According to 24/7 Wall Street, our neighbors to the north in Plano live in the best-managed city in the U.S., beating Madison, Wisc., and Irvine, Calif., for top honors. Just how did they come to their conclusion, crowning one of the most popular Dallas suburbs as king?

24/7 Wall St. has completed its second annual ranking of the 100 largest cities in the U.S., based on local economies, fiscal management, and quality of life measures. To evaluate how well a city is managed over the long-term, we looked at factors like the city’s credit rating, poverty, education, crime, unemployment, and regional GDP.

Interestingly, Irving was the only other North Texas city to make the top 20 best-managed list from the investing website. Austin scored a spot at No. 9, and Lubbock (yes, Lubbock!) came in at No. 19, beating Boston. Sounds a little nuts to me, but I didn’t come up with the methodology. Still, it’s got to make Frisco and McKinney green with envy that Plano consistently ranks as one of the top communities in the U.S.

It’s one of the region’s top destinations for corporate relocations, too. Tons of national brands are moving to Plano, and bringing a skilled workforce and high salaries with them.

Stats from 24/7 Wall Street

Now, when we talk about Plano, we should really talk about West Plano and Plano East. Two different sides of the same coin, in my opinion. In West Plano, you’ll find tons of high-end shopping at the Shops at Legacy, as well as super luxurious homes and top-notch schools. You can find out more about West Plano on our neighborhood page.