Houston Crime A National Focus

Crime hotspots hit home: Two of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country are in Houston

Houston has a remarkably low crime rate considering its population size, but how safe are the individual neighborhoods? Some are highly susceptible to violent crime — defined as murder, forcible rape, armed robbery and aggravated assault —according to NeighborhoodScout.com.

Two local neighborhoods made that website's "Top 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America" list, which was ranked according to the crime rate per 1,000 residents and based on 2011 census tracts and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau as well as violent crime statistics from the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice and thousands of local law enforcement agencies.

Ranking No. 15 on the list is Houston's Sauer St./McGowen St. census tract, which is bordered by I-45 to the north, Elgin to the south, U.S. 59 to the west and the Columbia Tap Trail to the east. The violent crime rate is 75.89 per 1,000 residents — far greater than the city average of 9.78. Residents have a one in 13 annual chance of becoming a victim (compare that to a chance of one in 102 in Houston overall).

At No. 6 is the Scott St./Wilmington St. tract, a sector of Sunnyside hemmed in by Reed Road to the north and Sims Bayou to the south, Scott Street to the west and Cullen Boulevard to the east, that contains several schools — Worthing High School, Pro-Vision and Carnegie Vanguard High School (which moved to the corner of Taft Street and West Gray in 2012). There, the rate of violent crimes is a staggering 91.27 per 1,000 residents. Chances of becoming a victim are one in 11 per year.

Both Houston spots are among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. The Sauer St./McGowen St. tract has one of the highest concentrations of studio apartments and other small living spaces in the United States. The Scott St./Wilmington St. tract has more single mother households than 99.8 percent of all U.S. neighborhoods.

Three Detroit neighborhoods topped the list, followed by one Chicago census tract and Washington Heights in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The Wallace Law Firm

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This is the income it takes to be in the top 1 percent in Texas in 2026

Hundred dollar bills, income study, top 1 percent earners in Texas

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The income needed to be ranked among the top 1 percent of earners in Texas has surged over $800,000 in 2026.

In a state where local billionaires are wealthier than they've ever been, high-earning Texans need to make $73,000 more than they did a year ago if they want to be among the top 1 percent of earners, a new report has revealed.

SmartAsset's latest study analyzed income thresholds for the top 1, 5, and 10 percent of earners in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, using 2022 IRS data for individual tax return filers (the most recent year available), adjusted to 2026 dollars.

Texas has the 11th highest income threshold, with residents needing to make a minimum of $817,158 to be considered among the top 1 percent of earners statewide. In 2025, Texans needed to make about $744,000 to be among the top 1 percent.

For comparison, residents living in the nation's capital must make at least $1.16 million to qualify as top 1 percent earners. The District of Columbia led the nation with the highest income threshold to be a top earner.

To be considered among the top 5 percent of earners in Texas, a resident would need to make $312,671. The income threshold to be considered among the top 10 percent is $210,609.

SmartAsset additionally found that 128,130 Texas residents qualified as top 1 percent earners in 2022. Nationally, the report estimated that fewer than 2 million households earn enough to be considered among the top 1 percent of earners nationwide, but 23 million households rank among the top 10 percent.

"In some places, households can enter the top 1 percent at income levels that fall well below the threshold elsewhere, reflecting an uneven landscape of wages and wealth," the report said.

A separate SmartAsset study that tracked the upper and lower thresholds for middle class households found Houston residents need to make anywhere from $42,907 to $128,722 to maintain their middle class status.

The top 10 states with the highest thresholds to be considered in the top 1 percent of earners in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – District of Columbia ($1,156,664)
No. 2 – Connecticut ($1,147,898)
No. 3 – Massachusetts ($1,006,921)
No. 4 – California ($987,325)
No. 5– New Jersey ($969,976)
No. 6 – New York ($959,562)
No. 7 – Florida ($956,449)
No. 8 – Washington ($903,303)
No. 9 – Colorado ($828,772)
No. 10 – Wyoming ($819,014)

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