Mansfield named one of best places to live

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By Amber Heckler

CultureMap Fort Worth

Nearly a dozen Dallas-Fort Worth cities, including Mansfield, have landed among the best places to live in 2025, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The annual list of Best Places to Live in the U.S. is designed to help readers make the most informed decisions when choosing where to settle down, using data from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce, the Federal Reserve and the Bureau for Economic Analysis, as well as state and local sources.

For the 2025-2026 rankings, U.S. News expanded its coverage from 150 to 250 U.S. cities, and updated its methodology to examine each city based on five livability indexes: Quality of life, value, desirability, job market, and net migration.

The top three best places to live are located in Johns Creek, Georgia (No. 1), Carmel, Indiana (No. 2), and the Houston-area suburb of Pearland, Texas (No. 3).

Mansfield ranked No. 27 nationwide, and it landed in the coveted No. 9 spot in U.S. News' separate rankings of the best places to live in Texas for 2025-2026.

Aspects of Mansfield that put it among the top 30 include its high median household income ($117,680), median home values ($364,136) and its bustling population of nearly 80,000 residents.

The city's population is a healthy mix of young individuals and families, with 31 percent of residents being under 20 years old and 32 percent of the population being between the ages of 20-44. A quarter of Mansfield's population is between 45-64 years old, while only 12 percent of residents are over 65, the report says.

Nearly two thirds (66.6 percent) of all Mansfield residents are married, and 55 percent of the population are between the ages of 25 and 64 years old.

Mansfield is a listmaker's favorite, landing on a 2024 list that named it one of the most livable small cities in the country.

"Finding a community to be part of can play a major role in making a place feel like home," U.S. News said. "If you’re a parent with young children, you may want to live in a neighborhood with other people in that phase of life. If you’re a professional moving to a hot job market for your field, you may want to live in an apartment close to the office or within walking distance of friends and colleagues."

However, if people are looking for a public transportation-friendly city, they may need to look elsewhere. Almost all commuters in Mansfield drive to their workplaces, making access to a vehicle absolutely necessary for living in the suburb. Mansfield's 27.8-minute average commute time is also 5.8 minutes higher than the national average, U.S. News said.

The suburb's housing costs are slightly cheaper than the national average home value ($370,489), but that shouldn't deter newcomers that are looking for a place to settle down.

Here's how other Dallas-Fort Worth cities faired among the top 150:

No. 30 – Frisco

No. 37 – McKinney

No. 64 – North Richland Hills

No. 82 – Carrollton

No. 83 – Rowlett

No. 102 – Wylie

No. 105 – Grand Prairie

No. 149 – Irving

No. 150 – Plano

Fort Worth is on a bit of a downward spiral: After slumping into No. 113 in U.S. News' 2023 report, it plummeted even farther toward the bottom of the list for 2025-2026, coming in at No. 212. In addition, it ranked No. 50 in the statewide comparison, showing that the city has been eclipsed by its appealing suburban neighbors.

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