The 10 Worst Dallas Suburbs For 2023


We used data and Friday Night Science to identify the worst suburbs of Dallas for 2023. The worst Dallas suburbs are Hutchins and Seagoville.

The suburbs of Dallas call to all types of people looking to escape city live. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Dallas to avoid all the hustle and bustle.

So the question arises, do the suburbs maintain a semblance of the larger-than-life appeal of their more famous neighbor?

Today, we’ll use science and data to determine which Dallas ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Dallas area if you will. Realistically, you can’t expect all the suburbs to live up to Dallas proper, although University Park certainly tries.

Of course, not all suburbs of Dallas are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones..

We examined the 77 biggest suburbs of Dallas to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Texas lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Dallas in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Dallas for 2023:

  1. Hutchins
  2. Seagoville
  3. Balch Springs
  4. Wilmer
  5. Palmer
  6. Terrell
  7. Combine
  8. Lancaster
  9. Cockrell Hill
  10. Ferris

What’s the worst suburb of Dallas? Hutchins ranks as the worst suburb of Dallas for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Dallas that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don’t blame the messenger.

Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Texas check out the best places in Texas overall or the worst.

And remember, there are some good places to live around Dallas too.



For more Texas reading, check out:

The 10 Worst Dallas Suburbs To Live For 2023

Hutchins, TX

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,613
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $40,129 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.3% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $80,700 (2nd lowest)
More on Hutchins:  Data | Photos

We’ll get the ball rolling with Hutchins, the absolute worst place to live around Dallas according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, Hutchins beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Dallas area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.

But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Hutchins.

You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area, there aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.

Seagoville, TX

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 18,263
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $59,950 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.3% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $162,800 (9th lowest)
More on Seagoville:  Data | Photos

Welcome to Seagoville. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.

This city is 16.1 miles to Dallas. Income levels here are the 6th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $59,950 a year, which doesn’t go a long ways even on a shoestring budget.

But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.

Balch Springs, TX

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 27,369
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $55,817 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $153,600 (7th lowest)
More on Balch Springs:  Data | Photos

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Dallas suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Balch Springs on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.

In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school drop out rate is poor compared to other Dallas suburbs.

But at least there are nice parks to bring the kids during the day.

Wilmer, TX

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,064
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $58,187 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.1% (62nd highest)
Median Home Value: $73,900 (lowest)
More on Wilmer:  Data | Photos

If you live in Wilmer, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 5th lowest Dallas suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the 62nd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Dallas. Remember, we looked at 77 cities for this study.

Wilmer is about 14.3 miles to downtown.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,496
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 5)
Median Income: $75,313 (23rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.9% (18th highest)
Median Home Value: $110,300 (3rd lowest)
More on Palmer:  Data

Palmer has the distinction of being a Dallas suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Palmer has the 3rd lowest home values in the metro Dallas area, where the median price is $110,300. To put that into perspective, in University Park, the median income is $247,045, which is the best in the area.

Palmer has an unemployment rate of 5.9% which ranks 18th worst.

Terrell, TX

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 17,083
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 2)
Median Income: $57,904 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (26th highest)
Median Home Value: $145,900 (6th lowest)
More on Terrell:  Data | Photos

Terrell has 17,083 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)

Incomes are towards the bottom and the poverty rate sits at 13.385115606936415%.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,721
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $82,341 (32nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $202,900 (16th lowest)
More on Combine:  Data

Ah, Combine. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Dallas.

It’s the place with the 11th most out of work residents in the Dallas metro area (6.81%).

Lancaster, TX

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 41,057
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $59,952 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.1% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $161,600 (8th lowest)
More on Lancaster:  Data | Photos

Lancaster is a city about 13.9 miles from Dallas, but Dallas probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb for 2018.

You’d be hard pressed to find a worse place to live. Lancaster has the 34th most uninsured people, 7th worst incomes, and has the 9th highest unemployment rate (7.08%) in the entire Dallas metro area.

Homes only cost $161,600 for a reason. That’s cheap for Dallas standards.

Cockrell Hill, TX

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,858
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $54,088 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.7% (12th highest)
Median Home Value: $122,600 (4th lowest)
More on Cockrell Hill:  Data | Photos

If you absolutely have to live near Dallas, then Cockrell Hill might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Dallas suburb.

About 6.72% of residents are out of work.

Ferris, TX

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,736
Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 6)
Median Income: $64,725 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 0.7% (77th highest)
Median Home Value: $128,900 (5th lowest)
More on Ferris:  Data | Photos

Rounding out the ten worst Dallas suburbs to call home is Ferris.

Located 18.5 miles outside the city, Ferriss is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 77th highest unemployment rate (0.68%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Dallas for 2023

To figure out how bad a Dallas suburb is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2017-2021, this is the criteria we used:

  • High unemployment rate
  • Low median household incomes
  • Low population density (no things to do)
  • Low home values
  • A lot of high school drop outs
  • High poverty
  • High rate of uninsured families

FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Dallas.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 77 suburbs to evaluate around Dallas.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 77 in each category, where 1 was the “worst”.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index the “Worst Suburb near Dallas.” We’re lookin’ at you, Hutchins.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the worst of the worst. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from worst to best.

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 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Dallas.

Summary: The areas around Dallas where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023

Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Dallas with Hutchins casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Dallas aren’t all bad. University Park takes the cake as the best place to live around Dallas.

  • University Park
  • Highland Park
  • Southlake

For more Texas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Dallas Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Hutchins 5,613 $40,129 $80,700
2 Seagoville 18,263 $59,950 $162,800
3 Balch Springs 27,369 $55,817 $153,600
4 Wilmer 5,064 $58,187 $73,900
5 Palmer 2,496 $75,313 $110,300
6 Terrell 17,083 $57,904 $145,900
7 Combine 2,721 $82,341 $202,900
8 Lancaster 41,057 $59,952 $161,600
9 Cockrell Hill 3,858 $54,088 $122,600
10 Ferris 2,736 $64,725 $128,900
11 Duncanville 40,575 $60,666 $178,800
12 Garland 245,075 $65,278 $190,700
13 Mesquite 149,848 $63,706 $170,600
14 Grand Prairie 195,992 $73,352 $203,600
15 Glenn Heights 15,741 $81,202 $196,700
16 Arlington 392,304 $65,481 $210,800
17 Cedar Hill 48,968 $77,703 $205,300
18 Irving 254,184 $69,961 $218,900
19 Crandall 3,779 $93,558 $208,100
20 Desoto 55,761 $79,570 $215,100
21 Waxahachie 39,815 $74,789 $227,700
22 Lewisville 110,077 $71,953 $254,600
23 Richland Hills 8,505 $67,266 $178,900
24 Hurst 40,114 $67,063 $222,800
25 Farmers Branch 36,091 $77,306 $233,600
26 Watauga 23,649 $78,379 $170,000
27 Forney 22,770 $93,803 $236,600
28 Euless 60,134 $69,912 $235,100
29 Lakewood 62,972 $60,534 $331,500
30 Lake Dallas 7,594 $64,921 $209,000
31 Wylie 55,426 $98,994 $267,800
32 Little Elm 45,124 $101,693 $293,200
33 Ovilla 4,120 $100,882 $295,000
34 Red Oak 13,956 $86,902 $249,700
35 Richardson 115,904 $87,720 $326,900
36 Pantego 2,543 $79,417 $280,500
37 Shady Shores 2,759 $117,679 $348,500
38 Kennedale 8,342 $102,217 $268,800
39 Carrollton 131,388 $87,299 $283,800
40 North Richland Hills 69,817 $80,932 $250,600
41 Sunnyvale 7,647 $137,656 $409,900
42 Addison 16,405 $74,012 $356,200
43 Grapevine 50,548 $99,667 $370,100
44 Midlothian 33,914 $107,532 $284,500
45 Rowlett 62,606 $102,965 $256,500
46 Fate 17,403 $114,280 $286,200
47 Hackberry 2,720 $109,125 $308,700
48 Bedford 49,576 $76,409 $255,400
49 The Colony 43,489 $96,901 $272,200
50 Sachse 26,797 $114,593 $283,000
51 Mansfield 71,375 $105,579 $302,000
52 Plano 282,181 $99,729 $358,100
53 Fairview 10,062 $92,326 $412,800
54 Oak Point 4,550 $97,308 $297,800
55 Mckinney 189,394 $106,437 $349,600
56 Parker 5,352 $177,413 $700,800
57 Rockwall 46,150 $107,301 $295,600
58 Dalworthington Gardens 2,372 $115,875 $408,600
59 Lavon 4,412 $100,714 $253,900
60 Mclendon-Chisholm 3,437 $131,490 $458,800
61 Murphy 20,655 $147,257 $396,300
62 Hickory Creek 4,669 $128,529 $361,200
63 Allen 102,778 $118,254 $344,100
64 Talty 2,420 $127,115 $365,200
65 Double Oak 3,020 $172,000 $554,800
66 Frisco 193,140 $134,210 $448,000
67 Flower Mound 75,050 $145,153 $398,500
68 Heath 9,362 $193,767 $543,400
69 Keller 45,190 $149,822 $425,100
70 Colleyville 25,827 $180,698 $586,400
71 Lucas 7,437 $159,563 $674,600
72 Trophy Club 12,659 $170,679 $492,000
73 Highland 18,913 $156,136 $644,400
74 Coppell 42,420 $130,805 $431,500
75 Southlake 30,754 $239,833 $723,800
76 Highland Park 8,895 $234,427 $1,541,500
77 University Park 25,029 $247,045 $1,380,600

About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.