If Round Rock had a trophy case, it would probably be time to consider adding a second.
Often lauded for its jobs, safety and quality of life, Round Rock recently made the U.S. News and World Report Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2025-2026 ranking, landing at 28th overall.
It wasn’t done there, though, as it also made U.S. News and World Report’s Best Places to Live in Texas (No. 10), Best Medium-Sized Cities to Live in the U.S. (No. 9) and Best Place to Retire (No. 62) lists.
This year’s Best Places to Live in the U.S. and Best Place to Retire lists were expanded to evaluate more than 850 of the country’s top cities based on how well they meet consumers’ living expectations.
Also, U.S. News and World Report selectively included 69 cities in its Best Places to Live in Texas list and only 25 cities in its Best Medium-Sized Cities to Live in the U.S. summary.
Five factors were utilized in its evaluations:
- Quality of life: including factors such as education, availability of health care, air quality, environmental risks, state economy and infrastructure
- Value: including housing affordability and cost-of-living index
- Desirability: measuring factors such as crime rate; weather; commute time; cultural, leisure, retail and restaurant accessibility
- Job market: including unemployment rate and median household income
- Net migration
Round Rock’s job market particularly stood out. Unemployment in Round Rock (3.53 percent) is lower than the national average of 4.5 percent, and the median household income is $102,858, compared to the national median household income of $79,466.
Round Rock offers a better value than similarly sized cities when comparing housing costs to median household income. The median home value in Round Rock is $446,967.
U.S. News and World Report cited Round Rock’s population as approximately 131,400, with 27 percent of its residents under age 20. Sixteen percent are between 25-34, 17 percent are 35-44 and 24 percent ranging from 45-65.
A multifaceted media company founded over 90 years ago, U.S. News and World Report provides insight on education, health, politics, the economy, personal finance, travel, automobiles, real estate, careers and consumer products and services.
