The 10 Worst Garland Suburbs For 2022


We used science and data to determine which Garland suburbs are the real pits.

RoadSnacks is reader-supported. When you click through real estate links on our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.

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

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 Garland 'burbs need a little tender loving care - the sore thumbs of the Garland area if you will. Realistically, you can't expect all the suburbs to live up to Garland proper, although Highland Park certainly tries.

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

We examined the 68 biggest suburbs of Garland 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 Garland in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Garland for 2022:

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

What's the worst suburb of Garland? Hutchins ranks as the worst suburb of Garland for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Garland 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 Garland 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.

For more Texas reading, check out:

The 10 Worst Garland Suburbs To Live For 2022

We'll get the ball rolling with Hutchins, the absolute worst place to live around Garland 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 Garland 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 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.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,804
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $35,000 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $72,400 (lowest)
More on Hutchins:  Data | Photos

Hutchins, TX

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

This city is 18.4 miles to Garland. Income levels here are the 13th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $62,038 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.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 16,726
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $62,038 (13th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $155,000 (9th lowest)
More on Seagoville:  Data | Photos

Seagoville, TX

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Garland suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Kaufman 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 Garland suburbs.

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

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 7,646
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $49,827 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (15th highest)
Median Home Value: $98,600 (3rd lowest)
More on Kaufman:  Data | Photos

Kaufman, TX

If you live in Balch Springs, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 4th lowest Garland suburb when it comes to residents making money.

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

Balch Springs is about 13.5 miles to downtown.

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 25,123
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $52,696 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.2% (highest)
Median Home Value: $120,000 (5th lowest)
More on Balch Springs:  Data | Photos

Balch Springs, TX

Source: Public domain

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

All snarkiness aside, Terrell has the 7th lowest home values in the metro Garland area, where the median price is $135,100. To put that into perspective, in Highland Park, the median income is $247,716, which is the best in the area.

Terrell has an unemployment rate of 6.84% which ranks 5th worst.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 18,513
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $53,136 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $135,100 (7th lowest)
More on Terrell:  Data | Photos

Terrell, TX

Combine has 2,535 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 8.566916699565732%.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,535
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 9)
Median Income: $76,989 (26th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (10th highest)
Median Home Value: $171,900 (13th lowest)
More on Combine:  Data

Ah, Wilmer. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Garland.

It's the place with the 56th most out of work residents in the Garland metro area (2.75%).

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 4,698
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Median Income: $56,012 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 2.8% (56th highest)
Median Home Value: $74,200 (2nd lowest)
More on Wilmer:  Data | Photos

Wilmer, TX

Lancaster is a city about 23.4 miles from Garland, but Garland 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 29th most uninsured people, 10th worst incomes, and has the 9th highest unemployment rate (6.5%) in the entire Garland metro area.

Homes only cost $154,900 for a reason. That's cheap for Garland standards.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 39,264
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Median Income: $57,832 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $154,900 (8th lowest)
More on Lancaster:  Data | Photos

Lancaster, TX

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

About 5.14% of residents are out of work.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 4,200
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $58,137 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.1% (20th highest)
Median Home Value: $109,200 (4th lowest)
More on Cockrell Hill:  Data | Photos

Cockrell Hill, TX

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

Located 24.6 miles outside the city, Duncanvilles is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 2nd highest unemployment rate (9.05%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 39,096
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 4)
Median Income: $57,614 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.0% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $164,800 (11th lowest)
More on Duncanville:  Data | Photos

Duncanville, TX

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Garland for 2022

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 from 2016-2020, 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 Garland.

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 Garland.

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 Garland." We're lookin' at you, Hutchins. You can download the data here.

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.

Summary: The areas around Garland where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2022

Well there you have it -- the worst of the 'burbs surrounding Garland with Hutchins casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Garland aren't all bad. Highland Park takes the cake as the best place to live around Garland.

  • Highland Park
  • University Park
  • Highland

For more Texas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Garland Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Hutchins 5,804 $35,000 $72,400
2 Seagoville 16,726 $62,038 $155,000
3 Kaufman 7,646 $49,827 $98,600
4 Balch Springs 25,123 $52,696 $120,000
5 Terrell 18,513 $53,136 $135,100
6 Combine 2,535 $76,989 $171,900
7 Wilmer 4,698 $56,012 $74,200
8 Lancaster 39,264 $57,832 $154,900
9 Cockrell Hill 4,200 $58,137 $109,200
10 Duncanville 39,096 $57,614 $164,800
11 Glenn Heights 13,228 $72,695 $170,400
12 Grand Prairie 193,835 $69,171 $174,300
13 Mesquite 142,429 $60,715 $160,000
14 Dallas 1,338,846 $54,747 $208,700
15 Ferris 2,842 $76,563 $130,700
16 Farmersville 3,560 $41,774 $186,700
17 Irving 240,475 $66,567 $196,500
18 Cedar Hill 48,337 $75,715 $189,700
19 Desoto 53,170 $71,124 $195,900
20 Lake Dallas 8,004 $64,805 $205,000
21 Princeton 12,208 $80,323 $205,200
22 Lakewood 60,564 $55,723 $309,600
23 Lewisville 107,740 $67,026 $232,800
24 Euless 56,334 $67,181 $213,700
25 Farmers Branch 42,659 $73,695 $210,600
26 Little Elm 49,792 $94,446 $270,600
27 Forney 23,871 $93,792 $216,100
28 Wylie 51,251 $98,484 $253,100
29 Richardson 118,583 $85,350 $295,500
30 Carrollton 137,319 $82,345 $267,100
31 Red Oak 13,010 $78,646 $225,900
32 Crandall 3,848 $96,417 $187,600
33 Hackberry 2,426 $105,741 $282,500
34 Grapevine 54,151 $94,363 $338,700
35 Sunnyvale 6,664 $134,080 $397,800
36 Shady Shores 2,888 $117,083 $324,900
37 Ovilla 4,010 $102,917 $282,100
38 Rowlett 65,426 $103,627 $237,300
39 Sachse 25,888 $109,098 $259,100
40 The Colony 43,791 $87,748 $244,400
41 Melissa 10,774 $117,750 $320,200
42 Addison 15,428 $75,235 $348,200
43 Celina 13,608 $114,807 $317,100
44 Mckinney 191,197 $100,775 $327,800
45 Bedford 49,145 $71,644 $234,700
46 Rockwall 45,168 $100,894 $276,400
47 Fate 14,300 $109,481 $282,100
48 Oak Point 5,077 $102,946 $301,300
49 Fairview 8,998 $89,583 $408,200
50 Hickory Creek 4,716 $121,913 $326,100
51 Plano 288,870 $96,348 $341,800
52 Allen 104,040 $113,719 $323,500
53 Parker 4,920 $168,811 $642,100
54 Lavon 3,504 $95,286 $244,800
55 Murphy 20,711 $140,828 $374,000
56 Heath 9,069 $174,154 $523,900
57 Providence 7,732 $84,243 $322,300
58 Talty 2,597 $125,893 $353,800
59 Frisco 188,387 $128,761 $420,700
60 Double Oak 3,099 $167,000 $493,500
61 Prosper 25,887 $153,777 $482,700
62 Mclendon-Chisholm 3,521 $155,667 $452,400
63 Flower Mound 78,854 $139,703 $376,500
64 Lucas 8,137 $174,500 $650,000
65 Coppell 41,494 $128,476 $414,000
66 Highland 19,012 $146,177 $599,700
67 University Park 25,027 $247,716 $1,351,400
68 Highland Park 9,143 $218,611 $1,451,300

How Is Your Town In ?

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 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the worst suburbs around Garland.
 Worst