we're no. 1 (again)!

Blooming Houston suburb lands No. 1 ranking in best cities to live in the U.S.

The Woodlands is described as “a dynamic hometown within a natural forest. ” (Pictured here: The Woodlands Resort.)

Photo courtesy of The Woodlands Resort

The Woodlands is a two-time champion in Niche.com’s ranking of the best cities in live in the U.S.

The Houston suburb, home to more than 114,000 people, lands at No. 1 on this year’s list of the best cities to live, repeating its ranking from 2021. The Woodlands ranked second in 2020. Niche specializes in supplying data, reviews, and ratings of schools, colleges, and universities in the U.S.

In a 2021 news release about the Niche rankings, Gordy Bunch, chairman of The Woodlands Township, described his community as “a dynamic hometown within a natural forest” that is known for “its balance between man and nature.”

“The Woodlands provides premier services and activities, superior educational opportunities, is committed to public safety, has a diversity of jobs, vibrant public spaces, integrated mobility options, public activities, cultural events, and entertainment,” Bunch said. “We are a thriving business community and a place where generations from all over the world come to live, worship, work, learn, and play.”

Aside from being named the best city to live, The Woodlands ranks second on Niche’s list of the best cities to buy a house, and sixth on its lists of the cities with the best public schools and the best cities for retirees.

This year, Niche combed through data for 228 cities, as well as 18,515 towns and neighborhoods, to develop its annual rankings. Niche relies on data from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau and FBI, along with residents’ ratings.

“Whether our users are young professionals, parents with young kids, or retirees, Niche’s … rankings serve as an excellent starting point for considering a move,” says Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche.

“The pandemic triggered a new set of possibilities — suddenly, many individuals and families found themselves more mobile than ever before, and in the past two years they have continued to think hard about where they really want to live,” Skurman adds. “Families wondering about an area’s school district, a major part of many relocation decisions, can also use our comprehensive school profiles and rankings to get a sense of what their child’s future school might be like.”

On the list of the best cities to live, The Woodlands is followed by:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, No. 2.
Naperville, Illinois, No. 3.
Arlington, Virginia, No. 4.
Overland Park, Kansas, No. 5.

Other than The Woodlands, the only city in the region to show up in the ranking of the best cities to live is Houston, which grabs the No. 71 spot.

What follows is a breakdown of other communities in Texas that earned places in Niche’s ranking of the best cities to live.

Dallas-Fort Worth

Plano, No. 9
Richardson, No. 12
Irving, No. 40
Denton, No. 56
Dallas, No. 80
Arlington, No. 89
Fort Worth, No. 135

Austin metro area

Austin, No. 25
Round Rock, No. 29

San Antonio metro area

San Antonio, No. 101

Elsewhere in Texas

College Station, No. 27
Lubbock, No. 72
Tyler, No. 94
Wichita Falls, No. 98
El Paso, No. 100
McAllen, No. 102
Abilene, No. 112
Amarillo, No. 122
Waco, No. 130
Corpus Christi, No. 132
Midland, No. 158
Beaumont, No. 170
Killeen, No. 189
Brownsville, No. 193

On the list of the 200 best places to live, featuring suburbs and neighborhoods, Houston’s Cinco Ranch came in at No. 83, with The Woodlands 10 spots behind. Chesterbrook, a suburb of Philadelphia, ranked first.

Other Texas suburbs and neighborhoods making the top 200 for best places to live are:

Cottonwood Creek South Richardson, No. 5. (Cottonwood Creek South also is the highest-ranked place in Texas —No. 108 — on the list of the best places to raise a family).
Height Parks (Richardson), No. 81.
Canyon Creek South (Richardson), No. 99.
Coppell (Dallas-Fort Worth), No. 102.
Alamo Heights (San Antonio), No. 162.
Old Enfield (Austin), No. 169.

Other notable Texas rankings:

Plano ranks fifth (three notches behind The Woodlands) among the best cities to buy a house, and Richardson takes the No. 9 spot.
Plano ranks ninth (three spots behind The Woodlands) on the list of the cities with the best public schools.
Arlington (No. 11) and Irving (No. 12) are the top-ranked Texas cities on the list of the most diverse cities.
Austin is the top-ranked Texas city (No. 19) on the list of the best cities for young professionals, with Plano five places behind at No. 24.
Richardson, ranked fifth nationally, is the best Texas city for retirees.
At No. 42 nationally, Plano is the healthiest city in Texas, followed by Richardson at No. 43.

lists bests rankings

CWMP ftw

Houston's favorite outdoor concert venue ranks No. 1 in the world in new list

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion/Facebook

Our Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion topped all other outdoor venues across the globe.

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion finished its summer season as the No. 1 outdoor entertainment venue in the world with 268,000 fans attending shows between mid-June and mid-September.

The Woodlands pavilion beat the Meriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland (245,000) and Waldbuhne Berlin in Germany (198,000) for the top spot, according toPollstar, the magazine of record for the concert industry.

“It’s been a good year. We’ve hosted 38 shows so far which is a little more than usual for us,” CWMP president Jerry MacDonald tells me. “We’ll do 42 shows by year-end. We’ve had more million-dollar box office grosses this year than ever.”

Cynthia Woods’ biggest shows

Post Malone’s concert on August 8 sold more than $1.7 worth of tickets, breaking the pavilion’s all-time mark for box office receipts. Shania Twain sold $1.4 million worth of tickets for her July 22 concert. The next three biggest shows belonged to Janet Jackson ($1.28 million) on June 3, Dave Matthews Band ($1.14 million) on May 19, and Duran Duran ($1.11 million) on June 9.

Two of the CWMP’s three biggest shows of the year were headlined by women, including a Black woman. Take that Jann Wenner. Who us he? He’s the Rolling Stone magazine founder recently published a book of conversations with rock stars — all of them white males. Asked why no women were included, Wenner said “none of them were as articulate enough of this intellectual level.”

For that comment, plus a slam against Black artists, Wenner was rightly kicked out of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which he helped create.

Not to mention his poor grammar. Shouldn’t a writer know that say, “none of them WAS as articulate enough,” which still wouldn’t have saved him, however. Cyndi Lauper, for the record, says he’s senile.

Anyway, the hottest summer on record didn't exactly help the CWMP. MacDonald notes that the pavilion lawn survived this summer’s scorching heat although he believes the weather may have lowered attendance at some events.

“We’re an outdoor venue. People arrived a little later to concerts to avoid the sun as much as possible. That probably helped local restaurants and bars, though,” he says.

How Jimmy Buffett boosted The Woodlands

MacDonald reflected on the passing of Jimmy Buffett, the artist who played the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion more times and sold more tickets than any other artist. (Editor’s note: We highly recommend Ken’s must-read memoirs on the times he spent with Buffett, here.)

Buffett performed on July 31, 1990 during the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion’s first season. His opening song was “You’ll Never Work in Dis Bidness Again.”

Buffett’s last concert at the big outdoor amphitheater in The Woodlands was June 6, 2022. His final number that night was “Tin Cup Chalice.”

In between, Buffett left his mark in Houston like no other entertainer. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion has hosted more than 1,200 concerts since its opening. Buffett performed there 25 times. He owns three of the pavilion’s 10 highest-grossing concerts. His Parrothead fans bought more snacks, drank more beverages and purchased more merchandise than any other performer.

“No one drew the range of fans like he did. Fans from 10 to 90 years old came to his concerts. His contract rider designated tailgating areas for fans to party before his shows. His crew would video his crazy fans and show them during the concert. I have been in the concert business for 48 years and there was nothing that compared to a Jimmy Buffett concert,” MacDonald reflects.

“As a venue operator, booking a Jimmy Buffett concert meant you’d have a good season. He’d be the anchor of your lineup and helped move season subscriptions, box seats and suite sales. His per capita sales set records here and at most venues.”

The Parrotheads didn’t just leave a financial impact with tickets, food, beer and cocktails and T-shirt sales. Fans came from all over Southeast Texas, packing nearby restaurants and filling hotel rooms at premium rates, including Buffett’s own Margaritaville Resort on Lake Conroe which opened in 2020.

It’s estimated that each Jimmy Buffett concert at the pavilion pumped more than $1 million into The Woodlands economy.

Buffett meant business in Houston since the early 1970s, first working smaller venues like Liberty Hall and moving on up through the Sam Houston Coliseum, Astroworld’s Southern Star Amphitheater, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Summit/Compaq Center, and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. All told, Buffett performed about 50 concerts in Houston during his career spanning a half-century.

During his 2016 concert in The Woodlands, Buffett introduced “another passenger on the boat to Margaritaville,” Houston Texans superstar defensive end J.J. Watt. The football legend sipped an adult beverage while playing bongos for Buffett’s most famous song Margaritaville. Before the concert, Watt traded stories backstage with Buffett and Coral Reefer Band keyboardist Michael Utley on Radio Margaritaville.

That night Buffett changed the lyrics to Margaritaville to: “Nibbling on sponge cake, watching the sun bake, all of those Texans fans covered with oil.”