These Are The 10 Worst Arlington Suburbs For 2018

Not everyone is cut out for city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Arlington.

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 Arlington ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Arlington area if you will. Realistically, you can’t expect all the suburbs to live up to Arlington proper, although University Park certainly tries.

Of course, not all suburbs of Arlington are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado…

We examined the 67 biggest suburbs of Arlington 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 Arlington in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Arlington for 2018:

1. Wilmer
2. Hutchins (Photos)
3. Ferris
4. Forest Hill (Photos)
5. Sansom Park
6. Alvarado
7. Everman (Photos)
8. Cleburne (Photos)
9. Balch Springs (Photos)
10. Keene (Photos)

Read on to see how we determined the places around Arlington 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 Arlington too.

Editor’s Note: If you see a slight difference between the worst in state rankings and this suburb ranking, it’s because of the methodology. We needed a way to include more places, so we eliminated crime and commute times as criteria for this analysis.

Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Arlington for 2018

To figure out how bad a place is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what cities 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, 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 Arlington.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 67 suburbs to evaluate around Arlington.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 67 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 Arlington.” We’re lookin’ at you, Wilmer.

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.

1. Wilmer

Population: 3,903
Unemployment Rate: 6.4%
Median Home Price: $55,300
Median Income: $37,546
We’ll get the ball rolling with Wilmer, the absolute worst place to live around Arlington 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 4th worst in the Arlington area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 1st 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.

2. Hutchins

Population: 5,644
Unemployment Rate: 6.4%
Median Home Price: $72,900
Median Income: $36,845
Welcome to Hutchins. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.

This city is 24.4 miles to Arlington. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $36,845 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.

3. Ferris

Population: 2,527
Unemployment Rate: 6.5%
Median Home Price: $80,500
Median Income: $50,150
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Arlington suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Ferris 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 Arlington suburbs.

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

4. Forest Hill

Population: 12,774
Unemployment Rate: 9.1%
Median Home Price: $78,300
Median Income: $41,988
If you live in Forest Hill, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 8th lowest Arlington suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the 3rd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Arlington. Remember, we looked at 67 cities for this study.

Forest Hill is about 8.7 miles to downtown.

5. Sansom Park

Population: 4,819
Unemployment Rate: 15.5%
Median Home Price: $66,200
Median Income: $36,211
Sansom Park has the distinction of being a Arlington suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Sansom Park has the 2nd lowest home values in the metro Arlington area, where the median price is $66,200. To put that into perspective, in University Park, the median income is $198,438, which is the best in the area.

Sansom Park has an unemployment rate of 15.5% which ranks 1st worst.

6. Alvarado

Population: 3,863
Unemployment Rate: 13.9%
Median Home Price: $92,200
Median Income: $46,441
Alvarado has 3,863 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 16.3%.

7. Everman

Population: 6,312
Unemployment Rate: 9.1%
Median Home Price: $70,800
Median Income: $36,929
Ah, Everman. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Arlington.

It’s the place with the 3rd most out of work residents in the Arlington metro area (9.1%).

8. Cleburne

Population: 29,759
Unemployment Rate: 6.9%
Median Home Price: $95,500
Median Income: $49,573
Cleburne is a city about 29.1 miles from Arlington, but Arlington 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. Cleburne has the 8th most uninsured people, 14th worst incomes, and has the 16th highest unemployment rate (6.9%) in the entire Arlington metro area.

Homes only cost $95,500 for a reason. That’s cheap for Arlington standards.

9. Balch Springs

Population: 25,043
Unemployment Rate: 6.3%
Median Home Price: $83,000
Median Income: $41,983
If you absolutely have to live near Arlington, then Balch Springs might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Arlington suburb.

About 6.3% of residents are out of work.

10. Keene

Population: 6,147
Unemployment Rate: 7.0%
Median Home Price: $111,500
Median Income: $41,058
Rounding out the ten worst Arlington suburbs to call home is Keene.

Located 23.9 miles outside the city, Keenes is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 13th highest unemployment rate (7.0%), and poverty is far above the area average.

The areas around Arlington where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2018

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

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

For more Texas reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In Texas
• These Are The 10 Best Places To Live In Texas
• These Are The 10 Most Ghetto Cities In Texas

Detailed List Of The Worst Arlington Suburbs

City	Rank	Population	Unemployment Rate	Median Home Price	Median Income
Wilmer	1	3,903	6.4%	$55,300	$37,546
Hutchins	2	5,644	6.4%	$72,900	$36,845
Ferris	3	2,527	6.5%	$80,500	$50,150
Forest Hill	4	12,774	9.1%	$78,300	$41,988
Sansom Park	5	4,819	15.5%	$66,200	$36,211
Alvarado	6	3,863	13.9%	$92,200	$46,441
Everman	7	6,312	9.1%	$70,800	$36,929
Cleburne	8	29,759	6.9%	$95,500	$49,573
Balch Springs	9	25,043	6.3%	$83,000	$41,983
Keene	10	6,147	7.0%	$111,500	$41,058
Cockrell Hill	11	4,301	7.1%	$84,200	$41,473
White Settlement	12	16,886	8.5%	$73,700	$45,382
Blue Mound	13	3,263	9.0%	$83,300	$50,550
Lancaster	14	38,426	8.1%	$104,500	$51,382
Dallas	15	1,278,433	6.8%	$142,600	$45,215
Fort Worth	16	815,930	6.4%	$131,100	$54,876
Glenn Heights	17	11,958	7.8%	$137,200	$58,590
Venus	18	3,211	5.9%	$114,000	$47,561
Grand Prairie	19	185,631	6.7%	$132,600	$60,246
Waxahachie	20	32,536	6.0%	$135,600	$55,385
River Oaks	21	7,666	5.3%	$85,500	$42,054
Duncanville	22	39,599	7.9%	$118,000	$51,545
Lake Worth	23	4,757	7.0%	$90,100	$53,242
Irving	24	232,013	5.9%	$147,500	$54,868
Joshua	25	6,316	4.2%	$151,400	$51,762
Crowley	26	14,453	8.3%	$120,500	$66,559
Richland Hills	27	8,033	3.0%	$111,000	$50,481
Farmers Branch	28	32,211	5.6%	$152,000	$61,255
Hurst	29	38,690	6.9%	$150,600	$55,807
Azle	30	11,054	3.8%	$121,500	$57,923
Kennedale	31	7,413	5.3%	$170,900	$71,875
Cedar Hill	32	47,457	6.6%	$139,100	$68,150
Red Oak	33	11,663	5.3%	$154,000	$70,250
Desoto	34	51,854	6.9%	$147,800	$60,350
Euless	35	53,675	6.0%	$159,400	$58,606
Lewisville	36	102,327	4.9%	$161,700	$57,549
Watauga	37	24,322	6.5%	$109,500	$65,329
Justin	38	3,422	7.9%	$165,200	$77,813
Pantego	39	2,497	6.2%	$180,700	$60,972
Burleson	40	41,962	5.4%	$143,900	$72,670
Carrollton	41	129,266	4.5%	$183,100	$70,072
Saginaw	42	21,680	6.1%	$130,000	$81,070
Midlothian	43	21,530	3.5%	$162,900	$72,956
Roanoke	44	7,055	3.1%	$216,900	$62,878
The Colony	45	40,757	6.3%	$159,400	$73,830
Grapevine	46	50,538	3.3%	$258,400	$81,571
Benbrook	47	22,403	3.9%	$147,000	$66,448
North Richland Hills	48	67,994	4.8%	$160,200	$63,537
Hickory Creek	49	3,939	4.9%	$210,700	$94,000
Bedford	50	48,864	5.2%	$169,700	$62,701
Addison	51	15,363	4.3%	$307,300	$70,559
Northlake	52	2,894	1.2%	$324,500	$64,293
Aledo	53	3,190	2.1%	$162,800	$88,672
Mansfield	54	63,141	4.0%	$204,800	$90,216
Dalworthington Gardens	55	2,233	5.2%	$355,600	$129,750
Ovilla	56	3,639	0.9%	$199,500	$90,168
Argyle	57	3,732	3.1%	$365,300	$112,797
Flower Mound	58	69,966	4.0%	$292,600	$123,492
Double Oak	59	3,028	3.9%	$400,200	$138,482
Keller	60	44,250	3.5%	$311,700	$122,292
Coppell	61	40,631	3.0%	$317,900	$114,839
Highland	62	17,544	5.0%	$461,500	$122,666
Southlake	63	29,101	3.3%	$586,400	$189,432
Colleyville	64	24,982	3.2%	$432,600	$162,183
Highland Park	65	8,986	5.4%	$1,253,600	$189,485
Trophy Club	66	10,987	2.0%	$328,800	$133,457
University Park	67	24,346	3.6%	$1,102,500	$198,438