Houston climbing the ranks of best-performing cities
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Downtown Houston. Photo: Kirby Lee/Getty Images
Greater Houston is moving up the rankings of top economically performing cities, per an annual report from the Milken Institute.
Why it matters: The nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank uses economic metrics like job growth, wages and affordable housing to measure a city's success.
By the numbers: Houston ranks 27th among metro areas this year, up from 62nd last year and 144th in 2023.
How it works: The annual rankings from Milken are based on its Best-Performing Cities index, which takes into account cities' labor markets, tech industry growth and economic access.
Reality check: The report doesn't explicitly look at other quality-of-life factors people may consider when picking a place to live, like traffic congestion, public transit access and park space.
Zoom out: Austin, Dallas and San Antonio took the sixth, 19th and 26th spots, respectively.