The 10 Worst Neighborhoods In Houston For 2022

The 10 Worst Neighborhoods In Houston For 2022

You can probably guess where you'll find Far North. It sits along the I-45 on the way out of town, just southwest of the airport. Oh, and it's in the far north of town.

Maybe you need to get even farther north. Far North just doesn't offer much economic opportunity. The unemployment rate comes in at a relatively healthy 5.5%. However, most of the local jobs pay very little. The median income hovers at a paltry $30,316.

There are some benefits to life in Far North. The area offers a significant amount of retail and commercial spots. At the same time, home prices are cheap, with a median home value of $52,586.

The people of Houston are a straight-shootin' bunch. They say what they mean and mean what they say. If you live in the northeast section of the city, well, by golly, the name of your neighborhood is "Northeast." No fussin'. No confusion.

What will you find in Northeast Houston? You've got nearby golf courses, such as the Brock Park Golf Course. Plus, it's easy to catch a ride out of the city and visit some nature. Lake Houston is just a half hour from the heart of the neighborhood.

The downside? Well, it's tough to afford those golf green fees with a median income of just $32,777. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate equals 32,777.

Here's another neighborhood with a no-mystery name. Southeast Houston lies southeast of the center of town. It contains many of Houston's top educational draws. This includes the Houston Zoo and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Unfortunately, these amenities don't overcome a sluggish economy. That's why this neighborhood counts as the number 3 worst spot in Houston for 2022.

To be fair, the numbers here aren't atrocious...just not particularly impressive. You've got an elevated unemployment rate of 6.1% and a mediocre median income of $41,297. At least the median home value sits below the $100,000 mark, meaning its relatively easy for locals to purchase a house.

East End has a long history. You could say that the modern city of Houston grew up around this neighborhood. In the 19th century, Harrisburg served as the capital of Texas when it declared its independence from Mexico. Later on, this portion of the city became an industrial and economic hub.

It still has its share of commercial activity. There is no lack of activities in the East End, from food to shopping to golf at Gus Wortham Golf Course. Still, the area isn't the economic dynamo of the past. Things have slowed down in the 21st century, making it difficult for locals to find good-paying jobs.

This list also includes an area called "Far North." Not willing to travel that far? Well, you can compromise. You can only go as far as North Houston. Fair warning, though: do that and you'll only end up in the number 5 least appealing neighborhood in Houston of 2022.

By now, the problems here should be familiar. Like most of the areas on this list, a murky economy holds the neighborhood back.

In this case, finding a job isn't the main concern. The unemployment rate clocks in at a reasonable 4.5%. However, the positions available only offer limited wages. North Houston supports a median income of just $34,255.

Like football? Rodeos? Then Southwest Houston is the place for you. This section of the city houses NRG Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans. But wait! There's more! The arena also hosts the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, among many other events.

What happens when you're not watching quarterbacks or bucking broncos? Should you stick around Southwest Houston? Maybe not. A shaky economy leaves this as the number 5 worst area of Houston for 2022.

The median income comes in at a respectable $48,850. However, you'll have trouble landing these jobs. The unemployment rate hovers at 7.2%.

Houston loves to name its neighborhoods after points on the compass. North. Northeast. Southeast. Even Far North. Finally, here's one with a little more creativity: Sugarland. But it's still not a sweet place to live.

Technically, a suburb located in the far southwestern section of Houston's urban sprawl, Sugarland has a number of interesting highlights. You'll find the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land and the Fort Bend Children's Discovery Center.

Great place to take your kids on a day trip. Maybe not an ideal location to raise them permanently. As we've seen many times on this list, a weak economy undermines the neighborhood. The median income equals $42,634 and the unemployment rate sits at 6.7%.

Reading over the list of neighborhoods on this list, you'd probably get worried about the residents of Houston. Any direction you go, there's a bad neighborhood. Well, here's another area of the compass you should try to avoid.

Most of Northwest Houston sits in a triangle formed by I-10, Highway 290 and the Sam Houston Tollway. Meanwhile, Bear Creek Pioneers Park takes up a big chunk of the neighborhood. This gives residents a well-deserved respite from the daily grind.

Unlike some of the other spots on this list, the economy here shows some signs of life. However, it's not enough to let most of the locals relax. The median income hovers at $48,919 and the unemployment rate equals 5.2%.

Don't come here for the Rose Bowl. That's in Pasadena, California, about 1,500 miles to the west. But Pasadina, Texas, has its charms as well. Located southeast of central Houston, the community touches the bay. As part of this water access, it offers attractions like the Bay Area Museum and Armand Bayou Nature Center.

The economy isn't the main problem here. Locals can expect a median income of $64,381 and an unemployment rate of just 5.0%. However, the area is removed from the central part of town. Located about 20 minutes from downtown, commutes to other parts of the city can get tricky.

Situated on the far northwest part of the city, Spring Branch borders Bear Creek Pioneers Park. The area is defined in part by the intersection of I-10 and the Sam Houston Tollway. These factors make the neighborhood a mix of asphalt and green space, part of Houston's outer rim.

Don't worry about the economy in Spring Branch. Unlike many of its peers on this list, most locals have a strong financial situation. They enjoy a $59,660 median income and a 4.6% unemployment rate.

However, affordability becomes a problem. The median home value sits at an elevated $215,498, out of the reach of many locals.

Methodology: How we determined the worst Houston neighborhoods in 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 places have the least amount of those things. We threw the following criteria into this analysis in order to get the best, most complete results possible. We used this set of criteria for each neighborhood in Houston:

• High unemployment (Less jobs)
• Low median income (Less pay)
• Low population density (No things to do)
• Low home values (No one's willing to pay to live here)
• High crime (Estimated)

Then, we ranked each neighborhood in Houston, Texas for each of these criteria from worst to best.

Next, we averaged the individual rankings for each criteria into a "Worst Score".

The neighborhood with the lowest "Worst Score" ranks as the worst neighborhood of Houston.

Read on below to learn more about these terrible places around Houston to live. Or skip to the end to see the list of all 26 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased. Hold on to your pants.