Sugar Land makes huge gains on 'Best Places' list

This is the second year in a row that Sugar Land made the list. Last year, the Houston suburb ranked No. 46.

Coming in at No. 73, The Woodlands was the only other city in the Houston area to make the top 100.

Money magazine and CNN/Money set out to find livable locales that combine the best of city and suburban life. After screening out cities of more than 300,000 people and retirement havens where more than 40 percent of the residents are over 50, the list was narrowed down to 201 small cities.

In choosing the 10 winners and 100 finalists, Money focused on financials, housing, education, quality of life, leisure and culture, weather, health and neighbors.

Diversity and affordable housing were listed as Sugar Land's pros, while the region's stifling humidity was a con.

"Today the city is almost a quarter Asian, and Sugar Land is home to mosques as well as Hindu and Buddhist temples," the article says. "And in few desirable cities does a buck go so far: $200,000 buys a roomy house in a landscaped neighborhood with a community pool."

With a population of nearly 76,000, Sugar Land's annual median household income is $92,149, according to the poll. Job growth in the region was 30.5 percent from 2000 to 2005. The median home price is $214,330.