Garland ranked No. 4 among Best Cities to Buy an Affordable Family Home in an annual study released in June by financial technology company SmartAsset.
Metrics used in the study included:
- Property and violent crime rates
- High school graduation rate
- Affordability, including housing costs as a percentage of income
- Percentage of homes with at least two bedrooms
- Four-year change in homeownership rate
Garland ranked exceptionally high in the affordability metrics and for having owner-occupied homes with two or more bedrooms. Median housing costs made up only about 22% of the median household income in Garland, according to the study.
Among the nation’s 100 most populous cities, only Fort Wayne, Indiana, Corpus Christi and Gilbert, Arizona, ranked above Garland. The City passed Arlington, Plano and others to move up from the No. 12 position in the 2020 study.