Study Ranks Lubbock Lower Than Expected Among Texas Cities (It’s Bad!)

Lubbock did not fare well in a new study from U.S. News And World Report. What's hurtful about it is not where we placed, but who placed above us.

I'm a fan of Lubbock. Everyone seems to get along fairly well and the economy seems to be so balanced that the last recession in 2007-2009 went by pretty much unnoticed.

Lubbock doesn't have the best scenery, but it's really not bad either. The town has a very clean look about it, mostly because of sign ordinance that's kept a lot of "visual pollution" to a minimum. While I have no real problem with billboards or large signs, open sky tends to be preferable.

U.S. News & World Report doesn't see Lubbock the way we do, scoring the town 6 out of 10, landing the Hub at #169 on thier list. Even worse, we were listed as the #44th Best Place In Texas to live.

Lubbock Trails Texas Rivals in Survey

I'm more than happy to take this news on the chin, but Lubbock ranked lower than San Angelo, Odessa, Midland, and Amarillo to name a few. I'm not saying those places are bad, but you would think with Texas Tech and cutting edge healthcare Lubbock would be much higher.

So how were these Texas towns rated? The main categories were "Happiness Index", "Affordability Index", "Health Care Quality Index", "Retiree Taxes Index", "Desirability Index", and "Job Market Index".  These were broken down into different metrics, for instance "Desirability" featured a survey asking people where they'd like to live, the weather, and social establishments to population.
Read More: How Local Politics Are Impacting The Lubbock Expo Center's Future

So how do you feel about Lubbock? I feel like it's a town where you can move as fast or as slow as you want. If you want to get out, there's places to go. No one seems to bother you when you're minding your own business. Why we didn't get Top 10, or Top 5 in this survey is beyond me.