Two Houston suburbs are proving that small town life reaps big rewards.
Houston-area suburbs Missouri City and Atascocita have been named by personal finance website SmartAsset as some of the most livable small cities in the U.S. This year’s SmartAsset study positions Atascocita No. 85 and Missouri City No. 90 overall.
SmartAsset’s analysis compared 286 cities (with populations between 65,000 and 100,000) across 11 metrics related to home affordability, job opportunities, health care accessibility, income equality, and entertainment density.
In the report, Atascocita scores 1.14 percent for population density, 11.57 percent for healthcare facilities distribution, 18.22 percent for housing costs relative to income, and 5.8 percent for poverty rate. Meanwhile, Missouri City scores 1.44 percent for population density, 15.14 percent for healthcare facilities distribution, 21.54 percent for housing costs relative to income, and 5.6 percent for poverty rate.
In 2018, Missouri City was named one of the most family-friendly cities in the U.S. In 2020, the area made headlines with news of a new Amazon fulfillment center.