Suburb news

The Woodlands ranks among America’s top 50 most sought-after suburbs

What started as a master-planned community has now expanded into a thriving Houston suburb.

Photo courtesy of The Woodlands Arts Council

The Woodlands has ranked as the 48th most highly sought-after U.S. suburb of 2025, according to a new national survey by moving services provider MoveBuddha.

MoveBuddha's experts analyzed Zillow Home Value Index data and mover search data from August 1, 2024, to September 11, 2025, for 100 of the largest U.S. metro areas. The study then determined the most desirable suburb for each metro by analyzing which had the highest inbound-to-outbound move ratio. Cities that qualified as "suburbs" were those located about 31 miles from their main metros.

In addition to being recognized as the 48th most desirable American suburb, The Woodlands also ranked as the No. 4 suburb to move to in Texas.

In 2021, The Woodlands ranked as the No. 1 best place to live in the U.S., and its popularity has steadily grown over the years. This Houston-area neighbor isn't just being scouted by suburbanites that want to live in a smaller city with more space; several new restaurants and bars have opened in this buzzy suburb this year. And there are plenty of other businesses and attractions adding to The Woodlands' charm.

The average home in The Woodlands is valued at $640,000, leaning toward the more expensive side of the national comparison of the most desirable suburbs with the cheapest home values.

Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio suburb Boerne ranked as the No. 4 most sought-after U.S. suburb and topped the Texas-wide list, while Dallas neighbor Wylie ranked 7th nationally and came in second place statewide.

Georgetown was deemed the most desirable Austin suburb and ranked 27th nationally. Edinburg, a South Texas city outside McAllen, ranked as the No. 42 most desirable suburb in America.

"In the end, America’s most popular suburbs are proving that big moves don’t always mean big cities," the report said. "Sometimes they mean big charm, with moderate prices, with some proximity to mid-sized metros. And if trends continue, the popularity of these spots — and their housing prices — will only continue to climb in 2026."

The top 10 most sought-after suburbs in America are:

No. 1 – Wake Forest, North Carolina
No. 2 – Eagle, Idaho
No. 3 – Maryville, Tennessee
No. 4 – Boerne, Texas
No. 5 – Greer, South Carolina
No. 6 – Camas, Washington
No. 7 – Wylie, Texas
No. 8 – Summerville, South Carolina
No. 9 – Alex, North Carolina
No. 10 – Florence, Kentucky

suburbs movebuddha reports rankings houston the woodlands

So hot right now

Houston nails down No. 8 spot among fastest-moving luxury home markets

TK Images for Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty

11095 Memorial Drive is for sale for $8.8 million.

For-sale signs on the lawns of luxury homes in Houston-area communities like Bellaire, River Oaks, West University Place, and The Woodlands are disappearing faster than in most U.S. markets.

November’s Realtor.com Luxury Housing Report shows luxury homes in the Houston metro area spent a median 61 days on the market in November, up 3.4 percent from last November. That puts the Houston metro in eighth place among the country’s fastest-moving luxury home markets.

Asking prices for Houston-area listings among top-tier luxury homes started at $794,576 in November, according to the Realtor.com report.

The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) says stepped-up activity in the luxury home market helped boost the average single-family home price in the area to $422,552 in November. The luxury market — homes priced at $1 million and above — was the region’s top-performing home category in November, according to HAR, with sales up 23.4 percent compared with the same time in 2024.

The Realtor.com report ranks San Jose, California, as the fastest-moving metro for luxury home sales in November. There, luxury homes spent a median 56 days on the market, down 6.7 percent from last November.

“Luxury home dynamics are increasingly driven by local factors rather than national trends,” Antony Smith, senior economist at Realtor.com, says in a release. “Some high-cost metros are experiencing brisk demand and fast turnover, while others face slower sales even at elevated price points. Understanding these local dynamics is key for both buyers and sellers in today's luxury market.”

Roughly 200 miles west of Houston, the San Antonio metro lands on Realtor.com’s list of the country’s slowest-moving markets for luxury homes. San Antonio-area luxury homes lingered on the market for 99 days in November, up seven percent from the same time last year. That gave San Antonio eighth place on the list of the country’s slowest-moving luxury home markets.

Asking prices for San Antonio-area listings among top-tier luxury homes started at $766,548 in November, according to the report.

In November, 5.6 percent of home prices fell into the $750,000-and-above category, according to the San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR).

Bend, Oregon, tops Realtor.com’s list of the slow-moving markets for luxury homes. In the Bend metro area, luxury homes were stuck on the market for a median 146 days in November, up 14.1 percent from the same period in 2024.

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