Houston Ranks #11 in 100 Best Cities in America

Houston First is especially pleased to share that Houston is the top-ranking Texas city, coming in at number 11 out of 100 cities across the country by Resonance Consultancy, a strategic business marketing, development and research company.

This is the fifth year for the organization’s recently released rankings, which also factors in effects of COVID-19 on a city’s unemployment rate, income equality, and number of confirmed cases.

Considered to be one of the most comprehensive and respected ranking systems worldwide, Resonance Consultancy measures a number of standard factors including weather, crime, household incomes.

However, taking it a step further, Resonance also analyzes data generated by people who engage with restaurants, shops, nightlife, museums and other experiences that make a city a great place to be.

This data—all gathered pre-pandemic—incorporates Facebook check-ins, Instagram hashtags, TripAdvisor reviews, and Google searches and trends.

In its final report, Resonance describes Houston as one of the country’s most ethnically diverse cities with the fourth largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies and restaurants. Also mentioned in Houston’s profile is its role in bringing the world one step closer to space tourism with the development of Houston Spaceport. Resonance sums up Houston as the “smart, skilled and soulful, American city of the future.”     

“It is good to be recognized in such a respected and thoughtful ranking system. We wholeheartedly agree, Houston is indeed ‘America’s city of the future.’ From medicine to space to energy, we are at the forefront of innovation. We are resilient problem-solvers who work together to find common solutions, no matter if we’re facing Hurricane Harvey or a global pandemic,” said David Mincberg, Board Chair, Houston First Corporation. “Houston continues to grow and get better, so we invite those who live here to rediscover our city and visitors to come as soon as it is safe and enjoy all that Houston has to offer.”

As the destination management organization for the city, Houston First is pleased to share these rankings and to know that despite the pandemic we are moving in the right direction with our efforts to position Houston as a world-class destination for leisure and business travelers.

To see the full report, including Resonance Consultancy’s methodology, go here.

Feature photo: Buffalo Bayou Park