More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Arlington to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Arlington are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Arlington ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Arlington area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Arlington proper, although Southlake certainly tries.
We examined the 70 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.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 worst suburbs around Arlington for 2024
- Wilmer
- Hutchins
- Pelican Bay
- Balch Springs
- Everman
- Sansom Park
- Keene
- Forest Hill
- Cockrell Hill
- Lancaster
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Arlington? Wilmer ranks as the worst suburb of Arlington 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 Arlington too.
The 10 Worst Arlington Suburbs To Live For 2024
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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 12th 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 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.
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Population: 5,633
Median Income: $39,929 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (39th highest)
Median Home Value: $242,690 (12th lowest)
More on Hutchins: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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 lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $39,929 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.
3. Pelican Bay
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Population: 2,172
Median Income: $49,657 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.2% (highest)
Median Home Value: $146,453 (lowest)
More on Pelican Bay: Crime
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Arlington suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Pelican Bay 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 Arlington suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
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Population: 27,322
Median Income: $58,680 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $231,297 (10th 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 8th lowest Arlington suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 4th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Arlington. Remember, we looked at 70 cities for this study.
Balch Springs is about 29.4 miles to downtown.
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Population: 6,102
Median Income: $56,420 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.9% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $219,439 (7th lowest)
More on Everman: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Everman has the distinction of being a Arlington suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Everman has the 7th lowest home values in the metro Arlington area, where the median price is $219,439. The median income is $250,001.
Everman has an unemployment rate of 9.95% which ranks 2nd worst.
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Population: 5,387
Median Income: $54,909 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (12th highest)
Median Home Value: $187,670 (3rd lowest)
More on Sansom Park: Data | Cost Of Living
Sansom Park has 5,387 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 24.938458625260374%.
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Population: 6,451
Median Income: $53,701 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (28th highest)
Median Home Value: $249,211 (14th lowest)
More on Keene: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Ah, Keene. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Arlington.
It’s the place with the 28th most out of work residents in the Arlington metro area (4.47%).
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Population: 13,810
Median Income: $58,713 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $226,512 (9th lowest)
More on Forest Hill: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Forest Hill is a city about 8.7 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. Forest Hill has the 2most uninsured people, 9th worst incomes, and has the 11th highest unemployment rate (7.58%) in the entire Arlington metro area.
Homes only cost $226,512 for a reason. That’s cheap for Arlington standards.
9. Cockrell Hill
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Population: 3,799
Median Income: $49,810 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.8% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $217,279 (5th lowest)
More on Cockrell Hill: Crime
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 8.79% of residents are out of work.
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Population: 40,958
Median Income: $65,323 (14th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.9% (14th highest)
Median Home Value: $278,981 (18th lowest)
More on Lancaster: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Rounding out the ten worst Arlington suburbs to call home is Lancaster.
Located 21.7 miles outside the city, Lancasters is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 14th highest unemployment rate (6.87%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Arlington for 2024
To figure out how bad a Arlington 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 Arlington.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 70 suburbs to evaluate around Arlington.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 70 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 looking at you, Wilmer.
We updated this article for 2024, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Arlington.
Summary: The areas around Arlington where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2024
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Arlington with Wilmer casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Arlington are .
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Arlington aren’t all bad. Southlake takes the cake as the best place to live around Arlington.
- Southlake
- University Park
- Coppell
For more Texas reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Texas
- Cheapest Places To Live In Texas
- Most Dangerous Places In Texas
- Best Places To Retire In Texas
- Richest Cities In Texas
- Safest Places In Texas
- Worst Places To Live In Texas
Detailed List Of The Worst Arlington Suburbs
Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wilmer | 5,370 | $63,003 | $181,973 |
2 | Hutchins | 5,633 | $39,929 | $242,690 |
3 | Pelican Bay | 2,172 | $49,657 | $146,453 |
4 | Balch Springs | 27,322 | $58,680 | $231,297 |
5 | Everman | 6,102 | $56,420 | $219,439 |
6 | Sansom Park | 5,387 | $54,909 | $187,670 |
7 | Keene | 6,451 | $53,701 | $249,211 |
8 | Forest Hill | 13,810 | $58,713 | $226,512 |
9 | Cockrell Hill | 3,799 | $49,810 | $217,279 |
10 | Lancaster | 40,958 | $65,323 | $278,981 |
11 | Lake Worth | 4,701 | $82,114 | $234,759 |
12 | Ferris | 2,785 | $62,036 | $267,485 |
13 | Dallas | 1,300,642 | $63,985 | $306,310 |
14 | Fort Worth | 924,663 | $72,726 | $303,501 |
15 | Cleburne | 31,849 | $60,929 | $252,726 |
16 | Duncanville | 40,288 | $66,601 | $280,157 |
17 | White Settlement | 18,106 | $52,999 | $222,225 |
18 | Venus | 5,211 | $94,612 | $291,561 |
19 | Grand Prairie | 197,279 | $76,626 | $317,988 |
20 | Joshua | 8,004 | $66,183 | $322,941 |
21 | Cedar Hill | 48,733 | $84,132 | $315,422 |
22 | River Oaks | 7,586 | $66,754 | $216,467 |
23 | Blue Mound | 2,622 | $68,500 | $218,334 |
24 | Irving | 254,962 | $76,686 | $337,139 |
25 | Glenn Heights | 16,445 | $87,686 | $330,758 |
26 | Alvarado | 5,107 | $86,083 | $247,729 |
27 | Richland Hills | 8,513 | $73,601 | $275,336 |
28 | Waxahachie | 41,801 | $80,044 | $351,165 |
29 | Watauga | 23,509 | $88,775 | $279,226 |
30 | Desoto | 55,882 | $81,736 | $323,250 |
31 | Azle | 13,409 | $83,081 | $329,100 |
32 | Crowley | 18,392 | $88,333 | $297,857 |
33 | Benbrook | 24,366 | $80,971 | $308,272 |
34 | Kennedale | 8,590 | $112,646 | $385,086 |
35 | Farmers Branch | 35,985 | $88,282 | $372,175 |
36 | Euless | 60,360 | $77,403 | $347,693 |
37 | Hurst | 40,053 | $71,275 | $328,991 |
38 | Lewisville | 125,028 | $82,006 | $395,721 |
39 | Northlake | 6,202 | $105,962 | $511,249 |
40 | Burleson | 48,970 | $87,312 | $317,969 |
41 | Pantego | 2,529 | $84,125 | $355,589 |
42 | Addison | 17,026 | $78,153 | $462,821 |
43 | Red Oak | 14,853 | $105,309 | $339,153 |
44 | Ovilla | 4,077 | $109,130 | $468,881 |
45 | Carrollton | 132,284 | $95,380 | $410,598 |
46 | Roanoke | 9,565 | $113,171 | $429,441 |
47 | Bedford | 49,455 | $80,924 | $366,367 |
48 | Saginaw | 24,106 | $99,752 | $310,280 |
49 | Grapevine | 50,763 | $107,165 | $517,910 |
50 | North Richland Hills | 70,114 | $88,656 | $360,470 |
51 | Justin | 4,731 | $89,932 | $365,745 |
52 | Midlothian | 35,460 | $119,323 | $443,526 |
53 | The Colony | 44,323 | $106,518 | $403,361 |
54 | Mansfield | 73,680 | $112,465 | $423,311 |
55 | Dalworthington Gardens | 2,437 | $108,750 | $515,114 |
56 | Hickory Creek | 4,906 | $138,584 | $489,358 |
57 | Copper Canyon | 2,125 | $135,938 | $890,304 |
58 | Flower Mound | 76,630 | $154,471 | $582,405 |
59 | Haslet | 2,336 | $160,481 | $407,337 |
60 | Aledo | 5,053 | $123,045 | $497,638 |
61 | Argyle | 4,638 | $205,246 | $653,803 |
62 | Double Oak | 3,039 | $187,115 | $769,545 |
63 | Trophy Club | 13,251 | $183,125 | $662,834 |
64 | Keller | 45,320 | $162,094 | $603,388 |
65 | Colleyville | 25,876 | $196,298 | $825,914 |
66 | Highland Park | 8,840 | $249,923 | $2,475,526 |
67 | Highland | 19,267 | $166,429 | $877,307 |
68 | Coppell | 42,513 | $143,817 | $591,824 |
69 | University Park | 25,179 | $250,001 | $2,037,260 |
70 | Southlake | 30,779 | $250,001 | $1,122,373 |
This article is basically saying that Arlington has suburbs. Arlington doesn’t have Suburbs, because Arlington is a Suburb of Washington, DC. Arlington is right next to Washington, DC (obviously), and it’s a part of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. There is no such thing as the Arlington Metropolitan Area. Although Arlington is more urban than a lot of DC’s other suburbs.