WASHINGTON — U.S. News & World Report on Monday released its 2026-2027 Best Places to Live rankings, with Carmel, Ind., claiming the No. 1 spot and neighboring Fishers, Ind., ranking No. 2. It marked the first time in the history of the annual list that two neighboring cities have claimed the top two positions.
Carmel, a suburb just north of Indianapolis, and Fishers were both among the top 10 in last year's rankings. Flower Mound, a suburb of Dallas, ranked No. 3, followed by Ankeny, Iowa; Johns Creek, Georgia; Hoover, Alabama; and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Leander, Texas, near Austin, ranked No. 8, while Frisco, Texas, another Dallas suburb, came in at No. 9, and Sugar Land, Texas, outside Houston, climbed eight spots from last year to round out the top 10.
Texas cities occupied four of the top 10 positions in the 2026-2027 rankings. Mid-sized cities and suburbs in the Midwest and South ranked high on the list, where housing costs remain relatively lower than in coastal markets.
"As prices of everyday goods continue to rise, consumers are considering affordability as a top priority when choosing a place to live," said Erika Giovanetti, consumer lending analyst at U.S. News & World Report.
"While U.S. News' consumer survey indicated that quality of life and affordability were close in importance, cost-of-living concerns resulted in many Americans putting what they can afford above their aspirations," Giovanetti said.
U.S. News & World Report evaluates hundreds of U.S. cities across four categories: job market, value, quality of life and desirability. The weights assigned to each category are determined by a public survey of thousands of Americans about what they consider most important in a place to live.
The methodology draws on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, the FBI, FEMA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as U.S. News' Best States data on economy and infrastructure.