The 10 Dumbest Places In Texas For 2024


The dumbest places in Texas are Wilmer and Galena Park for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Lone Star State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.

While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.

We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Texas have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.

A recent study we published found that Texas is the 42nd smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 97.

But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Texas are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Dumbest Cities In Texas Map

Don’t freak out.

Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.

For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 342 cities in Texas to rank. You can take a look at the data below.

For more Texas reading, check out:

The 10 Dumbest Places In Texas For 2024

Wilmer, TX

Source: Wikipedia User nthomas76207 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 5,370
% Adult High School Dropout: 37.0%
% Highly Educated: 6.0%
More on Wilmer: Data | Crime | Real Estate

Galena Park, TX

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 10,641
% Adult High School Dropout: 37.0%
% Highly Educated: 7.0%
More on Galena Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

South Houston, TX

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10
Population: 16,169
% Adult High School Dropout: 41.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on South Houston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10
Population: 5,505
% Adult High School Dropout: 32.0%
% Highly Educated: 7.0%
More on Sinton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Raymondville, TX

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10
Population: 10,301
% Adult High School Dropout: 32.0%
% Highly Educated: 7.0%
More on Raymondville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Kermit, TX

Source: Flickr User TexasExplorer98 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10
Population: 5,984
% Adult High School Dropout: 33.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on Kermit: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10
Population: 18,493
% Adult High School Dropout: 41.0%
% Highly Educated: 10.0%
More on Alton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Pearsall, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 8,870
% Adult High School Dropout: 32.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on Pearsall: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 6,313
% Adult High School Dropout: 43.0%
% Highly Educated: 11.0%
More on Penitas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Balch Springs, TX

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10
Population: 27,322
% Adult High School Dropout: 31.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on Balch Springs: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Lone Star State

We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.

So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.

In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Texas:

  • % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
  • % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)

We got the data from the U.S. Census 2018-2022 American Community Survey.

Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Texas from dumbest to brightest.

For this ranking, we used every Texas city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2024, and it’s our tenth time ranking the dumbest cities in Texas.

There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep

If you’re measuring the locations in Texas where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.

The dumbest cities in Texas are Wilmer, Galena Park, South Houston, Sinton, Raymondville, Kermit, Alton, Pearsall, Penitas, and Balch Springs.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Texas, according to science:

  1. Highland Park
  2. Southlake
  3. University Park

For more Texas reading, check out:

Dumbest Cities In Texas For 2024

Rank City Population % Adult High School Dropout % Highly Educated
1 Wilmer, TX 5,370 37.0% 6.0%
2 Galena Park, TX 10,641 37.0% 7.0%
3 South Houston, TX 16,169 41.0% 8.0%
4 Sinton, TX 5,505 32.0% 7.0%
5 Raymondville, TX 10,301 32.0% 7.0%
6 Kermit, TX 5,984 33.0% 8.0%
7 Alton, TX 18,493 41.0% 10.0%
8 Pearsall, TX 8,870 32.0% 8.0%
9 Penitas, TX 6,313 43.0% 11.0%
10 Balch Springs, TX 27,322 31.0% 8.0%
11 Socorro, TX 35,429 33.0% 10.0%
12 Hutchins, TX 5,633 30.0% 7.0%
13 Rusk, TX 5,344 31.0% 9.0%
14 Robstown, TX 10,246 31.0% 10.0%
15 Palmview, TX 15,245 38.0% 12.0%
16 Brookshire, TX 5,187 30.0% 10.0%
17 Dumas, TX 14,404 27.0% 10.0%
18 Seagoville, TX 18,658 28.0% 11.0%
19 Marlin, TX 5,478 24.0% 7.0%
20 Donna, TX 16,742 35.0% 13.0%
21 San Juan, TX 35,463 36.0% 14.0%
22 Hereford, TX 14,943 25.0% 11.0%
23 San Benito, TX 24,766 30.0% 13.0%
24 Yoakum, TX 5,841 27.0% 12.0%
25 Alamo, TX 19,811 34.0% 14.0%
26 Brownfield, TX 8,912 23.0% 9.0%
27 Forest Hill, TX 13,810 27.0% 12.0%
28 Littlefield, TX 5,939 26.0% 12.0%
29 Freeport, TX 10,738 21.0% 6.0%
30 Muleshoe, TX 5,515 28.0% 13.0%
31 Roma, TX 11,531 41.0% 15.0%
32 Gonzales, TX 7,190 25.0% 12.0%
33 Kirby, TX 8,134 27.0% 13.0%
34 Everman, TX 6,102 23.0% 11.0%
35 Wharton, TX 8,669 24.0% 11.0%
36 Luling, TX 5,455 26.0% 13.0%
37 River Oaks, TX 7,586 26.0% 13.0%
38 Sansom Park, TX 5,387 19.0% 5.0%
39 Hondo, TX 8,424 21.0% 10.0%
40 Gatesville, TX 15,848 20.0% 8.0%
41 Port Arthur, TX 55,897 22.0% 12.0%
42 Gladewater, TX 6,166 22.0% 12.0%
43 Los Fresnos, TX 8,081 28.0% 15.0%
44 Lamesa, TX 8,571 28.0% 15.0%
45 Kaufman, TX 7,520 25.0% 14.0%
46 Mexia, TX 6,907 20.0% 10.0%
47 Center, TX 5,221 22.0% 12.0%
48 Willis, TX 6,561 22.0% 12.0%
49 Mercedes, TX 16,361 29.0% 16.0%
50 Elsa, TX 5,721 19.0% 9.0%
51 Alice, TX 17,916 22.0% 13.0%
52 Monahans, TX 7,595 20.0% 11.0%
53 Big Spring, TX 25,949 21.0% 12.0%
54 Edna, TX 5,985 22.0% 13.0%
55 Pharr, TX 79,434 31.0% 17.0%
56 Uvalde, TX 15,342 27.0% 16.0%
57 Sweetwater, TX 10,546 19.0% 11.0%
58 Brady, TX 5,129 25.0% 15.0%
59 Navasota, TX 7,843 28.0% 16.0%
60 Mount Pleasant, TX 16,065 23.0% 14.0%
61 Plainview, TX 20,113 25.0% 15.0%
62 Alvarado, TX 5,107 24.0% 15.0%
63 Pasadena, TX 150,620 26.0% 16.0%
64 Port Isabel, TX 5,137 22.0% 14.0%
65 Childress, TX 5,786 19.0% 12.0%
66 La Feria, TX 6,848 25.0% 16.0%
67 Bellmead, TX 10,480 25.0% 16.0%
68 El Campo, TX 12,242 25.0% 16.0%
69 Baytown, TX 84,449 23.0% 15.0%
70 Dayton, TX 8,839 18.0% 11.0%
71 Cleveland, TX 7,756 20.0% 13.0%
72 Brownsville, TX 186,999 32.0% 20.0%
73 Liberty, TX 8,348 21.0% 14.0%
74 Vernon, TX 10,018 21.0% 15.0%
75 Cuero, TX 8,138 17.0% 11.0%
76 Hidalgo, TX 14,075 32.0% 21.0%
77 Breckenridge, TX 5,230 21.0% 15.0%
78 Cameron, TX 5,356 25.0% 17.0%
79 Crockett, TX 6,365 21.0% 15.0%
80 Corsicana, TX 25,107 22.0% 16.0%
81 Jacksonville, TX 14,104 30.0% 21.0%
82 Laredo, TX 255,293 30.0% 21.0%
83 Livingston, TX 5,672 19.0% 14.0%
84 Carthage, TX 6,549 19.0% 14.0%
85 Del Rio, TX 34,722 27.0% 20.0%
86 Slaton, TX 5,859 17.0% 12.0%
87 Levelland, TX 12,607 21.0% 16.0%
88 Seguin, TX 30,318 23.0% 18.0%
89 Mineral Wells, TX 15,049 17.0% 13.0%
90 Sealy, TX 6,837 17.0% 14.0%
91 Perryton, TX 8,664 24.0% 19.0%
92 Ennis, TX 20,709 23.0% 19.0%
93 Vidor, TX 9,806 13.0% 9.0%
94 Port Lavaca, TX 11,545 18.0% 15.0%
95 Lacy-Lakeview, TX 7,190 17.0% 14.0%
96 Fort Stockton, TX 8,404 17.0% 14.0%
97 Hillsboro, TX 8,281 20.0% 17.0%
98 Seminole, TX 7,024 24.0% 21.0%
99 Giddings, TX 5,017 16.0% 14.0%
100 Mcgregor, TX 5,478 15.0% 13.0%
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

12 thoughts on “The 10 Dumbest Places In Texas For 2024

  1. WOW this is embarrassingly inaccurate for the people who live in these towns. Not to mention really really inconsiderate.

  2. I would like to invite whoever wrote this article to come to South Texas to our University of Texas RVG and take a refresher course in research journalism. I have lived in South Texas for 39 years. Although I am not Hispanic, I am a semi-retired bilingual teacher who has worked at the elementary school in Sullivan City. It is active and vital; a school going places. Sullivan City is located in LaJoya ISD, where I often work as a substitute. LaJoya places a lot of emphasis on the arts and music as well as academics and sports.

    This article doesn’t even mention that a lot of these students don’t speak English and come from poor families. Due to its location, the community may always have a lot of newly arrived immigrants who are from disadvantaged backgrounds. It might mean fewer high school diplomas among them to begin with, but so help me, it doesn’t mean that these people or the city is “dumb.” Many of even the poorest people still support their kids in their education and that is SMART.

    1. It is pretty clear this “writer” is not well educated by any means. It’s interesting they would choose to write an article calling out supposed “dumb” people in such a hypocritical fashion. I get that he’s an un-educated troll-type writer who relies on click bait, nonsensical journalism to make a living, but this article just makes him look really foolish.

  3. I think you need to change your assertion on the city of Haskell! It is one of the finest places in the state of Texas to live!

  4. I agree with Linda Teuling. The authors of this article are pretty dumb and uneducated on how to do research. It should be pretty obvious that the so-called dumbest cities are also those likely to have the highest ratios of uneducated illegal alien agricultural workers.

  5. Speaking of dumb; this so-called “article” is as ignorant as it is racist. Some of the adults who do not have degrees were explicitly swatted with wooden boards for practicing elements of Hispanic culture in at least one of these towns. In addition, as immigrants they were assigned to a 1st grade class even if they were 15 and well educated. They were denied the opportunity to advance more than one grade per year, and many students were required to repeat grades; not to mention separate (and unequal) facilities. If you create a hellish, racist schooling environment, and then call people “stupid” for choosing not to subject themselves to that level of degradation, that’s simply adding insult to injury. While practices today are less explicitly racially biased, there is a vast inequity that is not statistically randomized, as one would expect in a meritorious society. And just because you tried to write a “clever” article to score a check and make a living doesn’t absolve you of responsibility for perpetuating racist notions of dumbness.

  6. It seems a bit hypocritical to judge so called ‘dumb’ people when you struggle considerably with proper grammar. If you plan on throwing rocks at your neighbors house, you better live in a house made of steel.

  7. This article is light on facts for example according to the census bureau, Yoakum had a population of over 5800, and a rate of people under 25 without a high school diploma if 22% Go to the census bureau American factfinder, so it appears your info is in error

  8. Talk about dumb, look at what the author wrote: “In the categories of SAT scores and college graduation rate, Texas ranked as the 39th dumbest state in America, a little smarter than New Mexico, but dumber than Georgia.” If you are the first dumbest state that is bad. If you are the 50th dumbest state, you are the smartest. So the 39th dumbest state is actually pretty good!

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