The 10 Worst Arlington Suburbs For 2023


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

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

We examined the 68 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 2023:

  1. Hutchins
  2. Everman
  3. Balch Springs
  4. Wilmer
  5. Forest Hill
  6. Keene
  7. Sansom Park
  8. Lancaster
  9. Cockrell Hill
  10. Cleburne

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

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.



For more Texas reading, check out:

The 10 Worst Arlington 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% (6th 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 Arlington 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 Arlington 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.

Everman, TX

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 6,148
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 2)
Median Income: $45,581 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 11.2% (highest)
Median Home Value: $122,300 (4th lowest)
More on Everman:  Data | Photos

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

This city is 10.5 miles to Arlington. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $45,581 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: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $55,817 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $153,600 (13th lowest)
More on Balch Springs:  Data | Photos

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Arlington 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 Arlington 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 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.1% (54th 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 10th lowest Arlington suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the 54th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Arlington. Remember, we looked at 68 cities for this study.

Wilmer is about 26.7 miles to downtown.

Forest Hill, TX

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 13,797
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Median Income: $50,100 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.5% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $130,500 (8th lowest)
More on Forest Hill:  Data | Photos

Forest Hill has the distinction of being a Arlington suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Forest Hill has the 8th lowest home values in the metro Arlington area, where the median price is $130,500. To put that into perspective, in University Park, the median income is $247,045, which is the best in the area.

Forest Hill has an unemployment rate of 8.55% which ranks 5th worst.

Keene, TX

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,254
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 4)
Median Income: $46,497 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (24th highest)
Median Home Value: $162,600 (15th lowest)
More on Keene:  Data | Photos

Keene has 6,254 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 11.393285788832841%.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,363
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $54,007 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (14th highest)
Median Home Value: $108,400 (3rd lowest)
More on Sansom Park:  Data

Ah, Sansom Park. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Arlington.

It’s the place with the 14th most out of work residents in the Arlington metro area (6.0%).

Lancaster, TX

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 41,057
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 4)
Median Income: $59,952 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.1% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $161,600 (14th lowest)
More on Lancaster:  Data | Photos

Lancaster is a city about 21.7 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. Lancaster has the 36th most uninsured people, 12th worst incomes, and has the 9th highest unemployment rate (7.08%) in the entire Arlington metro area.

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

Cockrell Hill, TX

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,858
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $54,088 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.7% (12th highest)
Median Home Value: $122,600 (5th lowest)
More on Cockrell Hill:  Data | Photos

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

About 6.72% of residents are out of work.

Cleburne, TX

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 30,984
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 4)
Median Income: $55,159 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 2.8% (57th highest)
Median Home Value: $139,200 (11th lowest)
More on Cleburne:  Data | Photos

Rounding out the ten worst Arlington suburbs to call home is Cleburne.

Located 29.1 miles outside the city, Cleburnes is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 57th highest unemployment rate (2.83%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Arlington for 2023

To figure out how bad a Arlington 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 Arlington.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 68 suburbs to evaluate around Arlington.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 68 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, 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 Arlington.

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

Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Arlington with Hutchins 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.

  • University Park
  • Highland Park
  • Coppell

For more Texas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Arlington Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Hutchins 5,613 $40,129 $80,700
2 Everman 6,148 $45,581 $122,300
3 Balch Springs 27,369 $55,817 $153,600
4 Wilmer 5,064 $58,187 $73,900
5 Forest Hill 13,797 $50,100 $130,500
6 Keene 6,254 $46,497 $162,600
7 Sansom Park 5,363 $54,007 $108,400
8 Lancaster 41,057 $59,952 $161,600
9 Cockrell Hill 3,858 $54,088 $122,600
10 Cleburne 30,984 $55,159 $139,200
11 Ferris 2,736 $64,725 $128,900
12 Lake Worth 4,710 $78,958 $163,600
13 White Settlement 18,040 $49,627 $137,600
14 Dallas 1,300,239 $58,231 $230,000
15 Blue Mound 2,274 $60,625 $122,800
16 Fort Worth 908,469 $67,927 $212,300
17 Duncanville 40,575 $60,666 $178,800
18 Grand Prairie 195,992 $73,352 $203,600
19 Alvarado 4,660 $60,264 $136,100
20 Glenn Heights 15,741 $81,202 $196,700
21 Irving 254,184 $69,961 $218,900
22 Cedar Hill 48,968 $77,703 $205,300
23 River Oaks 7,623 $61,566 $151,600
24 Azle 13,157 $79,425 $195,600
25 Waxahachie 39,815 $74,789 $227,700
26 Desoto 55,761 $79,570 $215,100
27 Crowley 17,977 $81,167 $174,600
28 Richland Hills 8,505 $67,266 $178,900
29 Lewisville 110,077 $71,953 $254,600
30 Hurst 40,114 $67,063 $222,800
31 Venus 4,140 $91,058 $187,300
32 Farmers Branch 36,091 $77,306 $233,600
33 Watauga 23,649 $78,379 $170,000
34 Euless 60,134 $69,912 $235,100
35 Joshua 7,722 $62,203 $217,500
36 Benbrook 24,248 $76,348 $213,900
37 Ovilla 4,120 $100,882 $295,000
38 Pantego 2,543 $79,417 $280,500
39 Kennedale 8,342 $102,217 $268,800
40 Red Oak 13,956 $86,902 $249,700
41 Burleson 47,230 $84,373 $219,200
42 Carrollton 131,388 $87,299 $283,800
43 Grapevine 50,548 $99,667 $370,100
44 Saginaw 23,676 $89,071 $206,400
45 North Richland Hills 69,817 $80,932 $250,600
46 Addison 16,405 $74,012 $356,200
47 Midlothian 33,914 $107,532 $284,500
48 Justin 4,441 $97,869 $267,100
49 Mansfield 71,375 $105,579 $302,000
50 Bedford 49,576 $76,409 $255,400
51 The Colony 43,489 $96,901 $272,200
52 Northlake 5,294 $96,056 $445,400
53 Roanoke 9,270 $111,694 $335,000
54 Dalworthington Gardens 2,372 $115,875 $408,600
55 Aledo 4,692 $112,975 $306,200
56 Hickory Creek 4,669 $128,529 $361,200
57 Double Oak 3,020 $172,000 $554,800
58 Flower Mound 75,050 $145,153 $398,500
59 Haslet 2,296 $156,250 $442,300
60 Keller 45,190 $149,822 $425,100
61 Colleyville 25,827 $180,698 $586,400
62 Argyle 4,336 $149,219 $585,700
63 Trophy Club 12,659 $170,679 $492,000
64 Highland 18,913 $156,136 $644,400
65 Southlake 30,754 $239,833 $723,800
66 Coppell 42,420 $130,805 $431,500
67 Highland Park 8,895 $234,427 $1,541,500
68 University Park 25,029 $247,045 $1,380,600