These Dallas Suburbs Ranked Among the Worst Small Towns in the US

Maybe you’ve grown tired of us highlighting the suburbs that seem to keep raking in praises and recognition for quality of life, safety, affordability and for being a great place to rent or simply to live in? Maybe you’re one of the many who enjoyed dunking on some of the worst suburbs in the Dallas area not that long ago?

Well, we have the report for you! A new WalletHub survey has found that a few North Texas Suburbs are among the worst small cities in the United States. Lancaster, Farmers Branch, and Haltom City, out near Fort Worth, aren’t merely low on the massive list, either. Out of more than 1,300 cities included, this North Texas trio didn’t even crack the top 1,200.

Yikes. Or, LOL, depending on your level of hater-ness. 

Intriguingly enough, none of these made the cut in our not exactly scientific social media survey of the worst Dallas suburbs. Lancaster and Farmers Branch were mentioned by some of our social media commenters, but neither got near the razzing that Irving, Frisco, Garland, Plano and Mesquite did when we asked readers which ‘burbs they disliked the most. Again, that wasn’t exactly the most scholarly survey. The WalletHub list is much more so. 

WalletHub compared cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 45 key indicators of livability, ranging from housing costs to school-system quality to restaurants per capita. The important stuff. 

WalletHub explains why it surveyed small cities rather than the largest metro areas:

Not everyone craves the bright lights and crowded spaces of big cities. In fact, almost half of Americans (47%) say they would prefer to live in the suburbs, compared to 24% for urban areas and 23% for rural communities. Small-city life can be best for those who appreciate more wiggle room, fewer degrees of separation and shorter commutes, to name just a few of its advantages. Granted, these little urban areas demand some tradeoffs, too, such as fewer restaurant options or shorter business hours.

One of the best perks of living in a city with a relatively small population is affordability. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the cost of living for a two-parent, two-child family in Hanford, California, for instance, would be $8,013 per month, compared with more than double at $17,621 for the same family in San Francisco.

The metrics that went into a town’s overall ranking cover the most important bases: affordability rank, economic health rank, education and health rank, quality of life rank and safety rank. Unfortunately for those living in Lancaster, Farmers Branch and Haltom City, or those who are looking to possibly move there soon, their rankings in those vital categories are depressingly low. 

Way Down the List

Out west, Haltom City is on the list at No. 1,207, thanks to a total score of 49.63. For reference, the top city in the survey, Carmel, Indiana, has a total score of 71.01. Rankings for economic health (No. 1,163) and quality of life (No. 1,229) didn’t help the cause of the home of the Haltom High School Buffaloes.  

Closer to Dallas, Farmers Branch, north of town, landed on the survey at a lowly No. 1,215. According to the study, Farmers Branch scored low in economic health (No. 1,274) and education and health (No. 1,132). 

We need to get something off our chest here, though. Any town with not one, but two Tiffany Derry restaurants, the massive Josey Records location and has come to be known as the capital of pickleball in recent years, shouldn’t be anywhere near this low on any list. How’s that for data, WalletHub? 

Coming at No. 1,249 (yes, 1,249 out of 1,318), Lancaster sits in the 5th percentile of cities in the survey, with an overall score of 48.09. Keeping Lancaster down so far on the list are extremely low rankings in economic health (No. 1,263) and quality of life (No. 1,237). 

But at least Lancaster isn’t Port Arthur. The Gulf Coast hometown of Janis Joplin, Pimp C and former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson is the lowest-ranked Texas city on the list, coming in at No. 1,291. And hey, in order to end on a sportive note, we’ll tell you that Allen, that northern ‘burb with one of the biggest, most expensive high school football stadiums in history, was the top-ranked North Texas city on the list, landing at a lofty No. 49, powered by impressive rankings for both safety and affordability.