Recently, the Washington Post published a study on the smartest states in America.
In the categories of SAT scores and college graduation rate, Texas ranked as the 39th dumbest state in America, a little smarter than New Mexico, but dumber than Georgia.
We’ll be looking at high school completion rates rather than college-related metrics of smartness, for the sake of figuring out which cities in Texas are contributing to the stupidity in the state more than the rest.
After crunching the numbers, we came up with this list of the ten dumbest cities in the Lone Star State:
- Mathis
- Elsa (Photos)
- San Diego
- Robstown (Photos)
- Yoakum (Photos)
- Sinton
- Bellmead (Photos)
- Sullivan City
- Marlin (Photos)
- Haskell (Photos)
For more Texas reading, check out:
How we determined the dumbest cities in the Lone Star State
We realize that formal education isn’t everything when it comes to being smart, but on the other hand not knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So we narrowed down our criteria to focus both on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Texas:
- % of city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of high school drop outs (Ages 16-19)
Note: We only looked at cities with populations greater than 2,000, leaving us 457 cities in Texas to rank. We also looked at the graduation rates of the entire population, not the current rates for high schoolers.
1. Mathis
Population: 2,964
Adults Without High School Diploma: 44.9%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 17.8%
When you look at the numbers, Mathis, a little city outside of Corpus Christi, is the dumbest city in the state of Texas.
Almost 45% of the city doesn’t even have a high school degree by the age of 25 years old. Surprisingly, that’s only the 15th lowest rate in the state. Meaning there are 14 ‘dumber’ adult populations in Texas.
When you factor in the 18% teenage dropout rate, that adds up to a population that’s highly uneducated, from the top down.
2. Elsa
Population: 3,467
Adults Without High School Diploma: 48.5%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 14.8%
Elsa is a teeny place just outside of Brownsville, where the adult population without a high school diploma is actually closer to 50%, which is the 9th highest rate in Texas.
The kids in Elsa are actually a little smarter than those in Mathis – ‘only’ 15% of the kids ages 16-19 are currently not attending school.
3. San Diego
Population: 3,014
Adults Without High School Diploma: 36.6%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 24.2%
It’s the teens in San Diego that are really dumbing down the population, which might be a long-term problem at some point if things aren’t handled correctly. Almost a quarter of the high schoolers here aren’t attending high school.
The adult population is far less uneducated than those in Elsa and Mathis. However, when an adult graduation rate of 67% is considered ‘good’, that means Texas has a huge uneducated population on its hands.
4. Robstown
Population: 6,827
Adults Without High School Diploma: 37.3%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 18.9%
The Corpus Christi area (and the region near the Mexican border) seems to be the most uneducated population in The Lone Star State. That might not come as a surprise to you.
Both the adults and teens are far above the state average in terms of intelligence levels. That’s setting up this small city for a fate of stupidity that it might not recover from for a generation.
5. Yoakum
Population: 3,593
Adults Without High School Diploma: 34.6%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 25.8%
More than 25% of Yoakum teens have dropped out of high school, which is the 10th highest rate in the state, and one of the highest rates you’ll see in the entire country.
That doesn’t bode well, as the adults are already dumb enough, when you consider than 1 in 3 didn’t get a GED by the age of 25.
Yoakum is just about halfway between San Antonio and Houston.
6. Sinton
Population: 3,497
Adults Without High School Diploma: 40.6%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 14.7%
Sinton teens are actually a lot closer to the state average when it comes to the drop out rate, but it’s the adults that make this small city outside of Corpus Christi one of the dumbest cities in the state. More than 4 in 10 adults is walking around without even a basic education here.
7. Bellmead
Population: 5,888
Adults Without High School Diploma: 33.7%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 21.8%
This Waco suburb is in the bottom 10% for adult education levels, and in the bottom 3% for teenage education levels. That puts it far behind the rest of the state when it comes to intelligence levels, and certainly one of the last places in which to start a Book of the Month club.
8. Sullivan City
Population: 2,234
Adults Without High School Diploma: 58.5%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 10.9%
This is an interesting place. There’s only one other city with more dumb adults in the state of Texas (the border town of Presidio). In Sullivan City (also a border town), nearly 6 in 10 adults has never finished high school.
The interesting thing about Sullivan City is that the kids are actually attending class at a much higher rate than their parents. That gives hope to the border towns of Texas that perhaps the next generation of kids are attempting to better their lives by finishing school.
9. Marlin
Population: 3,827
Adults Without High School Diploma: 31.9%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 23.3%
Marlin is just outside of Waco. The educational situation is the opposite of Sullivan City. The adults are twice as smart, but the kids are twice as dumb as they are in Sullivan City. Add it up, and Marlin has one of the least educated populations in the state.
10. Haskell
Population: 2,400
Adults Without High School Diploma: 31.5%
Teenage High School Drop Outs: 25.0%
Haskell is the only city on this list that’s not in southern Texas. A short drive north of Abilene, the teens are dropping out at a higher rate than just about every other city in the state. Factor in an already uneducated adult population, and you have a long-term problem here.
Putting a dunce cap on our analysis
If you’re measuring the locations in Texas where there are a high number of teenage dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate list.
Where are the smartest cities in Texas? Fair Oaks Ranch, Bee Cave, Hunters Creek Village, West University Place and Piney Point Village. Fair Oaks Ranch is a San Antonio suburb and Bee Cave is outside of Austin. The last three are Houston ‘burbs.
We also wrote about the 10 worst places to live in Texas if you wanted to read that story:
Detailed List Of Dumbest Cities In Texas
City | Rank |
---|---|
Mathis | 1 |
Elsa | 2 |
San Diego | 3 |
Robstown | 4 |
Yoakum | 5 |
Sinton | 6 |
Bellmead | 7 |
Sullivan City | 8 |
Marlin | 9 |
Haskell | 10 |
La Feria | 11 |
Hempstead | 12 |
Alton | 13 |
Pearsall | 14 |
Balch Springs | 15 |
Dilley | 16 |
Karnes City | 17 |
Rio Bravo | 18 |
Rio Grande City | 19 |
Alamo | 20 |
Jacinto City | 21 |
Stamford | 22 |
Friona | 23 |
Hidalgo | 24 |
La Joya | 25 |
Comanche | 26 |
Cotulla | 27 |
Navasota | 28 |
Colorado City | 29 |
Freeport | 30 |
Clute | 31 |
Falfurrias | 32 |
Mineral Wells | 33 |
Littlefield | 34 |
Dublin | 35 |
Roma | 36 |
Carrizo Springs | 37 |
Pilot Point | 38 |
San Benito | 39 |
Kermit | 40 |
Donna | 41 |
Llano | 42 |
Port Arthur | 43 |
Gatesville | 44 |
San Juan | 45 |
Richmond | 46 |
Abernathy | 47 |
Hondo | 48 |
Plainview | 49 |
Dumas | 50 |
Sansom Park | 51 |
South Houston | 52 |
Corsicana | 53 |
Crane | 54 |
Coleman | 55 |
Sweetwater | 56 |
Forest Hill | 57 |
Laredo | 58 |
Bridgeport | 59 |
Pittsburg | 60 |
Willis | 61 |
Whitesboro | 62 |
McAllen | 63 |
Kirby | 64 |
Bonham | 65 |
Gladewater | 66 |
Lampasas | 67 |
Anthony | 68 |
Mount Pleasant | 69 |
Brookshire | 70 |
Crystal City | 71 |
Hereford | 72 |
Manor | 73 |
Dalhart | 74 |
Odessa | 75 |
Weslaco | 76 |
Alice | 77 |
Port Isabel | 78 |
Kaufman | 79 |
Kingsville | 80 |
Brownsville | 81 |
River Oaks | 82 |
Jacksboro | 83 |
Eagle Pass | 84 |
Vernon | 85 |
Carthage | 86 |
Harlingen | 87 |
Los Fresnos | 88 |
Venus | 89 |
Del Rio | 90 |
Dimmitt | 91 |
Dallas | 92 |
Center | 93 |
Wills Point | 94 |
Rosenberg | 95 |
Devine | 96 |
Haltom City | 97 |
Primera | 98 |
Rusk | 99 |
Gilmer | 100 |
Elgin | 101 |
Jasper | 102 |
Pharr | 103 |
Terrell | 104 |
Joshua | 105 |
Lamesa | 106 |
Brownfield | 107 |
Bryan | 108 |
Progreso | 109 |
Gun Barrel City | 110 |
Conroe | 111 |
Cleveland | 112 |
Houston | 113 |
Nocona | 114 |
Lake Worth | 115 |
Jacksonville | 116 |
Henderson | 117 |
Hitchcock | 118 |
Diboll | 119 |
Edna | 120 |
Hudson | 121 |
Penitas | 122 |
Wharton | 123 |
Palmview | 124 |
Cuero | 125 |
Webster | 126 |
Lufkin | 127 |
El Campo | 128 |
Aransas Pass | 129 |
Big Spring | 130 |
Seguin | 131 |
Alvarado | 132 |
Raymondville | 133 |
Socorro | 134 |
Irving | 135 |
Crockett | 136 |
Canton | 137 |
Mission | 138 |
Breckenridge | 139 |
Pasadena | 140 |
Farmersville | 141 |
Greenville | 142 |
Pecos | 143 |
Cleburne | 144 |
Athens | 145 |
Beeville | 146 |
Uvalde | 147 |
Childress | 148 |
White Settlement | 149 |
Teague | 150 |
Eastland | 151 |
Galena Park | 152 |
Victoria | 153 |
Hillsboro | 154 |
Wilmer | 155 |
Royse City | 156 |
Tulia | 157 |
Granbury | 158 |
Spearman | 159 |
Paris | 160 |
Floresville | 161 |
Amarillo | 162 |
Presidio | 163 |
Dickinson | 164 |
Gonzales | 165 |
Tomball | 166 |
Cockrell Hill | 167 |
La Marque | 168 |
Graham | 169 |
Perryton | 170 |
Palacios | 171 |
Fredericksburg | 172 |
Clarksville | 173 |
Post | 174 |
Reno city (Lamar County) | 175 |
Eagle Lake | 176 |
New Boston | 177 |
Bay City | 178 |
Eden | 179 |
Garland | 180 |
Mercedes | 181 |
Fort Worth | 182 |
Sherman | 183 |
Alvin | 184 |
Big Lake | 185 |
Hearne | 186 |
Denver City | 187 |
El Paso | 188 |
Levelland | 189 |
Lewisville | 190 |
Sulphur Springs | 191 |
McGregor | 192 |
Waco | 193 |
Galveston | 194 |
Fort Stockton | 195 |
Gainesville | 196 |
Borger | 197 |
Muleshoe | 198 |
Lockhart | 199 |
Seminole | 200 |
Brady | 201 |
Lancaster | 202 |
Bowie | 203 |
Decatur | 204 |
Sanger | 205 |
Seagoville | 206 |
San Antonio | 207 |
Kenedy | 208 |
Longview | 209 |
Brenham | 210 |
Giddings | 211 |
Burnet | 212 |
Slaton | 213 |
Midland | 214 |
Georgetown | 215 |
Groesbeck | 216 |
Hutchins | 217 |
Corpus Christi | 218 |
Baytown | 219 |
Boerne | 220 |
Granite Shoals | 221 |
Hutto | 222 |
Mexia | 223 |
Port Lavaca | 224 |
Grand Prairie | 225 |
Hickory Creek | 226 |
Texas City | 227 |
Snyder | 228 |
Luling | 229 |
Alpine | 230 |
Denison | 231 |
Marshall | 232 |
San Angelo | 233 |
Jersey Village | 234 |
Katy | 235 |
Edinburg | 236 |
Azle | 237 |
La Grange | 238 |
Pampa | 239 |
Clifton | 240 |
Universal City | 241 |
Taft | 242 |
Converse | 243 |
Kyle | 244 |
Tyler | 245 |
Crowley | 246 |
Orange | 247 |
Bishop | 248 |
Roanoke | 249 |
Glenn Heights | 250 |
Mesquite | 251 |
Monahans | 252 |
Richwood | 253 |
Everman | 254 |
Silsbee | 255 |
Abilene | 256 |
Andrews | 257 |
Belton | 258 |
Carrollton | 259 |
Arlington | 260 |
Ennis | 261 |
Taylor | 262 |
Cameron | 263 |
Hewitt | 264 |
Madisonville | 265 |
Leon Valley | 266 |
Ovilla | 267 |
Groves | 268 |
Bastrop | 269 |
Duncanville | 270 |
Lytle | 271 |
Lubbock | 272 |
Nacogdoches | 273 |
Beaumont | 274 |
Huntsville | 275 |
Grapevine | 276 |
Port Neches | 277 |
Caldwell | 278 |
Rockdale | 279 |
West Columbia | 280 |
Dayton | 281 |
Ballinger | 282 |
Commerce | 283 |
Richland Hills | 284 |
Deer Park | 285 |
Fairview | 286 |
Kilgore | 287 |
Morgan’s Point Resort | 288 |
Stafford | 289 |
Columbus | 290 |
Watauga | 291 |
Denton | 292 |
Hamilton | 293 |
Liberty | 294 |
Humble | 295 |
Weatherford | 296 |
Pleasanton | 297 |
Atlanta | 298 |
Austin | 299 |
Smithville | 300 |
Mineola | 301 |
Highland Park | 302 |
Bridge City | 303 |
Farmers Branch | 304 |
Cisco | 305 |
Lucas | 306 |
Keene | 307 |
Horizon City | 308 |
Killeen | 309 |
Kerrville | 310 |
Oak Point | 311 |
Brownwood | 312 |
DeSoto | 313 |
Jourdanton | 314 |
Ingleside | 315 |
Sealy | 316 |
Wichita Falls | 317 |
Lacy-Lakeview | 318 |
Euless | 319 |
New Braunfels | 320 |
Waxahachie | 321 |
Mabank | 322 |
Canyon | 323 |
Santa Fe | 324 |
Castroville | 325 |
Angleton | 326 |
Palestine | 327 |
Hurst | 328 |
Livingston | 329 |
Texarkana | 330 |
La Porte | 331 |
McKinney | 332 |
West Orange | 333 |
San Marcos | 334 |
Spring Valley Village | 335 |
Stephenville | 336 |
Rockwall | 337 |
Nolanville | 338 |
Sachse | 339 |
Marble Falls | 340 |
Helotes | 341 |
Temple | 342 |
Wolfforth | 343 |
Red Oak | 344 |
North Richland Hills | 345 |
Benbrook | 346 |
Rockport | 347 |
Frisco | 348 |
Pearland | 349 |
Princeton | 350 |
Midlothian | 351 |
Lake Jackson | 352 |
Burkburnett | 353 |
League City | 354 |
Portland | 355 |
Cedar Hill | 356 |
West Lake Hills | 357 |
Manvel | 358 |
Anna | 359 |
Lindale | 360 |
Saginaw | 361 |
Round Rock | 362 |
Harker Heights | 363 |
Bellville | 364 |
Prosper | 365 |
Wylie | 366 |
Kennedale | 367 |
Bulverde | 368 |
Pflugerville | 369 |
Vidor | 370 |
Missouri City | 371 |
Buda | 372 |
Lumberton | 373 |
Leander | 374 |
South Padre Island | 375 |
Fate | 376 |
Burleson | 377 |
Little Elm | 378 |
White Oak | 379 |
Shavano Park | 380 |
Rowlett | 381 |
Bedford | 382 |
Iowa Park | 383 |
The Colony | 384 |
Sweeny | 385 |
Live Oak | 386 |
Plano | 387 |
Clyde | 388 |
Edgecliff Village | 389 |
Richardson | 390 |
Robinson | 391 |
Mansfield | 392 |
Mont Belvieu | 393 |
Allen | 394 |
Sunnyvale | 395 |
Selma | 396 |
Castle Hills | 397 |
Sugar Land | 398 |
Murphy | 399 |
Van Alstyne | 400 |
Krum | 401 |
Cibolo | 402 |
Forney | 403 |
Justin | 404 |
Corinth | 405 |
Laguna Vista | 406 |
Schertz | 407 |
Wake Village | 408 |
Copperas Cove | 409 |
Lake Dallas | 410 |
Addison | 411 |
Lago Vista | 412 |
Coppell | 413 |
Oak Ridge North | 414 |
Cedar Park | 415 |
College Station | 416 |
Parker | 417 |
Melissa | 418 |
Meadows Place | 419 |
Friendswood | 420 |
Nassau Bay | 421 |
Celina | 422 |
Keller | 423 |
Windcrest | 424 |
Hollywood Park | 425 |
Nederland | 426 |
Whitehouse | 427 |
Port Aransas | 428 |
Seabrook | 429 |
Woodway | 430 |
Willow Park | 431 |
Taylor Lake Village | 432 |
Flower Mound | 433 |
Lakeway | 434 |
Colleyville | 435 |
DeCordova | 436 |
Southlake | 437 |
Horseshoe Bay | 438 |
Hallsville | 439 |
Bunker Hill Village | 440 |
Terrell Hills | 441 |
Highland Village | 442 |
Providence Village | 443 |
Heath | 444 |
Weston Lakes | 445 |
Bellaire | 446 |
Argyle | 447 |
Trophy Club | 448 |
Hideaway | 449 |
Alamo Heights | 450 |
University Park | 451 |
Garden Ridge | 452 |
Piney Point Village | 453 |
West University Place | 454 |
Hunters Creek Village | 455 |
Bee Cave | 456 |
Fair Oaks Ranch | 457 |
I wouldn’t call Bellmead or Marlin “south Texas”…….
WOW this is embarrassingly inaccurate for the people who live in these towns. Not to mention really really inconsiderate.
I would like to invite whoever wrote this article to come to South Texas to our University of Texas RVG and take a refresher course in research journalism. I have lived in South Texas for 39 years. Although I am not Hispanic, I am a semi-retired bilingual teacher who has worked at the elementary school in Sullivan City. It is active and vital; a school going places. Sullivan City is located in LaJoya ISD, where I often work as a substitute. LaJoya places a lot of emphasis on the arts and music as well as academics and sports.
This article doesn’t even mention that a lot of these students don’t speak English and come from poor families. Due to its location, the community may always have a lot of newly arrived immigrants who are from disadvantaged backgrounds. It might mean fewer high school diplomas among them to begin with, but so help me, it doesn’t mean that these people or the city is “dumb.” Many of even the poorest people still support their kids in their education and that is SMART.
It is pretty clear this “writer” is not well educated by any means. It’s interesting they would choose to write an article calling out supposed “dumb” people in such a hypocritical fashion. I get that he’s an un-educated troll-type writer who relies on click bait, nonsensical journalism to make a living, but this article just makes him look really foolish.
I think you need to change your assertion on the city of Haskell! It is one of the finest places in the state of Texas to live!
I agree with Linda Teuling. The authors of this article are pretty dumb and uneducated on how to do research. It should be pretty obvious that the so-called dumbest cities are also those likely to have the highest ratios of uneducated illegal alien agricultural workers.
Thanks for your vote of confidence.
Speaking of dumb; this so-called “article” is as ignorant as it is racist. Some of the adults who do not have degrees were explicitly swatted with wooden boards for practicing elements of Hispanic culture in at least one of these towns. In addition, as immigrants they were assigned to a 1st grade class even if they were 15 and well educated. They were denied the opportunity to advance more than one grade per year, and many students were required to repeat grades; not to mention separate (and unequal) facilities. If you create a hellish, racist schooling environment, and then call people “stupid” for choosing not to subject themselves to that level of degradation, that’s simply adding insult to injury. While practices today are less explicitly racially biased, there is a vast inequity that is not statistically randomized, as one would expect in a meritorious society. And just because you tried to write a “clever” article to score a check and make a living doesn’t absolve you of responsibility for perpetuating racist notions of dumbness.
And just exactly where do these “facts” come from?
It seems a bit hypocritical to judge so called ‘dumb’ people when you struggle considerably with proper grammar. If you plan on throwing rocks at your neighbors house, you better live in a house made of steel.
This article is light on facts for example according to the census bureau, Yoakum had a population of over 5800, and a rate of people under 25 without a high school diploma if 22% Go to the census bureau American factfinder, so it appears your info is in error
Talk about dumb, look at what the author wrote: “In the categories of SAT scores and college graduation rate, Texas ranked as the 39th dumbest state in America, a little smarter than New Mexico, but dumber than Georgia.” If you are the first dumbest state that is bad. If you are the 50th dumbest state, you are the smartest. So the 39th dumbest state is actually pretty good!