small city livin'

6 Houston neighbors shine on new list of best small cities in America

Conroe is one of the best small cities to live in America.

Photo courtesy of Visit Conroe

Living in the big city isn't for everyone, which is why many are flocking to the suburbs and less-populated cities around Houston, such as Friendswood, Rosenberg, Conroe, and Galveston. To demonstrate the popularity of suburban and rural communities, a new study by WalletHub has identified six Houston suburbs on their 2024 list of the "Best Small Cities in America."

The extensive report compared over 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 residents based on 45 livability metrics across five main categories: Affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life, and overall safety. Cities were grouped by percentile, where the 99th percentile encompasses the top one percent of small American cities.

A total 19 U.S. cities all qualified in the top 99th percentile of best small cities in America, but the top three that stood out above the rest were Carmel, Indiana; Brookfield, Wisconsin; and Lexington, Massachusetts.

Leading the pack as the best small city in the Houston area is Friendswood, which is about 22 miles southeast of downtown Houston. The suburb ranked in the 79th percentile and had the No. 79 best "affordability" rank out of all U.S. cities in the report.

Friendswood has an estimated population of more than 41,000 residents. The Houston suburb is known for its historical beginnings as a Quaker colony dating back to the late 1800's.

"The last vestiges of [fruit orchards, rice fields,] and the homes that the Quakers constructed are nearly gone, but the legacy left by those founders and early settlers remains," the Friendswood website says. "That legacy is the heritage of a way of life that did more to shape the character of the community than any brick and mortar buildings ever could."

Now, the family-friendly city enjoys a close proximity to NASA's Johnson Space Center and the beaches in nearby Galveston.

Besides the cost-saving benefits of escaping a big city, there's a lot more to enjoy living in a smaller community like Friendswood, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

"On top of that, the best small cities offer strong job markets, high-quality education, good health care, safe living conditions, and plenty of local flair to help you achieve a high quality of life," Lupo said. "While small cities may lack some advantages of big cities, like robust public transportation systems, they make up for these shortcomings in other areas."

Rosenberg and Conroe both appeared in the 60th percentile as the best small cities to live in, followed by Galveston (59th), Missouri City (57th), and Spring (53rd). Missouri City, located 22 miles southwest of downtown Houston, is shining under the spotlight once again after being named one of the most livable small cities in America earlier in 2024.

Missouri City is also home to Fort Bend Town Square, a massive mixed-use development at the intersection of TX 6 and the Fort Bend Parkway. It offers apartments, shopping, and restaurants, including a rumored location of Trill Burgers.

The best small cities across the Lone Star State
The highest ranking Texas cities in the report are Rockwall, a suburb located less than 24 miles northeast of Dallas, and the north Austin suburb of Leander. Both cities appeared in the 97th percentile.

Three additional Texas cities appeared in the 90-99th percentile range: The Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs of Allen (96th) and Flower Mound (93rd), and Cedar Park (95th) outside Austin.

The top 10 best small cities in Texas, based on WalletHub's data, are:

97th percentile – Rockwall and Leander (tie)
96th – Allen
95th – Cedar Park
93rd – Flower Mound
89th – New Braunfels
87th – Southlake
86th – Pflugerville
85th – Little Elm
83rd – Georgetown

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

rankings small cities suburbs wallethub houston conroe friendswood

Bang for Buck

Surprising suburb unlocks biggest apartments in Houston for $1,500

Photo by Matt Halls on Unsplash

Pasadena has the 6th roomiest apartments on a budget in Texas.

Budget-conscious renters searching for the roomiest apartments in the region should look no further than Pasadena. According to a new study, the east Houston suburb has the biggest apartments on a budget in the metro.

In 2026, Pasadena residents can rent a 1,125-square-foot apartment for $1,500 per month. That's enough space for a two- or three-bedroom unit, and it's four square feet bigger than what renters could get with the same budget last year.

RentCafe's annual report analyzes the places where renters can find the largest apartment sizes across 200 of the most populous U.S. cities for a monthly budget of $1,500. The price per square foot was calculated using the average apartment rent and size per city based on "multifamily properties" containing 50 or more units.

Pasadena offers the 6th most spacious apartments in Texas for $1,500, and Houston ranks 11th statewide.

Renters in Houston proper will net a 976-square-foot apartment for the same price in 2026, a size that has shrunk by more than 20 square feet since 2023.

Apartment sizes across Texas
For the second year in a row, the Rio Grande Valley is the region that has the most spacious apartments for a $1,500 monthly budget, RentCafe found.

McAllen leads the nation with the biggest apartment size – at 1,378 square feet – which is large enough for a three- or four-bedroom unit.

"With rents averaging just $993 and the typical apartment measuring 912 square feet, McAllen renters get a lot more space for their money than most Americans do within that monthly budget," the report said. "Still, that figure is down slightly from last year’s 1,393 square feet — a sign that even the most affordable markets are starting to tighten."

Brownsville, another city on the border located an hour east of McAllen, ranks fourth statewide with apartments spanning 1,213 square feet for the same budget.

These are the top 10 Texas cities that offer the biggest apartments for $1,500 in 2026:

No. 1 – McAllen (1,378 square feet)
No. 2 – Amarillo (1,237 square feet)
No. 3 – Lubbock (1,217 square feet)
No. 4 – Brownsville (1,213 square feet)
No. 5 – El Paso (1,128 square feet)
No. 6 – Pasadena (1,125 square feet)
No. 7 – Corpus Christi (1,115 square feet)
No. 8 – Killeen (1,058 square feet)
No. 9 – San Antonio (1,023 square feet)
No. 10 – Mesquite (988 square feet)

real estate apartments housing rentcafe study houston pasadena