On the heels of scoring its own reality TV show, Sugar Land has been named among the top 10 places to live in the country. Trailing not too far behind were several other Houston-area neighborhoods including League City, Pearland, and The Woodlands.
In its recently published “250 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2026-2027“, U.S. News & World Report evaluated 850 cities.. To determine the rankings, the report analyzed thousands of data points from both public and private sources, including official government statistics.
Researchers evaluated key factors such as employment opportunities, school quality, housing affordability, commute times, and weather, ultimately assigning each city a comprehensive score on a 0-to-10 scale.
Ranked at No. 10, Sugar Land scored a top spot on the list. Its high ranking was in part due to its lower cost of living, area job market, and quality of life.
Other Houston suburbs named on the list of the best places to live in the U.S. 2026-27 include the following:
- League City (No. 13)
- Pearland (No. 16)
- The Woodlands (No. 28)
- Katy. (No. 38)
- Missouri City (No. 61)
- Spring (No. 82)
Houston did fall in standing since last year’s U.S. News report. The 2025-2026 edition featured Pearland ranked as the No. 3 best city to live in the United States – and the best in Texas – with League City featured at No. 7. This year, however, the list favored DFW area cities and suburbs. The best place to live in Texas 2026-2027 is Flower Mound, ranked at No. 3. Leander, Texas featured at No. 8, Frisco featured at No. 9.
Here are the top 20 places to live in the United States according to the U.S. News report:
- Carmel, IN
- Fishers, IN
- Flower Mound, TX
- Ankeny, IA
- Johns Creek, GA
- Hoover, AL
- Rochester Hills, MI
- Leander, TX
- Frisco, TX
- Sugar Land, TX
- Cary, NC
- Troy, MI
- League City, TX
- Parkland, FL
- Buffalo Grove, IL
- Pearland, TX
- McKinney, TX
- Noblesville, IN
- Broken Arrow, OK
- Apex, NC
- Sammamish, WA
- Edmond, OK
- Allen, TX
- Cedar Park, TX
- Mansfield, TX
