Worst Places To Live In Texas
It's the pits: 3 of Top 10 Worst Places To Live In Texas are in Houston area, new survey says
Here at CultureMap, we like to keep you updated on the best things about Houston and the Lone Star State. But sometimes, we have to look at the darker side where we don't rate as well.
Like the cities in Texas that are the absolute pits.
A new ranking from HomeSnacks analyzed the 238 most populous cities in the state to come up with a list of the 10 Worst Places to Live in Texas.
Using FBI crime data, census information, Bureau of Labor statistics and Sperling's Best Places, the site assessed cities based on population density, unemployment rates, median income, housing vacancy rates, education quality, commute times, crime rates and weather conditions.
So where is the No. 1 worst place to live in Texas?
So where is the No. 1 worst place to live in Texas? According to the ranking, it's Jacksonville in east Texas. With a population of just over 14,500, the city has a high crime rates (24th most dangerous in Texas) and features one of the lowest student expenditures (the amount of money spent per student) in the entire state.
No. 2 on the list is Port Arthur, where one in five homes is vacant and unemployment rates are nearly twice the national average.
Three of the Top 10 worst cities, according to the survey, are in the Houston area, although we might beg to ask, "What do they know?"
Tomball, located on the northern edge of Houston's suburbs, came in at No. 4 on the list with long commute times and a high home vacancy rate, And according to the survey, Tomball ranks almost dead last in terms of sunny days in Texas (huh?).
With a 38 percent vacancy rate (meaning one out of three homes is boarded up or unused), the beach town of Galveston is ranked No. 7 on the list. The island city also has high crime rates, a low median household income and is one of the least sunniest places in Texas (yes, that's what they say).
Freeport came in at No. 9, largely because students receive extremely low support, as spending per student and teacher-to-student ratios are far below average. "And when 1 in 5 homes aren’t occupied, that’s just a bad sign," the survey says.
Others in the Top 10 are Donna (3), Mercedes (5), Vidor (6), Weslaco (8) and Huntsville (10).
Among large Texas cities, Houston is ranked worst at No. 33, behind Beaumont (!) at 62. Dallas is No. 49, Fort Worth is No. 79, San Antonio is No. 87 and Austin is No. 147.
See where your city ranks here.
