Southlake was ranked 20th by WalletHub in their Best Small Cities to live in America rankings. WalletHub assessed 80 small cities in Texas including Cedar Park, an Austin suburb, which followed Southlake at No. 23. Overall, 35 cities in Texas ranked in the top half including, Farmers Branch, Conroe, Colleyville, and Leander.
“Southlake tops the other cities in terms of household income at over $240,000, has the lowest housing costs, and the sixth-highest homeownership rate, almost 94%,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub.
Sammamish, Washington landed the top spot because of its high median household income, highest job growth, low share of residents living in poverty, and no personal bankruptcies filed in the past year.
“Sammamish also has a small violent crime rate,” Gonzalez told Dallas Express. “To increase its score, Southlake would need to lower its cost of living, increase the share of residents who walk to work, and reduce average weekly work hours.”
There were no personal bankruptcies filed in Southlake in the past year, and the median home value was $676,900, according to WalletHub data.
“Southlake ranks first in terms of housing costs, which includes the median home price divided by the median annual household income and the median annual gross rent divided by the median annual household income,” Gonzalez said in an interview. “Southlake ranks 120th in terms of growth, placing it in the top 10 percent. This is an indicator that the state is growing and developing significantly.”
The WalletHub study found that the share of adults with at least a high school diploma in Southlake is the third highest at 99.1%.
“Southlake ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of school system quality but comes in the top 15% for its high school graduation rate, which is almost 92%,” Gonzalez said. “The city also has a low share of population living in poverty at 2.5%.”
When it comes to healthcare, Southlake has both pros and cons. The city has a high quantity of insured residents at 96% and a low premature death rate. However, at 51%, it ranked low regarding the percentage of people that are fully vaccinated. “The share of adults in poor health is over 19%, and the share of obese adults is more than 31%,” Gonzalez added.