Worst Small Towns In Texas For 2020


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in TX are the pits.

Sam Sparkes, RoadSnacks
December 27, 2019 - 86,268 views
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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2020. This is our sixth time ranking the worst small places to live in Texas.

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Most Americans have never been to Texas. However, as the people who live there know, Texas is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Texas has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Lone Star State. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 526 of Texas's smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Texas where you'd never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in Texas for 2020:

  1. Batesville
  2. Escobares
  3. La Pryor
  4. Fort Hancock
  5. Citrus City (Photos)
  6. Tenaha
  7. Rosita
  8. Skidmore
  9. Groveton
  10. Trinity (Photos)

So what is the worst small town to call home in texas for 2020? According to the most recent census data, Batesville is the worst small town to live in Texas.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since Texas has its stuff figured out.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Texas or the worst places to live in Texas.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Texas For 2020

1. Batesville

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 1,274
Rank Last Year: -
Median Home Value: $29,200 (1st worst)
Unemployment Rate: 15.8% (23rd worst)
More on Batesville:  Data

2. Escobares

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 2,529
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 4)
Median Home Value: $59,900 (88th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 16.0% (21st worst)
More on Escobares:  Data

3. La Pryor

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,487
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $41,800 (21st worst)
Unemployment Rate: 14.5% (32nd worst)
More on La Pryor:  Data

4. Fort Hancock

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 1,898
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $47,900 (40th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (239th worst)
More on Fort Hancock:  Data

5. Citrus City

Citrus City, TX

Source: Wikipedia
Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 3,275
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $51,800 (55th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 27.0% (1st worst)
More on Citrus City:  Data | Photos

6. Tenaha

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,402
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 4)
Median Home Value: $64,800 (113th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (130th worst)
More on Tenaha:  Data

7. Rosita

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 3,471
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 4)
Median Home Value: $73,200 (171st worst)
Unemployment Rate: 15.2% (27th worst)
More on Rosita:  Data

8. Skidmore

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,168
Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 7)
Median Home Value: $65,100 (116th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 19.9% (7th worst)
More on Skidmore:  Data

9. Groveton

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,302
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 5)
Median Home Value: $64,200 (112th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 18.4% (13th worst)
More on Groveton:  Data

10. Trinity

Trinity, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Tgarcia1950 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,754
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $55,000 (61st worst)
Unemployment Rate: 14.8% (30th worst)
More on Trinity:  Data | Photos

How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in Texas, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in Texas for 2020

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2014-2018 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there's no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which, there were a lot - 526 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

There You Have It - The Worst Small Towns In Texas

If you're analyzing teeny places in the Lone Star State with the worst economic situations, where there's high crime and there's not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Texas, according to science:

  1. The Hills (Pop. 2,559)
  2. Spring Valley Village (Pop. 4,239)
  3. Rollingwood (Pop. 1,569)

For more Texas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Texas

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Batesville 1,274 15.8% $29,200
2 Escobares 2,529 16.0% $59,900
3 La Pryor 1,487 14.5% $41,800
4 Fort Hancock 1,898 5.8% $47,900
5 Citrus City 3,275 27.0% $51,800
6 Tenaha 1,402 8.6% $64,800
7 Rosita 3,471 15.2% $73,200
8 Skidmore 1,168 19.9% $65,100
9 Groveton 1,302 18.4% $64,200
10 Trinity 2,754 14.8% $55,000
11 Presidio 4,067 15.2% $51,300
12 Agua Dulce 3,061 3.4% $65,300
13 Scissors 3,564 9.3% $58,300
14 Seth Ward 2,054 8.2% $37,300
15 Siesta Shores 1,477 10.2% $45,800
16 Laureles 4,788 5.6% $59,400
17 Las Lomas 2,786 18.7% $58,600
18 Sullivan City 4,141 8.0% $62,800
19 El Cenizo 3,248 8.7% $51,200
20 Indian Hills 2,959 3.0% $31,100
21 Ames 1,247 7.2% $65,100
22 Monte Alto 2,029 10.2% $54,600
23 Garrett 1,062 7.1% $72,000
24 Malakoff 2,960 13.7% $70,000
25 Santa Rosa 2,830 11.5% $39,400
26 San Carlos 3,659 7.0% $49,100
27 Las Quintas Fronterizas 1,914 14.9% $37,700
28 Tornillo 1,110 4.6% $74,400
29 Sparks 3,935 11.8% $49,600
30 San Diego 4,109 10.5% $36,900
31 La Joya 4,268 13.6% $84,900
32 Van Horn 1,894 7.5% $57,800
33 Hebbronville 4,662 14.0% $65,000
34 Rio Bravo 4,791 9.1% $62,900
35 Calvert 1,249 14.0% $86,500
36 San Augustine 1,815 11.5% $80,900
37 Memphis 2,259 13.0% $49,100
38 Holiday Lakes 1,060 9.9% $55,900
39 Lopezville 3,212 15.1% $67,800
40 La Villa 2,655 8.0% $50,800
41 Timpson 1,287 7.3% $60,300
42 South Alamo 3,731 11.3% $46,600
43 Ranger 2,863 4.8% $39,500
44 Lyford 2,581 16.8% $47,500
45 Jewett 1,009 7.5% $57,900
46 Onalaska 2,714 8.8% $52,800
47 Oyster Creek 1,278 14.3% $75,100
48 Hemphill 1,333 8.3% $70,700
49 Bloomington 1,855 19.1% $43,100
50 Barrett 3,691 11.9% $80,200
51 Huntington 2,320 13.8% $68,500
52 Siesta Acres 2,265 13.0% $65,700
53 Benavides 1,840 5.5% $37,900
54 Falfurrias 4,644 13.4% $61,400
55 Nocona 2,960 12.5% $67,200
56 Brackettville 1,831 4.8% $55,200
57 Paducah 1,325 10.6% $38,800
58 Vinton 1,773 8.5% $78,200
59 West Tawakoni 2,189 9.3% $64,200
60 Laguna Heights 3,155 2.7% $37,100
61 Charlotte 1,605 10.8% $48,500
62 Shepherd 3,296 13.7% $87,300
63 Spur 1,089 18.2% $46,500
64 North Alamo 4,447 3.8% $40,900
65 Chula Vista Cdp (Maverick County) 3,922 19.4% $79,500
66 Waskom 1,887 10.1% $82,400
67 Olivarez 4,246 2.6% $73,800
68 Cooper 2,213 8.1% $56,300
69 Dilley 4,318 20.6% $46,800
70 Mathis 4,899 7.2% $52,500
71 Ivanhoe 1,391 14.4% $61,600
72 Premont 2,603 13.5% $51,600
73 Anton 1,123 10.6% $55,000
74 Troup 2,169 18.9% $85,000
75 Linden 2,088 22.0% $77,100
76 Patton Village 1,491 5.6% $61,700
77 Lake Medina Shores 1,449 5.3% $67,500
78 La Grulla 1,582 6.0% $45,900
79 Morton 1,937 6.6% $31,600
80 Lorenzo 1,173 6.7% $63,300
81 Electra 2,721 12.9% $30,000
82 Somerville 1,594 14.0% $77,700
83 Pelican Bay 1,620 11.5% $44,000
84 Crosbyton 1,781 4.4% $47,500
85 Von Ormy 1,128 3.4% $59,400
86 Ore City 1,109 10.4% $75,600
87 New Waverly 1,067 10.0% $89,600
88 Fifth Street 2,047 2.1% $31,100
89 Santa Anna 1,174 5.0% $57,100
90 Poteet 3,429 11.8% $57,600
91 Zapata 4,585 5.5% $81,400
92 Southmayd 1,007 14.1% $57,100
93 Perezville 4,612 5.2% $69,700
94 Kerens 1,735 8.3% $74,000
95 Sabinal 1,655 11.4% $65,000
96 Wellington 2,158 12.0% $45,400
97 Daingerfield 2,777 9.7% $59,800
98 Haskell 3,240 13.6% $58,800
99 Reid Hope King 1,081 0.0% $55,000
100 Hubbard 1,547 7.9% $76,300
Download The Entire Texas Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

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