After scraping its way back into the top 100 last year, San Antonio has once again plummeted out of the top 100 best places to live in 2025, according to U.S. News & World Report. Neighboring New Braunfels, however, landed a spot among the top 100.
New for the 2025-2026 "Best Places to Live in the U.S." rankings, U.S. News expanded its coverage from 150 to 250 U.S. cities, and updated its methodology to examine each city based on five livability indexes: Quality of life, value, desirability, job market, and net migration.
The top three best places to live are located in Johns Creek, Georgia (No. 1), Carmel, Indiana (No. 2), and the Houston-area suburb of Pearland, Texas (No. 3).
San Antonio fell to No. 236 nationally this year, and only ranked 53rd in U.S. News' separate rankings of the best places to live in Texas for 2025-2026.
New Braunfels is a much more inviting choice for Americans who want to escape living in a major city while enjoying all of the charming features of a small town. It ranked as the 77th best place to live in the U.S., and 24th in Texas.
Aspects of the suburb that put it among the top 100 include its median household income ($89,502), its median home values ($329,097), and its bustling population of nearly 102,000 residents.
The city's population is a healthy mix of young individuals and families, with 26 percent of residents being under 20 years old and 37 percent of the population being between the ages of 20-44. Less than a quarter (22 percent) of Flower Mound's population is between 45-64-years-old, while only 15 percent of residents are over 65, the report says.
New Braunfels has earned plenty of well deserved praise this year after landing in the top spot of Livability.com's list of the best places to live in 2025. The suburb started blossoming in 2024 when it was named one of the most livable small cities in the country.
San Antonio may have flopped, but New Braunfels landed in the top 100 best places to live.New Braunfels Parks and Recreation/Facebook
"Finding a community to be part of can play a major role in making a place feel like home," U.S. News said. "If you’re a parent with young children, you may want to live in a neighborhood with other people in that phase of life. If you’re a professional moving to a hot job market for your field, you may want to live in an apartment close to the office or within walking distance of friends and colleagues."
Housing costs in New Braunfels are extremely attractive compared to other places in the country, as the national average home is worth over $370,000. It's no wonder this San Antonio neighbor has been adding more high-income households than many other places in Texas.
However, if people are looking for a public transportation-friendly city, they may need to look elsewhere. Almost all commuters in New Braunfels drive to their workplaces, making access to a vehicle absolutely necessary for living in the suburb. New Braunfels' 21.2-minute average commute time is also lower than the national average, U.S. News said.
The top 10 best places to live in the U.S. are:
- No. 1 – Johns Creek, Georgia
- No. 2 – Carmel, Indiana
- No. 3 – Pearland, Texas
- No. 4 – Fishers, Indiana
- No. 5 – Cary, North Carolina
- No. 6 – League City, Texas
- No. 7 – Apex, North Carolina
- No. 8 – Leander, Texas
- No. 9 – Rochester Hills, Michigan
- No. 10 – Troy, Michigan
