Flower Mound placed in the top 9% of small cities nationwide, according to a WalletHub study published Sept. 29.
The 2026 Best Small Cities in America ranking compared 1,318 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000. Flower Mound landed in the 91st percentile, with its strongest showing in affordability, where it ranked 49th overall. The town also placed 206th in safety.
WalletHub graded each city on a 100-point scale across five categories, each worth 20 points: affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life and safety.
The affordability category factored in median household income, cost of living, homeownership rate, housing costs and the share of households with severe housing cost burdens. The safety score gave double weight to violent-crime and property-crime rates and also measured motor vehicle crash deaths, pedestrian fatalities, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities and drug poisoning deaths per capita.
Data were collected as of Sept. 1 from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The Town of Flower Mound announced the ranking on its civic alert page Wednesday, Oct. 7, calling it a spot "among the top 9% of small cities in America."
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo told Cleveland.com the best small cities "offer strong job markets, high-quality education, good health care, safe living conditions and plenty of local flair."
The study's top 10 was dominated by Midwest and Northeast cities, led by Lexington, Massachusetts, and Brookfield, Wisconsin. Apex, North Carolina, and Franklin, Tennessee, were the only top-10 finishers from the South.
Flower Mound's exact numerical rank was not published in the town's announcement or in the publicly available portion of WalletHub's results.
What's ahead
The Fall Into Flower Mound Festival runs Friday, Oct. 9, from 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 10, from noon to 10 p.m. at the River Walk. Entry is free. Activities include a hay maze, pumpkin patch, carnival games, inflatables, local craft vendors and a Veterans Village. The town's Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting is set for Saturday, Dec. 5, at 5:30 p.m. at Gerault Park.
