top of the line
'Genius' San Antonio walks onto new list of America's 50 best cities
San Antonio is earning high praise for its prosperity, lovability, and livability in a prestigious new report by Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors Resonance Consultancy.
The annual "America's Best Cities" report ranks the relative qualities of place, cultural diversity, and economic prosperity for America's principal cities with metropolitan populations of 500,000 or more. These top 100 cities are "the engines of their regional and national economies and, importantly, the global economy," according to the report.
San Antonio ranked No. 32 on the list, with New York City (No. 1), Chicago (No. 2), and Los Angeles (No. 3) claiming the coveted top three spots.
When describing San Antonio's achievements, Resonance refers to the city as an "urban utopia bloom[ing] tactically in Texas," and gives special recognition to entertainment magnets that attract tourists and locals alike.
"The genius of San Antonio is its stewardship of its greatest urban attraction: the River Walk," the report said. "The pedestrian promenade along the San Antonio River, extended from three to 15 miles a decade ago, is a scenic link that connects self-propelled citizens and visitors with the city."
The report also praised other popular venues, like the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, the San Antonio Zoo, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Texas Golf Hall of Fame, and many more.
"No wonder the city ranks No. 6 in our Attractions subcategory, just one of the performance metrics elevating the city’s performance and visitors for years to come," the report said. "The firehose of openings includes the circa 1949 Alameda Theater next year after a massive $37-million [renovation] to become the largest performance venue in the U.S. focusing on Latino performing arts, with a capacity of up to 1,500."
Elsewhere in Texas, Houston (No. 10) was the only Texas city to grace the top 10 best U.S. cities, with Austin (No. 15) and Dallas (No. 16) also ranking ahead of San Antonio. Landing outside the top 50 in the report were El Paso (No. 83) and McAllen (No. 88).
The top 10 best American cities, according to Resonance Consultancy, are:
- No. 1 – New York, New York
- No. 2 – Chicago, Illinois
- No. 3 – Los Angeles, California
- No. 4 – Miami, Florida
- No. 5 – Las Vegas, Nevada
- No. 6 – San Francisco, California
- No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
- No. 8 – Washington, D.C.
- No. 9 – Seattle, Washington
- No. 10 – Houston, Texas
The full list of cities and the report's methodology can be found on worldsbestcities.com.