Round Rock Deemed Among Nation's Most Livable Cities

ROUND ROCK, TX — In neighborhood social media pages, residents of Round Rock are palpably proud of their city — both for its brisk growth that has come without compromising an innate small-town charm. Now, a study makes it official: The city is among the most livable mid-sized municipalities in the nation.

The assertion is detailed in a new study by SmartAsset assessing mid-sized cities. Out of the 227 cities researchers considered, Round Rock ranks in the top 10 — firmly ensconced in the 9th slot.

In assessing the city, researchers found Round Rock has the 15th-lowest July 2020 unemployment rate at 6.2 percent. Round Rock also has the 23rd-best Gini coefficient and the 20th-lowest poverty rate at 6.0 percent, analysts found.

But some aspects of the city could use some improvement. According to the study, Round Rock ranks in the bottom half of the study for its fairly high percentage of residents who are without health insurance, at 10.4 percent. However, it ranks within the top 50 of the total 227 cities for median household income ($86,145) and 2015-2019 change in home value (40.76 percent).

According to the report, the top ten most livable mid-size cities (in descending order) are:

• Rochester, Minnesota.
• Olathe, Kansas.
• Overland Park, Kansas.
• Meridian, Idaho.
• Centennial, Colorado.
• 6. Arvada, Colorado.
• Hillsboro, Oregon.
• Santa Clara, California.
• Round Rock, Texas.
• Sparks, Nevada.

Graphic courtesy of SmartAsset.

There were other Texas cities that ranked highly, albeit no higher than Round Rock. League City and Frisco ranked 16th and 17th, respectively. Allen and Carrollton followed close behind in the 19th and 21st slots. Just outside of Dallas, Lewisville snagged the 22nd position while McKinney and Pearland were deemed the 29th and 30th rankings, respectively. Sugarland and Mesquite made the top 50 list in the 44th and 48th positions.