Houston Ranked Third in Entire World in Cities of the Future Analysis, Confirming its Global Power Status

Houston’s been a world class city for a good while, but it’s finally starting to get some global recognition for that. H-Town is ranked third in the entire world in the new fDi Tier 2 Cities of the Future global rankings.

Only tech-land San Francisco, which tops the list, and cosmopolitan Montreal come in ahead of Houston in the rankings.

Welcome to the future — you’re living in one of its hubs.

Houston secures the third spot for being “a reputable talent hub,” boasting five of the world’s Top 500 universities (including Rice and the University of Houston) and placing second in the world in business expansion with 53 new projects between May 2015 and April 2020. In the sub rankings, Houston takes third place in Human Capital and Lifestyle (behind only Adelaide, Australia and Montreal) and seventh place in Economic Potential, just ahead of eighth-place Austin.

This is not some throwaway rankings system either. There is nothing dubious about this analysis. It comes from the fDi Intelligence division of the Financial Times, a highly-respected global news outlet.

Some rankings that end up being touted in bold headlines are as suspect as a YouTube star’s decision making. But these Financial Times’ rankings give Houston real, legit bragging rights.

Houston ranking ahead of world renowned cities such as Dusseldorf (No. 4), Hamburg (No. 5), Boston (No. 6), Wroclaw, Poland (No. 7), Edinburgh (No. 8), Seattle (No. 9), Espoo, Finland (No. 10) and Austin (No. 11) means something. It’s another impressive accolade for America’s fourth-largest city. (The rankings examine cities with populations under eight million people.)

Houston’s Texas rival Dallas finished 19th in the worldwide rankings, just behind Miami and just ahead of Atlanta.

“This ranking is further evidence of Houston’s place among the world’s great global cities,” said Susan Davenport, chief economic development officer for the Greater Houston Partnership. “Houston today competes at a higher level than ever before when it comes to foreign direct investment and our business ties to cities and countries around the world.”

Long the most diverse city in America (with 25 percent of its residents born aboard, according to city data), Houston’s global might is now being recognized.

“The report is also a recognition of our work with community partners over the last five years to build a more livable city,” Houston mayor Sylvester Turner says. “We offer world-class education, art and culture in addition to our standing as a global business leader.”

It turns out Houston is more than ready for its worldwide closeup.