The 10 Worst Dallas Suburbs


The worst Dallas suburbs are Wilmer and Seagoville based on Saturday Night Science. Find out where your town ranks.

More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Dallas to avoid all the hustle and bustle.

So the question arises: what suburbs of Dallas are the worst?

Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Dallas ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Dallas area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Dallas proper, although Southlake certainly tries.

We examined the 78 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.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 worst suburbs around Dallas for 2024

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

Now don’t freak out.

What’s the worst suburb of Dallas? Wilmer ranks as the worst suburb of Dallas for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.

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.

The 10 Worst Dallas Suburbs To Live For 2024

Wilmer, TX

Source: Wikipedia User nthomas76207 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,370
Median Income: $63,003 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.3% (14th highest)
Median Home Value: $181,973 (lowest)
More on Wilmer: Data | Crime

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

And in the world of worst rankings, Wilmer beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 6th worst in the Dallas area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 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 Wilmer.

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

Source: Wikipedia User nthomas76207 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 18,658
Median Income: $65,300 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.3% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $275,237 (9th lowest)
More on Seagoville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

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 7th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $65,300 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.

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

Hutchins, TX

Source: Wikipedia User nthomas76207 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,633
Median Income: $39,929 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (45th highest)
Median Home Value: $242,690 (5th lowest)
More on Hutchins: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Dallas suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Hutchins 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 dropout rate is poor compared to other Dallas suburbs.

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

Balch Springs, TX

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 27,322
Median Income: $58,680 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $231,297 (3rd lowest)
More on Balch Springs: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

If you live in Balch Springs, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 3rd lowest Dallas suburb for median household incomes.

Not only that, but this is the 2nd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Dallas. Remember, we looked at 78 cities for this study.

Balch Springs is about 10.2 miles to downtown.

Terrell, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 18,001
Median Income: $61,513 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.6% (18th highest)
Median Home Value: $267,314 (6th lowest)
More on Terrell: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

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

All snarkiness aside, Terrell has the 6th lowest home values in the metro Dallas area, where the median price is $267,314. The median income is $250,001.

Terrell has an unemployment rate of 5.65% which ranks 18th worst.

Lancaster, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Baroness of Ballymote at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 40,958
Median Income: $65,323 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.9% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $278,981 (11th lowest)
More on Lancaster: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Lancaster has 40,958 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 14.712216858522096%.

7. Cockrell Hill

Cockrell Hill, TX

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

4
/10

Population: 3,799
Median Income: $49,810 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.8% (highest)
Median Home Value: $217,279 (2nd lowest)
More on Cockrell Hill: Crime

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

It’s the place with the most out of work residents in the Dallas metro area (8.79%).

8. Palmer

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,685
Median Income: $81,310 (23rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $236,251 (4th lowest)
More on Palmer: Crime

Palmer is a city about 26.3 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. Palmer has the 2most uninsured people, 23rd worst incomes, and has the 9th highest unemployment rate (7.22%) in the entire Dallas metro area.

Homes only cost $236,251 for a reason. That’s cheap for Dallas standards.

9. Ferris

Ferris, TX

Source: Wikipedia User nthomas76207 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,785
Median Income: $62,036 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 0.8% (78th highest)
Median Home Value: $267,485 (7th lowest)
More on Ferris: Crime

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

About 0.83% of residents are out of work.

Duncanville, TX

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 40,288
Median Income: $66,601 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $280,157 (13th lowest)
More on Duncanville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

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

Located 13.3 miles outside the city, Duncanvilles is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 6th highest unemployment rate (7.62%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Dallas for 2024

To figure out how bad a Dallas suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.

Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2018-2022, 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 dropouts
  • High poverty
  • High rate of uninsured families

We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Dallas.

We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 78 suburbs to evaluate around Dallas.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 78 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 looking at you, Wilmer.

We updated this article for 2024, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Dallas.

Summary: The areas around Dallas where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2024

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

The worst suburbs of Dallas are .

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

  • Southlake
  • University Park
  • Highland

For more Texas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Dallas Suburbs

RankCityPopulationMedian IncomeMedian Home Values
1Wilmer5,370$63,003$181,973
2Seagoville18,658$65,300$275,237
3Hutchins5,633$39,929$242,690
4Balch Springs27,322$58,680$231,297
5Terrell18,001$61,513$267,314
6Lancaster40,958$65,323$278,981
7Cockrell Hill3,799$49,810$217,279
8Palmer2,685$81,310$236,251
9Ferris2,785$62,036$267,485
10Duncanville40,288$66,601$280,157
11Mesquite149,439$69,649$272,912
12Garland244,026$71,044$297,145
13Combine2,609$90,313$398,946
14Grand Prairie197,279$76,626$317,988
15Cedar Hill48,733$84,132$315,422
16Arlington393,469$71,736$312,016
17Glenn Heights16,445$87,686$330,758
18Crandall4,028$101,829$304,136
19Irving254,962$76,686$337,139
20Waxahachie41,801$80,044$351,165
21Richland Hills8,513$73,601$275,336
22Desoto55,882$81,736$323,250
23Watauga23,509$88,775$279,226
24Farmers Branch35,985$88,282$372,175
25Euless60,360$77,403$347,693
26Hurst40,053$71,275$328,991
27Kennedale8,590$112,646$385,086
28Lakewood63,142$65,531$476,344
29Lewisville125,028$82,006$395,721
30Little Elm48,241$110,218$426,402
31Forney25,269$102,107$338,581
32Richardson118,063$94,362$436,131
33Lake Dallas7,682$72,386$339,586
34Pantego2,529$84,125$355,589
35Addison17,026$78,153$462,821
36Carrollton132,284$95,380$410,598
37Fate19,010$121,935$369,189
38Red Oak14,853$105,309$339,153
39Ovilla4,077$109,130$468,881
40Shady Shores2,811$149,333$547,569
41North Richland Hills70,114$88,656$360,470
42Rowlett63,291$110,954$381,572
43Wylie57,063$109,465$411,646
44Sunnyvale7,873$152,632$638,548
45Hackberry2,862$112,981$390,109
46Bedford49,455$80,924$366,367
47Midlothian35,460$119,323$443,526
48The Colony44,323$106,518$403,361
49Grapevine50,763$107,165$517,910
50Plano284,948$105,679$503,025
51Mansfield73,680$112,465$423,311
52Dalworthington Gardens2,437$108,750$515,114
53Oak Point4,957$104,120$447,635
54Fairview10,354$103,219$640,850
55Talty2,568$128,864$537,296
56Hickory Creek4,906$138,584$489,358
57Mckinney196,160$113,286$506,871
58Sachse27,829$127,888$443,583
59Rockwall47,859$114,799$440,779
60Copper Canyon2,125$135,938$890,304
61Parker5,573$202,727$1,011,628
62Allen105,444$121,259$506,564
63Lavon4,939$122,889$366,648
64Mclendon-Chisholm3,755$167,750$714,461
65Murphy20,880$152,847$583,866
66Flower Mound76,630$154,471$582,405
67Heath9,771$211,522$701,027
68Frisco202,075$144,567$650,075
69Double Oak3,039$187,115$769,545
70Trophy Club13,251$183,125$662,834
71Keller45,320$162,094$603,388
72Colleyville25,876$196,298$825,914
73Lucas7,746$205,288$1,003,546
74Highland Park8,840$249,923$2,475,526
75Coppell42,513$143,817$591,824
76Highland19,267$166,429$877,307
77University Park25,179$250,001$2,037,260
78Southlake30,779$250,001$1,122,373
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.

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