From Dallas, TX south to San Antonio, TX, and Tyler, TX to El Paso, TX, there are many great places to settle down and raise a family in The Lone Star State. But even the most perfect state in the union has to have less pleasant places, perhaps a "thorn" or two.

Many variables must be considered before saddling someplace as the "worst." So, the folks who compiled this list based their rankings on a few things that every town or city has to deal with.

Texas is a popular place to call home. We have the numbers to back up its well-placed sense of pride. It's the second-largest state in the U.S. by area, spanning over 261,797 square miles, and by population too -- just over 28.7 million people call Texas home.

And while great and safe communities are abundant in Texas, with all these millions of people, this "rose" of ours inevitably has a few thorns.

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What constitutes a thorn?

In this case "thorns" include crime rate or vicinity to crime; some areas may be close to worse neighborhoods or adjacent cities. Also, the rate of natural disasters was taken into consideration. Hurricanes are not something that'd land on the "pro" side of your pro/con list. Flooding more than likely falls on the con side too.

To help you know the places you may want to avoid, or for a list to throw in the face of your cousin who lives in Lubbock, here are the worst places to live in Texas (after reading it, if you've gotta bone to pick hit up these people):

These are Apparently the Top 20 Worst Places to Live in Texas

Well in this case things including crime rate, or vicinity to crime; some may be close worse neighborhoods or adjacent cities. Also the rate of natural disasters was taken into consideration. Hurricanes are not something that'd land on the "pro" side of your pro/con list. Flooding would likely fall on the con side too.

To help you know the places you may want to avoid, or for a list to throw in the face of your cousin who lives in Lubbock, here are the 20 worst places to live:

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EDIT: This was originally published March 4, 2024