According to the personal finance resource GOBankingRates, Garland is one of the few major cities in the country, and only one of two in North Texas, where a person can live comfortably for less than $50,000 per year.
Only 35 of the nation’s 270 largest cities met the criteria, with Garland singled out specifically as one of the best cities to consider for retirement. Arlington, El Paso and San Antonio were the other Texas cities on the list. The cost of rent, groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare were factors considered in the study.
GOBankingRates also rates Garland high among its Cheap Cities You’ll Love to Live In. Garland placed 43rd in the national ranking and behind only Denton and Grand Prairie among North Texas cities. Most notably, Garland had the 10th lowest violent crime rate among cities on the list. Home prices, groceries, healthcare and transportation were also used to calculate the results.
Garland ranks 43rd among the nation’s 150 largest cities and No. 5 in Texas when it comes to Best Places to Be Stuck at Home, according to a study on the LawnStarter.com blog. The city was ninth overall in the study’s “community safety rank.”
In addition to data associated with being stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, metrics used in the study ranged from property crime rate and pedestrian fatalities to suicide rate and food insecurity.
Garland also ranked 23rd among the 100 most populous cities in personal finance website WalletHub’s list of Best Cities to Drive In. Average gas prices, time spent in congested traffic and available auto repair shops were among criteria used in the study. Among North Texas cities, only Plano fared better in the ranking.
Parks are “Garland’s shining category,” according to the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate HomeCity website, which includes the city on its list of The Best Places to Live in Texas. The article cites the Trust for Public Land’s annual park rating, where Garland placed 8th in the state and 83rd in the nation.