The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Texas For 2022

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Texas For 2022

We're taking a trip down to the border to reach our most dangerous city in Texas for 2022, Palmview. Palmview earned this unfortunate distinction by having a mix of high property and violent crime. Overall, the city experienced about twice as much crime as your typical American city in 2020.

The good news first: Palmview has the lowest rate of rape cases anywhere on this list. The bad news is you still have a 1 in 21 of being the victim of a property crime.

If you need to get away from the stress of Palmview's high crime rate, Bensten-Rio Grande Valley State Park offers some anxiety-reducing bird-watching opportunities.

It's good to be humble, but it's dangerous to live in Humble, Texas, a city 20 miles north of Houston. While Palmview took the top spot on this list thanks to its egregious amount of violent crime, Humble actually has the highest overall crime rate statewide, outstripping the national average by over 300%.

That's mostly due to a crazy high rate of property crime, with a typical resident facing a 1 in 12 chance of having their possessions damaged or stolen.

Sadly, the bad news doesn't end there. Humble also has the highest frequency of rape cases in all of Texas, as well as the highest murder rate of any place on this list. If you need a moment to get away from the anxiety of high crime, the Mercer Botanic Gardens make for a good sanctuary.

Our tour of the most dangerous places to live in Texas takes u to Bellmead, a city just outside of Waco. Bellmead earned this spot on the list mostly thanks to having the fifth highest rate of violent crime in the state, with residents facing a 1 in 95 chance of being the victim of violence in a given year.

On the bright side, Bellmead didn't experience a single murder in 2020, but the odds being attacked are still quite high. Bellmead also has an uncomfortable amount of property crime, seeing as a resident has a 1 in 19 chance of having their stuff stolen or damaged.

In other words, if you're hanging out one of the parks that flank the suspension bridge to Waco, be sure to bring a buddy and get home before sunset.

Houston, we have a problem: namely, crime. As far as the Houston-Dallas rivalry goes, Houston is the definite loser in terms of criminal activity, seeing as Dallas isn't even in the top fifty most dangerous cities statewide. Violent crime is the major problem in Houston, with 29,474 cases of people being killed, attacked, or raped in 2020. That adds up to a 1 in 79 chance of being the victim of such a crime -- not great.

You can still definitely have a nice day out at Discovery Green, downtown Houston's public urban park, but we do recommend buddying up after dark. That, and doing your best to avoid Houston's worst neighborhoods.

Located in the South Plains region of northwestern Texas, Lubbock comes in as the fifth most dangerous place to call home in the state. Lubbock experienced 28 murders in 2020, greatly contributing to the city's status as the place with the fourth highest rate of violent crime in the state.

Property crime is also quite high, with an average of 32 such cases happening every day in Lubbock. So when your parents tell you to be safe before sending you off to Texas Tech University, they're not just being paranoid.

Webster was originally named Gardentown when it was first founded in the late 19th century. "Urbanland" probably would make more sense today. The community now sits within the city sprawl surrounding Houston, with Webster located about a half hour southeast of the center of country's fourth largest city.

Being part of a major metropolis has its upsides, of course. But there are challenges involved as well. Unfortunately, crime represents one of the major issues facing this community. Violence is relatively rare around town. However, property crime has reached epidemic proportions, including the state's number 2 highest pace of larcenies.

From the very far south, we head to the far north to reach Amarillo, the most populous city in the Texas Panhandle. While Alamo has been getting safer, Amarillo has been steadily getting more dangerous in recent years. Folks here have a 1 in 119 chance of being the victim of a violent crime over a year, with about three aggravated assaults taking place each day.

There were also 7,369 property crimes in 2020, which is quite high for a city of 200,296. On the fun side, Palo Duro Canyon, the second-biggest canyon in America is located just outside of Amarillo. Just be careful about taking pictures, or your visit could be just as dangerous as the city itself!

Aransas Pass sits along the coast, in the southeast part of Texas. The town, which is located a short drive outside of Corpus Christi, offers access to a fair amount of outdoor activity. Visitors can enjoy kayaking and fishing in the Redfish Bay.

However, don't let your guard down as you head to the water. There are criminal elements in town, making this the number 8 most dangerous spot in Texas. The main problem in town comes from burglaries, which occur at an extremely high rate. There were 87 such crimes last year in a population of 8,414.

Alice has a rich cultural history. The town is known as the "Birthplace of Tejano Music," a distinction it gets because a recording studio that helped launch the genre in the 1940s was located in town. Beyond that, Alice has storied history in science. Two Nobel Prize winners were born in this southeast Texas town.

But Alice has another distinction that's not so appealing. It's also the number 9 most dangerous spot in Texas. This comes as a result of high rates of burglary and arson.

Dallas represents one of the country's largest metropolitan areas. Also, one of its most iconic -- in many ways, when people outside of Texas think of the state, their minds turn to Dallas.

Given its size and rich history, the city offers its residents wide ranging amenities. From professional sports teams to botanical gardens to art museums, whatever your taste in recreational activities, you can likely find something to do in Dallas.

However, like most big cities, Dallas also faces down a sizable crime problem. Violent crime represents a particular concern. The city reported 236 murders and 569 sexual assaults in a year. Dallas also faces a high rate of car thefts and robberies.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Texas FAQs

Is Texas a dangerous state?

Yes, Texas is a dangerous state as it ranks as the #11 most dangerous state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in texas ranks 15th highest in the United States -- 15.13% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Lone Star State ranks 14th highest in the United States -- 14.65% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020.

Is Houston, TX a dangerous city?

Yes, Houston is a dangerous city. Houston ranks as the #29 most dangerous out of 320 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Houston might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, West University is the safest in Houston, while Far North is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Houston ranks 20th highest in America -- 128.87% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 39th highest in the United States -- 57.35% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020 and that no city in America is 'dangerous'. Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.