Top Cities in Texas

Texas at a Glance

In some ways, Texas is a state of mind. If there's one thing about the state that every Texan agrees on, it's that it's big, with a personality that can prompt love or hate. Texas pride runs strong from the Piney Woods to far West Texas, from the Gulf Coast to the Panhandle, from the Rio Grande to the Red River.

The Lone Star State is, in many ways, larger than life; it works hard to live up to the history and legends that surround it. Its people are hard to categorize. As happy in business suits as in cowboy boots and ten gallon hats, Texas residents of Houston, San Antonio and the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex are as cosmopolitan as can be, but they're still apt to greet strangers with a smile and say goodbye with a heartfelt "Y'all come back soon now, ya hear!" Texas born and bred is a badge of honor, but newcomers are greeted as readily as old friends. With six of the 20 largest cities in the nation, Texas has an economy that puts the GNP of some countries to shame, and is more diverse culturally and in terms of topography and resources than many others.

Top Cities in Texas

• Abilene  
• Alief  
• Arlington  
• Austin  
• Austin in Williamson County  
• Austin in Hays County  
• Conroe  
• Cypress  
• Dallas  
• Dallas in Collin County  
• Fort Worth  
• Frisco  
• Frisco in Collin County  
• Georgetown  
• Houston  

Why You'll Love Living in Texas

This sprawling state stretches out in every direction, and distances are expressed in hours rather than in miles. Traffic in the large cities is often snarled, but private vehicles are the favored mode of transport and, overall, the highway system is good. Except in Austin; the state's capital city is notoriously congested much of the time. In both cities and small towns, pickups and luxury automobiles compete for road rights. There's still abundant land area to handle newcomers, and population growth sets records. Three of the five fastest growing cities in the nation are here, with two others in the top ten. 

When wide open spaces beckon, there are tall trees and lakes in East Texas, miles of coastline and beaches stretching along the Gulf of Mexico, Big Bend country with river rapids and wild spaces, the plains and oil fields of West Texas, and the rim rocks and scenic beauty of the Panhandle. Texas climate can be unpredictable, prone to quick temperature changes, wild thunderstorms and tornadoes, hurricanes and heavy winds. But Texans take it all in stride. Texas embodies a can-do spirit, a welcoming attitude, a live and let live philosophy. Texas is also big business and banking, oil and insurance, cattle ranching, computers and high tech, high fashion and high cotton. This state is a land of contrasts, from its natural beauty to its cuisine, from its politics to its sports teams. Football is big in Texas, especially at high school and college levels. Country music and sports car racing, rodeos and rattlesnake hunts, barbecue and beer, shrimp fishing and wineries, longhorns and bluebonnets -- Texas has it all. Both Southwest Airlines and Willie Nelson call Texas home! 

If you're looking for a home in one of the large cities, you can find pretty much anything you want from modestly-priced starter homes to million dollar mansions. Texas small towns come in all shapes and sizes, serving surrounding ranch and farmland or nestled into picture-perfect natural settings as leisure and retirement destinations. For all its size and appeal, Texas is, in some ways, the untamed West, with a frontier vibe and an adventurous personality. You just have to experience it for yourself!