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Booming Houston 'burb named best place to buy a home and raise a family in America

The Woodlands is the best place to buy a home in America, per Niche.

Photo courtesy of The Woodlands Arts Council

Texas homebuyers and families searching for their next place to call home should be looking at this Houston suburb, which was just named one of the best cities to live in America in a new report from Niche.

Niche is an online platform that connects families to schools or colleges; their 2023 report’s data was collected through resident reviews in combination with information from the Census and the FBI. This latest release is their ninth annual report, with rankings determined after a study of 228 American cities and nearly 18,000 towns and neighborhoods.

The Woodlands made it at the top of the list in several categories. It was named the No. 1 best city to buy a house in America, outranking Overland Park, Kansas (No. 2) and Naperville, Illinois (No. 3). It earned an A+ rating for its job market, and an A- rank for its diversity, housing availability, and outdoor activities.

The north Houston suburb came in at No. 2 in the ranking of best cities to raise a family, with Naperville sliding into first place, and Arlington, Virginia, taking third. The Woodlands has an A+ ranking for its family-friendliness and public school selection.

In the overall best American city to live in category, The Woodlands ranked No. 3. Cambridge, Massachusetts (No. 1) and Arlington, Virginia (No. 2) took the top two spots in the ranking.

Niche founder and CEO Luke Skurman said in a press release that the company is proud to be “a trusted resource for families, homebuyers” and many other professionals.

“For almost ten years now, our Best Places to Live rankings have helped people find a new neighborhood to call home based on what matters most to them, whether that’s affordable housing, easy access to amenities or excellent local schools,” said Skurman. “Families wondering about an area’s school district can also use our comprehensive school profiles and rankings to get a feel for their child’s potential school.”

Two Dallas suburbs also earned a few spots in Niche's report. Plano ranked No. 10 for the best cities to raise a family and No. 8 on the list of best American cities to buy a house. Plano also ranked just outside the top 10 at No. 11 in the category of best overall city to live in. Richardson, which is just south of Plano, ranked No. 12 for best overall American city to live in and No. 13 for best cities to raise a family.

The full report and its methodology can be found on Niche's website.

Texas homebuyers rankings best american cities best cities The Woodlands

money woes

Texas dips on ranking of America's most financially distressed states

Photo by Image Source/Getty Images

Texas actually improved in this year's ranking.

After spending an unfortunate year as the No. 1 state with the most people in financial distress, Texas has slightly recovered. But the Lone Star State isn't out of the woods yet: it's still among the five most financially distressed states in America for 2026.

According to WalletHub's 2026 report, Texas sits in the No. 4 spot this year, while Kansas, Louisiana, and Florida moved up to become the top three states with the most financially distressed residents.

The personal finance website's experts compared all 50 states based on residents' average credit scores, the share of people with "accounts in distress" (meaning an account that's in forbearance or has deferred payments), the one-year change in bankruptcy filings from March 2025, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

Despite improving in the overall ranking, the study found Texas has had the fourth-biggest spike in bankruptcy filings nationally from March 2025 to March 2026. Texas residents also have the 10th worst average credit scores in the country, according to the findings.

This is how Texas ranked across the study's six key dimensions, where No. 1 means "most distressed:"

No. 4 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
No. 5 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
No. 8 – "Loans" search interest index rank
No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
No. 12 – Credit score rank
No. 13 – “Debt” search interest index rank

It feels like inflation and affordability have been top-of-mind for many Americans over recent years, and uncertainty around the national economy also adds another level of distress. That's especially true for Houston residents, which were dubbed the second most financially distressed people in America earlier in 2026.

"Americans have faced significant financial challenges in recent years, as inflation, shifting unemployment levels, public health emergencies, and natural disasters have made it more difficult for many households to stay on top of their bills," the report said.

The top three states that have the least financially distressed residents are Maine (No. 50), Rhode Island (No. 49), and Hawaii (No. 48).

The top 10 most financially distressed states in America for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Kansas
No. 2 – Lousiana
No. 3 – Florida
No. 4 – Texas
No. 5 – South Carolina
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Georgia
No. 8 – California
No. 9 – North Carolina
No. 10 – Kentucky

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Booming Houston 'burb named best place to buy a home and raise a family in America

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Texas dips on ranking of America's most financially distressed states

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