More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Fort Worth to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Fort Worth are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Fort Worth ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Fort Worth area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Fort Worth proper, although Southlake certainly tries.
We examined the 62 biggest suburbs of Fort Worth 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 Fort Worth in terms of quality of life.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 worst suburbs around Fort Worth for 2024
- Pelican Bay
- Everman
- Sansom Park
- Keene
- Forest Hill
- Cockrell Hill
- Reno
- Lake Worth
- Duncanville
- Cleburne
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Fort Worth? Pelican Bay ranks as the worst suburb of Fort Worth for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.
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 Fort Worth too.
The 10 Worst Fort Worth Suburbs To Live For 2024
1. Pelican Bay
/10
Population: 2,172
Median Income: $49,657 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.2% (highest)
Median Home Value: $146,453 (lowest)
More on Pelican Bay: Crime
We’ll get the ball rolling with Pelican Bay, the absolute worst place to live around Fort Worth according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Pelican Bay beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Fort Worth 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 Pelican Bay.
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.
/10
Population: 6,102
Median Income: $56,420 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.9% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $219,439 (6th lowest)
More on Everman: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Welcome to Everman. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 11.2 miles to Fort Worth. Income levels here are the 6th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $56,420 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
/10
Population: 5,387
Median Income: $54,909 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $187,670 (2nd lowest)
More on Sansom Park: Data | Cost Of Living
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Fort Worth suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Sansom Park 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 dropout rate is poor compared to other Fort Worth suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 6,451
Median Income: $53,701 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (23rd highest)
Median Home Value: $249,211 (11th lowest)
More on Keene: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you live in Keene, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 4th lowest Fort Worth suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 23rd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Fort Worth. Remember, we looked at 62 cities for this study.
Keene is about 26.7 miles to downtown.
/10
Population: 13,810
Median Income: $58,713 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $226,512 (8th lowest)
More on Forest Hill: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Forest Hill has the distinction of being a Fort Worth suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Forest Hill has the 8th lowest home values in the metro Fort Worth area, where the median price is $226,512. The median income is $250,001.
Forest Hill has an unemployment rate of 7.58% which ranks 8th worst.
6. Cockrell Hill
/10
Population: 3,799
Median Income: $49,810 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.8% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $217,279 (4th lowest)
More on Cockrell Hill: Crime
Cockrell Hill has 3,799 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 8.337744838538908%.
7. Reno
/10
Population: 3,034
Median Income: $76,027 (17th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (16th highest)
Median Home Value: $333,009 (28th lowest)
More on Reno:
Ah, Reno. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Fort Worth.
It’s the place with the 16th most out of work residents in the Fort Worth metro area (5.28%).
8. Lake Worth
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Population: 4,701
Median Income: $82,114 (25th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.0% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $234,759 (9th lowest)
More on Lake Worth: Crime
Lake Worth is a city about 5.3 miles from Fort Worth, but Fort Worth 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. Lake Worth has the 19th most uninsured people, 25th worst incomes, and has the 5th highest unemployment rate (7.96%) in the entire Fort Worth metro area.
Homes only cost $234,759 for a reason. That’s cheap for Fort Worth standards.
/10
Population: 40,288
Median Income: $66,601 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $280,157 (15th lowest)
More on Duncanville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you absolutely have to live near Fort Worth, then Duncanville might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Fort Worth suburb.
About 7.62% of residents are out of work.
/10
Population: 31,849
Median Income: $60,929 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 2.7% (53rd highest)
Median Home Value: $252,726 (12th lowest)
More on Cleburne: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Rounding out the ten worst Fort Worth suburbs to call home is Cleburne.
Located 29.4 miles outside the city, Cleburnes is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 53rd highest unemployment rate (2.67%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Fort Worth for 2024
To figure out how bad a Fort Worth suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2018-2022, 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 dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Fort Worth.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 62 suburbs to evaluate around Fort Worth.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 62 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 Fort Worth.” We’re looking at you, Pelican Bay.
We updated this article for 2024, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Fort Worth.
Summary: The areas around Fort Worth where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2024
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Fort Worth with Pelican Bay casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Fort Worth are .
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Fort Worth aren’t all bad. Southlake takes the cake as the best place to live around Fort Worth.
- Southlake
- Coppell
- Highland
For more Texas reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Texas
- Cheapest Places To Live In Texas
- Most Dangerous Places In Texas
- Best Places To Retire In Texas
- Richest Cities In Texas
- Safest Places In Texas
- Worst Places To Live In Texas
Detailed List Of The Worst Fort Worth Suburbs
Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pelican Bay | 2,172 | $49,657 | $146,453 |
2 | Everman | 6,102 | $56,420 | $219,439 |
3 | Sansom Park | 5,387 | $54,909 | $187,670 |
4 | Keene | 6,451 | $53,701 | $249,211 |
5 | Forest Hill | 13,810 | $58,713 | $226,512 |
6 | Cockrell Hill | 3,799 | $49,810 | $217,279 |
7 | Reno | 3,034 | $76,027 | $333,009 |
8 | Lake Worth | 4,701 | $82,114 | $234,759 |
9 | Duncanville | 40,288 | $66,601 | $280,157 |
10 | Cleburne | 31,849 | $60,929 | $252,726 |
11 | White Settlement | 18,106 | $52,999 | $222,225 |
12 | Venus | 5,211 | $94,612 | $291,561 |
13 | Grand Prairie | 197,279 | $76,626 | $317,988 |
14 | Arlington | 393,469 | $71,736 | $312,016 |
15 | Joshua | 8,004 | $66,183 | $322,941 |
16 | River Oaks | 7,586 | $66,754 | $216,467 |
17 | Blue Mound | 2,622 | $68,500 | $218,334 |
18 | Cedar Hill | 48,733 | $84,132 | $315,422 |
19 | Irving | 254,962 | $76,686 | $337,139 |
20 | Springtown | 3,232 | $69,500 | $382,731 |
21 | Alvarado | 5,107 | $86,083 | $247,729 |
22 | Richland Hills | 8,513 | $73,601 | $275,336 |
23 | Watauga | 23,509 | $88,775 | $279,226 |
24 | Azle | 13,409 | $83,081 | $329,100 |
25 | Crowley | 18,392 | $88,333 | $297,857 |
26 | Weatherford | 32,168 | $78,765 | $350,206 |
27 | Benbrook | 24,366 | $80,971 | $308,272 |
28 | Farmers Branch | 35,985 | $88,282 | $372,175 |
29 | Kennedale | 8,590 | $112,646 | $385,086 |
30 | Hurst | 40,053 | $71,275 | $328,991 |
31 | Euless | 60,360 | $77,403 | $347,693 |
32 | Lewisville | 125,028 | $82,006 | $395,721 |
33 | Burleson | 48,970 | $87,312 | $317,969 |
34 | Northlake | 6,202 | $105,962 | $511,249 |
35 | Ponder | 2,421 | $98,227 | $324,252 |
36 | Pantego | 2,529 | $84,125 | $355,589 |
37 | Carrollton | 132,284 | $95,380 | $410,598 |
38 | Willow Park | 5,055 | $104,931 | $415,055 |
39 | Bedford | 49,455 | $80,924 | $366,367 |
40 | Saginaw | 24,106 | $99,752 | $310,280 |
41 | Roanoke | 9,565 | $113,171 | $429,441 |
42 | Grapevine | 50,763 | $107,165 | $517,910 |
43 | North Richland Hills | 70,114 | $88,656 | $360,470 |
44 | Justin | 4,731 | $89,932 | $365,745 |
45 | Mansfield | 73,680 | $112,465 | $423,311 |
46 | Dalworthington Gardens | 2,437 | $108,750 | $515,114 |
47 | Hickory Creek | 4,906 | $138,584 | $489,358 |
48 | Annetta | 3,077 | $160,893 | $518,149 |
49 | Hudson Oaks | 2,396 | $125,795 | $501,383 |
50 | Copper Canyon | 2,125 | $135,938 | $890,304 |
51 | Corinth | 22,502 | $116,083 | $411,905 |
52 | Flower Mound | 76,630 | $154,471 | $582,405 |
53 | Haslet | 2,336 | $160,481 | $407,337 |
54 | Aledo | 5,053 | $123,045 | $497,638 |
55 | Argyle | 4,638 | $205,246 | $653,803 |
56 | Double Oak | 3,039 | $187,115 | $769,545 |
57 | Trophy Club | 13,251 | $183,125 | $662,834 |
58 | Keller | 45,320 | $162,094 | $603,388 |
59 | Colleyville | 25,876 | $196,298 | $825,914 |
60 | Highland | 19,267 | $166,429 | $877,307 |
61 | Coppell | 42,513 | $143,817 | $591,824 |
62 | Southlake | 30,779 | $250,001 | $1,122,373 |
This ranking is seriously flawed. For example. Cleburne, most people do not work in the suburb they live. I work in Fort Worth, make very good money and I am moving to Cleburne for the prices. This is a great thing since the northern suburbs and Fort Worth have over inflated home prices. Those home are truly not worth their value. I am looking for fair market housing, low crime and Cleberne offers both.
How do you determine drop out rate? Those that drop out from Everman High School or those that live there that dropped out of high school from wherever?
I agree with Justin’s statement. My husband and I have great jobs with UT-Southwestern. We moved in May, 2019 to an amazing home in 76108: White Settlement. We have wonderful neighbors and a home that we can afford. The property taxes are not horrible and it takes 13 minutes to get to the hospital district in Fort Worth. We shop in one of the swanky areas just next to us in 76106. I frankly can’t understand why people diss White Settlement. We came from Southern California which is MUCH worse.
Lake worth has every bussiness you could ever need with less then 5000 residents… and within a short drive from all the neighborhoods as its played out with the businesses in the center with neiborhoods around the edges, the traffic can buildup during rush hour due to it being the main way to azle etc. lakeworth schools have Northside children bused in making the free to all breakfast and lunch policy due to poverty, yet this program has shown to benefit all classes of students in acually eatting breakfast. I dont even live in lakeworth but find it amazing the amount of bussiness the town has been able to support as the city I live in has 44000 people and cant get any businesses to invest nor stay in bussiness when they do.
Cockrell Hill is a Dallas suburb. Cockrell Hill is surrounded Dallas not Fort Worth.