broader and more accurate reflection of where Americans want to live and retire, researchers noted.

Cities on the list were also determined in part by public survey, taken five months after the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of respondents weighed in on what qualities they consider important when choosing where they’re going to put down roots.

U.S. News also looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as its own separate rankings centered on the Best High Schools and Best Hospitals.

Cities were then scored in several areas, which were used to determine the overall score.

The coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest may have had an impact on how people perceive some cities this year, researchers said. Desirability was the most significant factor in ranking decreases for hard-hit cities like Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City and Washington, D.C.

To determine the best places in the United States to retire, U.S. News looked at measures including happiness, housing affordability, health care quality, taxes, desirability and job market ratings.

These measures were also weighted by the results of a nationwide public survey of people nearing retirement age (ages 45-59) and those who are retirement age (60 or older) to find out what matters most when deciding where to retire. U.S. News also used data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as its Best Hospitals rankings.

See the full list of Best Places To Retire

The best places to retire were also scored in several areas before they were given an overall score.

This year's list of Best Places to Retire is dominated by Florida metro areas, largely due to affordable homes, low taxes and high ratings for happiness and desirability.

Increases in desirability and job market scores lifted Sarasota to No. 1 this year, overtaking Fort Myers, which fell to No. 2. Port. St. Lucie’s housing affordability score decreased slightly, but increases in desirability, job market and health care scores helped it jump two places to No. 3.