Houston continues to be regarded as one of the country’s most coveted destinations after earning a No. 9 spot on the 2023 list of America’s Best Cities, as released by placemaking firm Resonance. The city has consistently increased in rankings on this authoritative list, jumping from No. 17 in 2021 to No. 11 in 2022. For 2023, Houston is the only Texas city to secure a top 10 ranking.

The 2023 report also noted Houston’s “prisms of festivals” and year-round cultural celebrations, a feature that earned America’s most ethnically diverse city an additional accolade for Culture. Houston’s expansive culinary landscape also received an impressive No. 4 ranking for Restaurants, while attractions such as the upcoming Ismaili Center – the first one in America – generated a No. 8 ranking for Attractions. The city also earned a No. 4 ranking for its Fortune 500 Community thanks to developments such as the Houston Spaceport, the city’s rapidly emerging FAA-licensed urban commercial spaceport that offers unprecedented access to the thriving aerospace community.

“Houston is increasingly recognized as one of the nation’s top destinations, as evidenced by our rising position in recent years on this prestigious list,” said Michael Heckman, President & CEO of Houston First Corporation, the city’s destination marketing organization. “Ours is a city where newcomers from around the world come to create their future in a diverse and welcoming place, one brimming with possibility. From dynamic restaurants and performing arts to a robust and expanding business landscape, we are accomplishing big things in Houston by working together across organizations to ensure a prosperous future.”

America’s Best Cities is an exclusive ranking of the country’s top urban destinations conducted each year by Resonance Consultancy – a global group of leading advisors in tourism, real estate, and economic development regarded as the world’s most thorough city-ranking entity.

For cities to receive recognition, Resonance uses a combination of statistical performance and qualitative evaluations to review the overall performance of more than 110 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of more than 500,000. Researchers looked at a long list of metrics—from cost of living and investment to walkability and diversity—deemed most important when choosing a place to live, work and visit.

Based on each city's performance in the 26 factors analyzed, the following were named as America’s Top 10 Best Cities for 2023:

New York, NY

Chicago, IL

Los Angeles, CA

San Francisco, CA

Washington, D.C.

Miami, FL

Boston, MA

Seattle, WA

Houston, TX

San Jose, CA

To learn more about Best Cities' annual adjusting methodology or to read about the 100 U.S. cities named to the 2023 list of America's Best Cities, visit https://www.worldsbestcities.com/report-download/?r=RVRXMWdiREh5emdBS012YnZjKzIyQT09.