ROUND ROCK, Texas — Being in the Top 10 listing of just about anything brings recognition to a community. In this case, SmartAsset has scored Round Rock as the ninth most livable mid-sized city in the country. SmartAsset looked at factors such as affordability and unemployment rate in communities. It is the only Texas city within the Top 10 list.
The state of Texas has the fifteenth lowest unemployment rate, as of July 2020, according to SmartAsset, with the twentieth lowest poverty rate. The city ranks in the top 50 of the 227 cities in the comparison for median household income, as well. Home values increased over a four-year period by 40 percent, from 2015 to 2019.
The city in the #1 spot of the rankings was Rochester, Minnesota.
Yet Round Rock ranks higher, in the #8 slot, by Niche, where they grade the Best Cities to Buy a House in America. Round Rock earned an A+ for its dense suburban feel, parks, highly rated schools and diversity.
In October, U.S. News and World Report ranked Austin, Texas as third in its Best Places to Live rankings. Boulder and Denver in Colorado had the #1 and #2 spots. It only makes sense that a having a home in Round Rock is a good thing, given its proximity to Austin, which is ranked as the #1 place to live in Texas.
In 2016, Round Rock ranked #4 in the Best Affordable Places to Live list published by Livability.com, sliding down from the #1 spot held in 2015, because of increased housing costs in just one year’s time.
For those of retirement age, the Austin area falls lower on the list of Best Places to Retire, holding down the #29 spot, compared to its #1 Best Place to live in Texas — which goes to show you there’s a lot of action yet to be had in the capital city.