Lauren Drewes Daniels
Audio By Carbonatix
There are more than 10,000 cities in the world, and new report says that Dallas is in the top 1%.
Conducted annually by Resonance Consultancy, the Best Cities list has Dallas at No. 55 out of the world’s top urban economies. The recent population boom and continued migration of major corporations to North Texas played a large role in keeping Dallas in such a lofty place in this poll. Making this placement even more impressive is that in last year’s study, Dallas was No. 73.
“From 2021 to 2022, Dallas experienced the largest population increase of any U.S. metro area, with a net increase of more than 170,000 people, according to the Census Bureau,” the report noted. “Home to more than 10,000 corporate headquarters – the largest concentration in the U.S. – the city ranks #33 globally for Fortune 500 companies. Not surprisingly, Dallas also ranks highly for connectivity – with Dallas Fort Worth International Airport the third-busiest on earth … DFW saw almost 82 million passengers in 2023, and its ambitious expansion plans include a new US$3-billion Terminal C.”
The list was created by calculating a “combination of core statistics from more than 400 global cities and resident and visitor perception indicators like user-generated ratings and reviews.” The methodology also factored in stats related to “livability, lovability and prosperity.” Curious about the “lovability” category? We were too. Turns out that fun stuff including options for nightlife, shopping, culture, restaurants and attractions help create a city’s lovability in the eyes of those who compiled the list.
Dallas has popped up in some other lofty spots in other lists lately, including on one that shows how Dallas is a pretty good spot for middle-class homeowners.
What is a prestigious city without world-class facilities, a diverse population and more culture than you can handle on a given weekend? Big D comes through in all of those areas, too.
“The city’s #19 Convention Center ranking will improve when a new US$3-billion, 2.5-million-square-foot facility is built next to the current one in 2028. The same year should see the trenching of this car-worshipping city’s elevated Interstate 345 that cut off Black neighborhoods in the early 1970s,” the report reads. “But Dallas is big on fun and culture, too. This is the home of America’s sixth-largest LGBTQIA+ community. And on 20 square blocks of mixed-use space, institutions like the Dallas Museum of Art and Crow Museum of Asian Art join theaters and symphony and opera venues to power the city’s #46 Culture ranking.”
London landed the top spot this year, followed by New York and Paris. Closer to home, Houston (No. 40) and Austin (No. 53) both finished higher on the list than Dallas, for whatever that’s worth. But, hey, Fort Worth, nor San Antonio are to be found in the Top 100, so take that!
