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San Antonio praised as one of America’s friendliest cities by Condé Nast Traveler

There's something for everyone in our friendly city.

Tourists are giving a well-deserved tip of the hat to San Antonio.

Alamo City ranks fourth in a new ranking of the 10 friendliest U.S. cities based on responses to Condé Nast Traveler’s 34th annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey.

Condé Nast Traveler praises San Antonio residents for “going out of their way to give directions or make you feel at home.”

“Despite its huge size, San Antonio remains one of Texas’ more underrated cities — but our readers are starting to take notice,” the magazine notes. “There’s a little something for everyone here, whether you’re looking for barbecue, craft beer, or boutique hotels (when in doubt, stick to the River Walk and ever-evolving Pearl District).”

Greenville, South Carolina, tops the list of the most friendly U.S. cities. Austin, meanwhile, nails down the No. 10 spot.

“Quirky, liberal, and proudly weird, Austin is for anyone (not just hipsters) wanting a fun, laid-back vacation. Once a small college town, the Capital City has grown into a haven of restaurants, hotels, and shops, not to mention countless startups,” Condé Nast Traveler observes.

Adding to Austin’s charm, the magazine says, are the presence of food trucks, dance halls, and hiking trails.

“Join the locals as they set up lawn chairs to wait in line at Franklin Barbecue or gather to watch the bats swarm out from under the South Congress Bridge, and you’ll be in good company,” Condé Nast Traveler declares.

Here are the 10 friendliest U.S. cities, according to the latest Condé Nast Traveler’s readers’ survey:

Greenville, South Carolina.
Alexandria, Virginia.
San Juan, Puerto Rico.
San Antonio.
Charleston, South Carolina.
Key West, Florida.
Santa Fe, New Mexico.
New Orleans.
Nashville.
Austin.

vacation rankings river-walk lists

hottest headlines of 2024

10 most popular stories that capture city life in San Antonio in 2024

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Readers were mostly drawn to data about schools and finance, but tree health took precedent.

Editor's note: At the end of 2024, we're looking back at the stories that shaped San Antonio this year. In the case of CultureMap's City Life section, it was actually the other way around: San Antonians were most interested in gathering data and understanding where the city stands against others nationally. This year, we looked into education, income, and retirement. Yet taking care of trees outshined it all. Here are San Antonio's top 10 city stories of 2024.

1. Texas tree group issues dire warning to San Antonio owners of oak trees. A nonprofit dedicated to trees issued a warning to Texas citizens who own oak trees: Put down the pruning shears to avoid oak wilt.

2. Stellar San Antonio high school ranks among America's best in 2024, says U.S. News. The 2024 rankings put BASIS San Antonio - Shavano Campus at No. 64 nationally. The school also ranked No. 13 nationally among the best charter schools and No. 76 among the best STEM high schools.

3. 3 San Antonio-area companies hailed best places to work by U.S. News. Frost Bank, iHeartMedia, and the New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises, Inc. made the list, which considered work-life balance, quality of pay, stability, and more.

4. 2 San Antonio neighbors relax among best places to retire in the Hill Country. New Braunfels and Boerne hung up their hats with other small towns with relatively low costs of living, low crime rates, and a variety of attractions.

5. San Antonio university ranks No. 18 among best small colleges in U.S. Trinity University has made the high honor roll. The esteemed San Antonio university ranks among America's top 20 small colleges and liberal arts colleges for 2025 by Niche.

6. 2 San Antonio billionaires land on Forbes' new list of richest Americans. Charles Butt and Eleanor Butt Crook, the chairman and a member of the board of directors of H-E-B, respectively, had estimated net worths of $8.9 billion and $3.7 billion.

7. San Antonio is the No. 4 most educated city in the country, says Forbes. In San Antonio, the bachelor’s completion rate for people 25 and up was 67.30 percent, and 29.56 percent of people in that age group have advanced degrees.

8. San Antonio university ranks No. 3 among best Texas colleges for 2025. Trinity University does it again. The private university performed the best in the category for best admission rates, ranking No. 2 with a 28 percent acceptance rate, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Trinity University aerial shot Trinity University made two appearances in this top 10 list.Trinity University/Facebook

9. This is how much it costs to raise a child in San Antonio. Raising a child certainly isn't cheap. In San Antonio and New Braunfels, annual costs of raising just one child can add up to more than $21,000 every year — and that wasn't even that high compared to the rest of the list.

10. Here's what it takes to be a middle class earner in San Antonio in 2024.According to the 2024 edition of SmartAsset's annual report, middle class households in San Antonio would need to make between $39,215 and $117,658.