Weighed down by affordability

Houston drops double-digit spots in prestigious ranking of best places to live in the U.S.

What's wrong with Houston, U.S. News?

Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Facebook

Houston has once again missed the top of U.S. News & World Report’s closely watched annual list of the best places to live in the U.S.

U.S. News' 2021 Best Places to Live ranking, released July 13, puts Houston at No. 39 among the country’s biggest metro areas. That's 12 spots lower than the area’s No. 27 ranking in 2020.

What's going on here?

For the 2021 ranking, U.S. News & World Report crunched data for the country’s 150 biggest metro areas. It's worth nothing that in previous years, they'd looked at the 125 biggest metro areas. The data in 2021 encompasses affordability, job prospects, desirability, quality of life, and migration patterns.

“This year we’re looking at how the most populous metro areas in the U.S. fared for much of the coronavirus pandemic, and seeing how far they’ll need to come to recover,” says Devon Thorsby, U.S. News real estate editor, in a release. “It shouldn’t be a surprise that many metro areas that saw unemployment levels skyrocket in 2020 fell in the rankings, but those with greater employment stability tended to fare well.”

Still, U.S. News lauds Houston — which ranks No. 22 in their subcategory of Best Places to Retire — for attracting people with an entrepreneurial spirit and those who want to work at some of the country's largest companies."

"A paycheck goes further in Houston than it does in other major metro areas, with affordable housing and free or cheap attractions like biking along Buffalo Bayou and exploring the 7,800-acre George Bush Park," says the report. "The affordability of this region, which is located in southeastern Texas and home to nearly 7 million residents in the metro area, is attracting new people from across the country and around the world."

Fun, award-winning attractions like the Museum of Fine Art and the Houston Zoo "attract lots of Houstonians week after week, as do family-friendly activities such as free concerts at the Miller Outdoor Theatre and Discovery Green," the report adds. The Bayou City also ranks No. 3 in the reports Best Places to Live in Texas.

Houston wasn't the only place to fall hard. Every large city in Texas tumbled down the list this year:

Dallas-Fort Worth, ranked No. 37 in 2021, was No. 24 last year.

San Antonio, ranked No. 75 in 2021, was No. 41 last year.

Even buzzy Austin came in at just No. 5 this year, two spots lower than the area’s No. 3 ranking in 2020, and four spots below its first-place showings in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

“Housing affordability is always of great concern, but as people solidify their plans to work remotely, struggle to find a house in a hot housing market or consider a cross-country move, a low cost of living is even more important,” Thorsby says.

Who comes out on top in 2021? Boulder, Colorado, appears at No. 1 on this year’s list, followed by Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, at No. 2; Huntsville, Alabama, at No. 3; and Fayetteville, Arkansas, at No. 4.

No other Texas metro area besides Austin showed up in the top 25 of this year’s ranking. Elsewhere in the state, Killeen-Temple landed at No. 114, Beaumont-Port Arthur at No. 124, Corpus Christi at No. 129, El Paso at No. 131, McAllen at No. 139, and Brownsville at No. 140.

lists rankings

Camp Mystic News

Camp Mystic proposes selling property as part of bankruptcy plan

Camp Mystic Files For Bankruptcy As First Anniversary Of Deadly Floods Approaches

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Ribbons honor Camp Mystic flood victims and families.

The owners of Camp Mystic have proposed selling off the riverfront property as part of a bankruptcy plan, with hopes that a buyer will preserve the camp's “historic mission” following the death of 27 campers and counselors swept away by a 2025 flood.

The century-old private Christian girls' camp filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan on September 25 that would auction off the 749 acres (3 square kilometers) it owns and other assets.

The sprawling campus, nestled among rolling wooded hills on the banks of the Guadalupe River, had several single-story cabins that housed some of the youngest campers and a recreation hall near the riverfront. A second campus on elevated ground was not flooded.

The Eastland family has owned the camp for decades and initially sought to reopen this summer. But they faced fierce opposition from victims’ families and some state lawmakers, lawsuits, and legislative investigations into what went wrong.

A buyer would likely get a portion of the camp frozen in time. Families of the victims have fought to stop any demolition of damaged cabins and buildings and stop repairs as part of their lawsuits.

The bankruptcy plan said the owners expect a purchaser would be backed by a group of families that support the camp.

“Nothing in the plan requires any buyer to operate the property as a camp,” the filing said, “but the plan states an express preference, in determining the highest or otherwise best bid, for a buyer that will maintain the historic mission of the camp.”

Twenty-five campers and two counselors were killed when the river surged over its banks in the pre-dawn hours of July 4, 2025. Camp owner and director Richard Eastland was also killed. At least 136 people were killed along a several-mile stretch of the river.

Earlier this month, state police investigators sought search warrants for the electronic communications of the camp's owners, saying they could provide evidence of manslaughter, negligent homicide, child abandonment, or other crimes.

No charges have been brought.

A probe by state lawmakers determined the camp’s young and inexperienced counselors were not trained for floods and other emergencies. It said an earlier decision to evacuate could have saved every life. Most of the victims were under age 10, and some were attending camp for the first time.

The camp's bankruptcy proposal would have to be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Lopez. Officials with Camp Mystic did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Monday.

All creditors, including the families who have sued Camp Mystic over the deaths, will have a chance to respond to the plan.

“The Eastlands are now attempting to determine the future of the Camp Mystic property, but the victims' families including my clients, will fight to protect their rights and ensure any sale is fair and transparent,” said Tim Ferguson, attorney for the family of 8-year-old Mary Grace Baker, one of the campers who died.

“The Bakers intend to continue fighting for answers, accountability and justice for their daughter,” Ferguson said.

bankruptcy chapter 11 deaths eastland family guadalupe river richard eastland texas flood victims families negligent homicide for sale real estate hill country campers killed camp mystic flood

Weighed down by affordability

Houston drops double-digit spots in prestigious ranking of best places to live in the U.S.

Camp Mystic News

Camp Mystic proposes selling property as part of bankruptcy plan

2 Houston-born steakhouses named among top fine dining restaurants in U.S.

Love Croissants opens first stand-alone bakery with Heights drive-through

This is the income it takes to be in the top 1 percent in Texas in 2026