Where San Antonio ranks among 2025's best-performing cities
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The San Antonio area may not be a top 10 performing city, but we've made big progress, per an annual report from the Milken Institute.
Why it matters: Rankings are a dime a dozen, but this list uses economic metrics like job growth, wages and affordable housing to measure a city's success.
By the numbers: San Antonio ranked 26th among metro areas this year, up from 35th last year — and up even more from No. 65 in 2023.
How it works: The annual rankings from Milken — a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank — 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 Houston took the sixth, 19th and 27th spots, respectively.
The bottom line: If you're searching for a great city that isn't New York, Chicago or L.A., give this list a look.