Welcome to the Wyze Safest Cities Report for the great state of Texas. We at Wyze have spent years helping you create smarter, safer homes. Now we want to help you choose smarter, safer cities!
The decision to move can be nerve-racking. There are so many important questions:
“What’s the cost of living?”
“How worried should I be about a natural disaster?”
“Do the potholes outnumber the potheads?”
“How far is the nearest bowl of ice cream?”
“Where am I least likely to be murdered?”
The questions probably run in that order.
We can’t answer all of them, but if you’ve got your eye on Texas, we can give you some basic info about crime rates in the safest, and the most dangerous, cities there. Granted you can’t learn everything you need to know from a survey of state trends and a snapshot of the local crime stats. And granted, too, that in a state with over 1200 cities, it’s maybe shortsighted to single out fifty. And granted even further that it’s a little unfair to compare the crime rates of cities of 25,000 with cities of half a million (though, as we’ll see below, small size is no guarantee of a safer city)…
BUT
knowledge is power. So with those caveats out of the way, let’s dive right into the safest (and least safe) places to live in the Lone Star State.
Getting to know the great state of Texas!
The first thing to know about Texas is that it’s big.
Really big.
Like, TEXAS BIG.
The proverb “Everything’s bigger in Texas” isn’t far from the truth. Texas has a way of super-sizing pretty much everything, from its insects to its interstates. Giant steaks. Giant snakes. Enormous state pride. The hottest weather, the warmest welcomes. Fantastic fireworks and fanatical football (or, in Texas-speak, “Friday Night Lights”). If Texans set their mind to something, you can be sure it’s going to turn out big.
Of course the state itself is big too, both in population (second only to California) and land mass (second to Alaska), but don’t point that out to a Texan. If there’s one thing a true Texan knows for sure, it’s that their state is, in every way question, the biggest and the best. And let’s be honest, there’s plenty for Texans to be proud of. Here are just a few facts that make Texans proud of their BIGGEST (almost) state in America:
- Texas is the only state that was an independent nation before it joined the US.
- If it were a country today, Texas would have the 9th largest economy in the world. [1]
- Texas has a population of 28,995,900. [2]
- The average annual rent for a 2 bedroom home in Texas is $10,368. [3]
- The median household income is $61,874. [4]
- The cost of living, on average, is 6% less in Texas than in the rest of the country. [5]
- The average Texan home costs $195,000, compared to $231,200 nationally [6].
- The state’s official slogan is “Texas: It’s Like a Whole Other Country.” Unofficial state slogans have included “Texas: Belt Buckles as Big as Your Head,” “Texas: A Great Big Flat State,” and “I Messed with Texas and Now I Have a Rash,” but those proved less effective for tourism. So did the slogan, “Texas: Come for the Adventure—Stay for Your Wrongful Execution.”
By the way, don’t confuse the state slogan with the motto. Back when Texas was its own country, its motto was, “Remember the Alamo,” but that was replaced by the current motto, “Friendship.” Which makes sense because the word “Texas” comes from a native Caddo word that means “friend.” Some Texans think it’s time to replace this motto with something that more accurately reflects Texan attitudes and hospitality, maybe “Keep playin’, see what happens.”
Anyway, back to the things that make the great state of Texas live up to its slogan. Besides being big and hot, Texas is famous for Blue Bell ice cream. (For real. Try it.) Also, Big Red soda and BBQ like no other. Tex-Mex cuisine. Ten gallon hats. Stretch limos with longhorns on the hood. No income tax! The second most Fortune 500 companies of any state. (Again, don’t mention this to a Texan.) Six Flags. The Houston Space Center. Country music. A strong export economy. (Texas exports more than the next two states, California and New York, combined.) The largest and longest running state fair. Oil rigs in the middle of cow pastures. Also a 58 meter free-standing cross alongside Interstate 40 in Carson County. It’s big. It’s bold. It’s Texas.
You get the idea.
The Top Ten Safest Cities in Texas
But where, in all the vast, glorious state of Texas, do you want to live if safety is top of your list? Without further ado, here are the top ten safest places to live in the state.
Actually, wait. Just one more ado.
We should say that these rankings come from the 2019 data of the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. It includes only cities with 25,000 people or more. Also, the data is weighted so that violent crimes count for 70% and property crime count for 30% because, you know, that’s exactly how much more it hurts to get stabbed versus having porch pirates make off with your delivery of loaded taco fries.
Okay, the safest places to live in Texas:
- Colleyville
- University Park
- Sachse
- Keller
- Friendswood
- Southlake
- Flower Mound
- Wylie
- Cedar Park
- Coppell
With such low crime rates, it’s not surprising that the first three cities on the list have populations under 30,000. Even the most populous city on the list (Cedar Park) is only 80,000. Still, as you’ll see in our next section, being small is no guarantee that a city is going to be safe.
Top Ten Most Dangerous Cities in Texas
- Houston
- Lubbock
- Beaumont
- Odessa
- Dallas
- Corpus Christi
- San Antonio
- Amarillo
- Balch Springs
- Lufkin
Perhaps size does matter somewhat, since Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio all have well over a million residents each. However, Lufkin ranks right up there with these bad boys in crime despite having only 35,555 residents, and little Balch Springs has only 25,511. In fact, in terms of property crimes per 1,000 residents, Lufkin has a higher rate (43.8) than any of those three bigger cities. The upshot is, if we want to see what makes one Texas city safer than another, we’ve got to look beyond population. So let’s do exactly that.
Violent Crime in Texas: Facts and Trends
The good news is that while the population of Texas statewide has increased steadily every year since 1990, the crime rates have not kept pace. In fact, crime rates per capita have gone down significantly in Texas over the last three decades. Here are some specific facts and trends regarding violent crimes in Texas.
- Texas’ crime rate is slightly higher than the national average. The rate of violent crime (defined by the FBI as rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and murder) is 4.2 per thousand people in Texas, while property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson) is at 23.9 per thousand. [7]
- Violent crimes per 100,000 residents dropped from 761 in 1990 to 419 in 2019. [8]
- Over those three decades, murder, robbery, and aggravated assault all dropped dramatically. [8]
- Only the category of rape has failed to improve. Back in 1990 Texas had 52 cases of forcible rape per 100,000 residents, but by 2016 that number had fallen to 35. Unfortunately, in 2017 the number of forcible rape cases jumped back to 51, and it has been in the 50s ever since. [8]
- Beaumont and Houston have the highest murder rates in Texas, with rates of 8.6 and 5.9 per 100,000 respectively. [9]
- Amarillo has a particularly high rate of violent crime. The chances of becoming a victim of violent crime in Amarillo are about 1 in 138. [10] (The chance of becoming a victim of property crime there is about 1 in 25.)
- The majority of arrests in Texas are because of drug-related offenses. In part, this is related to the 1,254 miles of border that Texas shares with Mexico. Though drug-related offenses are not necessarily violent crimes, drugs are a major contributing factor in other crimes, including violent ones.
- Like the country in general, Texas saw an increase in violent crime during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 the state has experienced a 2% increase in violent crime. [11]
- Although rates of violent crime actually went down slightly in Texas between 2018 and 2021, concern about violent crime is 11% higher among Texans then among other Americans. [11] This may be related to the nation-wide rise in crime since the advent of COVID.
- A high percentage of Texans own and carry personal firearms, but not as many as you might think. Although Texas is often seen as the torch carrier of pro-gun camp, Texas does not have the highest rate of gun ownership; In fact, it’s not even in the top ten! Texas rates near the middle of the pack for percentage of citizens who own a gun (45.7%) Compare that to 66.3% in Montana. [12]
- Texas often appears near the top of the list for mass shootings. In 2019, Texas led the nation with 6 of the country’s 28 active shooter events, and those 6 events resulted in 36 deaths and 52 other people being injured. On the other hand, Texas has also led the nation in modernizing response tactics to mass public shootings. [13]
Property Crime in Texas: Facts and Trends
- As with violent crime, property crime rates in Texas have declined significantly since 1970, [8] but they have risen slightly during the COVID pandemic.
- As of 2021, Texas ranks #16 among states for property crimes. [14]
- Property crimes in per 100,000 dropped significantly in Texas from 4,410 in 2000 to 2,391 in 2019. [8]
- Theft is the second most common crime in Texas, behind drug-related crimes. In 2019, there were 1,712 thefts in Texas per 100,000 persons, resulting in a total of $805,938,632 loss to theft victims. [15]
- Houston has an unusually high rate of robbery at 233 per 100,000. [16]
- Motor vehicle theft has been on the rise with a statewide increase of 8.9% from 2018 to 2019. [17]
- Auto theft is fairly high in Texas. In 2019 Texas saw 77,489 auto thefts, which made it #2 in the nation behind California (although this may be one statistic where Texas might be okay with not being #1). Odessa, Texas had 946 auto thefts in 2019, which made it the city with the fifth highest rate of auto thefts in the nation. [18]
The Top Twenty Safest Cities in Texas
With that general information, let’s get a little deeper into the numbers and see what we can learn about the safest cities in the Lone Star State.
Colleyville
Colleyville is consistently ranked the safest city in Texas and one of the safest in the United States. Not surprisingly, it is also expensive. The cost of living in Colleyville is 44% higher than the national average, but residents say they love to live there because of the great schools, kid-friendly environment, and its 12 award-winning parks and greenways. And, of course, it’s safe. Your chances of becoming a victim of violent crime in Colleyville is 1 in 5,418 (as opposed to your chances in Texas generally, which are 1 in 239).
The city’s namesake, Lilburn Howard Colley, was an American Civil War veteran and one of four medical doctors who lived in the small town (then called Bransford) in the 1880s. Colleyville remains a community of highly educated professionals; in fact it is the most educated city in the state, with most of its residents holding a bachelors degree or higher, and over 91% of its workforce holding white-collar jobs. Nestled between Dallas and Forth Worth, the city is just 3.5 miles west of the D/FW international airport.
Population: 25,557
Median Household Income: $151,169
Median Home Price: $518,700
Median Age: 47.8
Violent: 0.18 Property: 6.15
University Park
The second safest city in Texas is also among the most highly educated cities in the United States. In University Park, 72% of the residents over 25 have college or advanced degrees, and 97% of its high school graduates typically continue on to college. A city of only about 24,000, University Park is home to Southern Methodist University and the George W Bush Presidential Center. Five miles north of downtown Dallas and close to Dallas Love Field airport, the city features attractive homes, beautiful parks, and a lot of churches. Soooo many churches.
University Park and its tiny neighbor to the south, Highland Park, form a little island in the middle of the northern Dallas sprawl. Funny story—back in 1924 when University Park asked to be annexed by the city of Dallas, Dallas refused. Now, independent little University Park is the wealthiest city in Texas and one of the richest in the United States. Suck it, Dallas.
Population: 24,692
Median Household Income: $176,836
Median Home Price: $1,346,500
Median Age: 32.9
Violent: 0.24 Property: 7.43
Sachse
Third on our list is a city no one can say. At least, no one seems to be sure how to pronounce the name unless they live there. Is it “Satches”? “Sachet”? “Sacks?” “Sexy”? We have it on good authority that’s actually pronounced “Sak-see” and rhymes with “taxi.”
But however you pronounce it, Sachse is a booming town seventeen miles northeast of Dallas on the line between Dallas and Collin Counties. It’s an easy drive to all the shopping, entertainment, and nightlife of the big city, but it’s still rural enough to be bursting with small town charm. The really big events of the year include the Easter Egg Scramble, the Arbor Day Jubilee, and the Red, White & Blue Blast every July.
Population: 24,303
Median Household Income: $91,543
Median Home Price: $296,100
Median Age: 37.2
Violent: 0.48 Property: 6.87
Keller
Keller is basically a slightly less pricey version of its next-door neighbor, Colleyville—number one on our “safest cities in Texas” list. Several other of its neighbors—Southlake, Flower Mound, and Coppell—also made the list. So what makes Keller unique?
The same question seems to have been on the minds of Keller’s PR team when they made the city’s website. They were careful to stress Keller’s “unique” Old Town Keller and Keller Town Center, its “award-winning parks,” and its “award-winning city facilities and programs,” not to mention it’s “impressive natatorium” (which sounds way more unique than “indoor swimming pool”). Still, there’s a reason Keller has won all the awards it touts, if perhaps a little self-consciously. The Keller Pointe (with its impressive extra “e”) recreational center really is a beautiful facility, and with two lakes, eleven parks, a butterfly garden, and more than 26 miles of hiking and biking trails, Keller offers about as much beauty as you could hope for within easy access to Fort Worth, Dallas, and the D/FW airport. It’s a great place to live…much like its neighbors.
Population: 45,357
Median Household Income: $114,266
Median Home Price: $411,900
Median Age: 41
Violent: 0.52 Property: 7.21
Friendswood
Our fifth safest city in Texas is Friendswood, a friendly little suburb of not-so-friendly, not-so-little Houston. The name is not just a publicity stunt to distinguish it from its big, scary neighbor to the north; Friendswood is actually the only Texas city that was founded by The Religious Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers.
From a Quaker farming community, Friendswood has gone through several economic reincarnations. It built a life-saving Depression-era fig industry and became a welcome home for NASA employees when the Johnson Space Center was built next door. Today, Friendswood is a highly-educated, prosperous community that actually lives up to its cheesy official vision statement is “Together we build our future in a friendly place to live, work, play, learn, and worship.”
Population: 38,811
Median Household Income: $95,120
Median Home Price: $299,700
Median Age: 41.1
Violent: 0.64 Property: 6.48
https://www.ci.friendswood.tx.us/
Southlake
In 2021, Southlake was named “America’s richest city” by 24/7 Wall St. Other publications have come up with somewhat different rankings, but Southlake is undoubtedly near the top of the nation’s wealthiest cities as well as one of the safest places to live. It’s also about as “Texas” as a Texas city can get.
Nowhere is Texan pride more unapologetically on display than at Southlake. (They have a Tesla gallery in their mall, for crying out loud.) But, as you would expect with Texan pride, they back it up with results. There is not purer measure of a Texas city’s pride than it’s football team, and in that respect, Southlake Carroll High ain’t playin’. The Dragons have won twenty state titles, including eight football championships, and it’s consistently ranked nationally. Oh yeah, and the rest of the city’s pretty great too.
Population: 30,090
Median Household Income: $170,742
Median Home Price: $671,600
Median Age: 42.1
Violent: 0.3 Property: 11.71
https://www.cityofsouthlake.com/
Flower Mound
Flower Mound is named for a small hill at the center of town. If you’ve ever driven across the endless Texas flatlands, you understand why a 50 foot mound with flowers on it is a big deal there—big enough to build a city around it.
Flower Mound is just four miles away from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport and minutes from Southlake, Colleyville, Coppell, and Keller, other cities on this list. Although not as affluent as some of its neighbors, Flower Mound has landed on all kinds of “best” lists, including (in 2021) “Most Livable Small Cities in the US,” “Best Suburb to Raise a Family in Texas,” and “Best Public Schools in Texas.” If you are looking for a safe, hospitable, family-friendly alternative to Southlake and can live without a Tesla gallery in your mall, Flower Mound may be for you.
Population: 71,575
Median Household Income: $121,549
Median Home Price: $382,700
Median Age: 40
Violent: 0.54 Property: 9.23
Wylie
The city of Wylie lies about 24 miles northeast of Dallas, right next to Sachse, between Lavon Lake and Lake Ray Hubbard. It was originally called Nickleville, by some accounts because of a running joke that “no one who lived there was worth a plug nickel.” For a long time, Wylie was considered lowbrow, little more than a farming community that supplied agricultural products to Dallas and shipped them by train all over the country. “King Cotton” was rivaled by the sweet white onions grown there, and Wylie earned the reputation of the Onion Capital of the World. It also earned the nickname “Wide Awake Wylie” because of its active nightlife, a reputation that it still proudly embraces.
A lot of cities claim to have a “small town feel,” but Wylie can truly make that claim—for good or bad. In Wylie you can find rodeos, water sports, pedal car races, bluegrass music, an annual magic festival, and National Night Out, late-night community event to raise awareness of crime prevention. Apparently, it’s working, since Wylie lands at number eight on our list of safest cities in Texas.
Population: 47,855
Median Household Income: $83,594
Median Home Price: $271,100
Median Age: 33.4
Violent: 0.7 Property: 7.2
Cedar Park
Before European settlers arrived, the Cedar Park area was inhabited by the Lipan Apache, Comanche, and Tonkawa tribes. Evidence found in 1983 showed that the area, sixteen miles northwest of modern day Austin, has been continually inhabited since around 5,000 BC. The evidence was found at the Wilson-Leonard archeological site, named after the Wilson-Leonard indigenous peoples, the tribe that history all but forgot.
Seriously though, Cedar Park is a welcome alternative to the Dallas/Fort Worth suburbs we’ve seen so far on this list. It’s close to the legendary music and culture scene of Austin; it has great weather and outdoor opportunities, and it’s actually affordable. Plus, it has a 400-year-old tree that they decorate with 30,000 lights every December. In 2021 Ascent magazine ranked Cedar Park as the fourth top city for millennials who love Christmas lights in the Southwest.
Population: 70,010
Median Household Income: $79,323
Median Home Price: $285,400
Median Age: 35
Violent: 0.71 Property: 8.41
https://www.cedarparktexas.gov/
Coppell
Coppell, Texas wasn’t much more than a little farming village until 1974 when the Dallas/Fort Worth airport opened right next door. From fewer than 2,000 residents, Coppell then rapidly transformed into a thriving upper-middle-class suburb. By 2000 nearly all its land had been fully developed, and growth slowed. But by then, Coppell had secured its reputation as a safe, clean, comfortable community with easy access to the airport and to the attractions of both Dallas and Fort Worth, which is good, because Coppell has no night life of its own. Instead, Coppell emphasizes quality schools and family friendly neighborhoods. With 2.5 trees per resident, it has the third highest tree to human ratio in the country behind Sacramento and Ann Arbor. That’s at least one factor to help offset the oppressive summer humidity and heat.
Population: 41,138
Median Household Income: $111,325
Median Home Price: $407,100
Median Age: 40.5
Violent: 0.59 Property: 12.45
Allen
With over 96,000 residents, Allen is the largest of the cities so far on our list of the safest places to live in Texas, and with size comes certain perks. Allen boasts not one but four major shopping centers with 5 million square feet of shopping, plus over 250 restaurants, 70 miles of hike-and-bike trails, 60 parks, and seven recreation facilities. Large enough to host its own philharmonic orchestra, symphony chorus, and ballet, Allen also has art galleries, museums and other cultural and historical sites. For the kids, Allen offers a wakepark, an ice rink, and one of the state’s largest outdoor skate parks. Home to a dozen corporate headquarters, Allen is supported by a strong economy. To see Allen today, you’d never guess how different it was less than a century ago.
Allen was named for Ebenezer Allen, the politician and railroad promoter who brought the railroad through that area. In 1878, Allen had a brush with fame when it witnessed Texas’ very first train robbery. Up until the 1950s, Allen was a tiny town with only a few hundred citizens, but the construction of a nearby US Highway and the explosive growth of Dallas (thanks to the D/FW airport) changed that. Now you can play a round of golf, peruse an art gallery, or take in a symphony with nary a train robber in sight.
Population: 96,865
Median Household Income: $102,120
Median Home Price: $321,200
Median Age: 36.2
Violent: 0.83 Property: 10.89
Mansfield
Around 1859, shortly before the American Civil War, two men named Ralph Man and Julien Feild built a three-story brick grist mill (the first in Texas) at the crossroads that would become the center of Mansfield, about 20 miles south of Fort Worth. Mr. Feild (yes, that’s how it was spelled) also opened a general store and became the first postmaster of the town that would bear his and his partner’s names. The Man and Feild mill brought prosperity to the surrounding area, and both Feild and Man were excused from active duty during the Civil War so that their mill could continue supplying flour to the Confederate troops. Unfortunately, Mansfield has a long history of being on the losing side of civil rights. In 1956 a federal court ordered Mansfield school district to desegregate—the first such order in Texas—and 300 whites protested in front of the high school to prevent three black students from attending. The battles raged on until 1965 when Mansfield faced a lack of federal funds and the school district quietly desegregated.
Despite its troubled history, modern Mansfield has become a remarkably safe city with affordable housing, historical museums, easy access to two big cities, and big plans of their own to develop a Downtown District.
Population: 65,033
Median Household Income: $89,774
Median Home Price: $278,800
Median Age: 36.3
Violent: 0.89 Property: 10.5
https://www.mansfieldtexas.gov/
Frisco
Number 12 on our list of the list of safest places to live is Texas is Frisco. Designated the fastest-growing city in the United States from 2000 to 2009, Frisco earned the same distinction again in 2017. What makes Frisco such a popular place to live? Maybe it’s the fact that Frisco claims to be “minutes from everything,” with easy access to Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington (13 miles away). It doesn’t hurt that Frisco is verdant and outdoorsy, an official Tree City USA with over 90 miles of trails.
But what really makes Frisco stand is right there on its logo: “Play Frisco.” It’s a town that likes to have fun. Besides its remarkable night life, Frisco has an almost pathological commitment to sports, games, and entertainment. The first season of Dallas was filmed there. You’ll find the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, as well as numerous professional sports teams, the Hawaiian Falls water theme park, an Olympic-sized pool, and 50 acres of athletic fields. Dude Perfect, the famous sports comedy group that hosts the most subscribed sports channel on YouTube, hails from Frisco. And if you happen to be a dog-lover, even your canine companions can get in on the play at Mans Best Field Dog Park.
If “The City that Plays” sounds like the place for you, bear in mind that even though home prices are lower in Frisco than in much of the rest of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, the rent in Frisco is actually higher.
Population: 155,363
Median Household Income: $112,155
Median Home Price: $404,500
Median Age: 36.5
Violent: 0.8 Property: 11.98
Georgetown
Georgetown (as well as the next two entries on our “Safest Cities in Texas” list) is a peaceful little suburb north of Austin. Although it has become one of the top ten fastest-growing cities in the US, it has a very, very old history. Archeological digs have turned up evidence that the area has been inhabited by humans for at least 11,000 years, stretching back to the Ice Age.
The city was named for George Washington, but not the one you’re thinking of. George Washington Glasscock was a one-time business partner of Abraham Lincoln (yes, that Abraham Lincoln) before he moved to Texas and donated the land for the city. On a side note, Georgetown is the country seat of Williamson County, named after Robert McAlpin Williamson who was called “Three-Legged-Willie,” but only (disappointingly) for his wooden leg. Williamson was a Texas Supreme Court Justice, a Texas Ranger, and the first white man documented playing the banjo.
Anywhooo…Georgetown is now known for, well, not being all that well-known. I mean, sure, it’s a quiet, pretty place with a university and a lot of historical buildings and what some have called, “the most beautiful town square in Texas,” and yes it has its own airport, but Georgetown’s most happening event is its yearly Red Poppy Festival. Still, if you’re looking for an affordable, family-friendly community and are willing to drive 30 minutes to Austin for your big-city needs, Mr. Glasscock’s city might be perfect for you.
Population: 63,062
Median Household Income: $62,219
Median Home Price: $289,300
Median Age: 47.4
Violent: 1.03 Property: 9.32
Leander
From 2018 to 2019, Leander, Texas was ranked the fastest-growing city in America. [19] Besides offering lots of open land, a growing workforce, a wealth of business opportunities, and an easy commuter rail ride to downtown Austin, Leander also boasts an Old Town Street Festival; Old Town breweries, wineries, and farmer’s market; Old Town Summer Nights; the Old Town Christmas Festival, and the Old Town Rudolph Run 5K.
If it seems odd to find so much “Old” in an up-and-coming community, consider this: Leander’s oldest resident is over 10,000 years old. Seriously. In 1983, the remains of a prehistoric woman dubbed Leanderthal Lady was discovered near Leander, one of the oldest and most intact skeletons ever found in America. Actually, it was found just to the south of Leander in nearby Cedar Park, but would you rather be reading about the Cedar Park Senora? Huh? Would you?
By the way, Leander has recently been rated the best place to raise a family in Texas. [20]
Population: 40,338
Median Household Income: $75,983
Median Home Price: $221,400
Median Age: 33.3
Violent: 1.09 Property: 8.48
Pflugerville
To round out our little group of North Austin suburbs, Pflugerville is a pfamily-pfriendly town not far from Leander and Georgetown. Lying between the larger cities of Round Rock and Austin, Plugerites like to say that they are “between a rock and a weird place.”
Cros, I’m just going to give you the interesting deets and let you decide what’s worth using here, okay?
Pflugerville has done well during the pandemic. In 2020, Amazon began building a distribution center in Pflugerville that reportedly brought in 1,000 full-time jobs along with $250M that the company promised to invest. In that same year, Curative, Inc., a company that processes COVID-19 test results, opened a lab in Pflugerville.
According to data from the 2000, 2010 and 2017 population estimates compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, Pflugerville has the largest percentage black population out of all suburban cities in the Austin metro.
Several films and shows, including Texas Chainsaw Massacre, American Crime, Friday Night Lights, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape were shot in or around Pflugerville.
The Pflugerville Pflag began publication in 1980.
If you travel fifteen miles south of Flugerville, you can pfloat and inpflatable rapft on the Colorado River, or you can do the same at Typhoon Texas Waterpark.
Population: 58,013
Median Household Income: $74,196
Median Home Price: $257,300
Median Age: 36.8
Violent: 0.96 Property: 12.42
https://www.pflugervilletx.gov/
Cibolo
From Pflugerville we drive about a mile south to find the next city on our list of safest places to live in Texas. Cibolo barely makes the list at all, not because it doesn’t have an excellent safety record (it does) but because it only recently reached our population cut-off of 25,000. Cibolo has grown very fast to reach its current size. From a total population of 3,035 in 2000, the city has grown by over 700 percent.
Lightning-quick growth has proven to be a mixed blessing for Cibolo. On the one hand, it truly can claim to have a “small town” feel. To this day you’ll see rustic ice cream shops and quaint family-owned BBQs, and don’t be surprised if you see cattle roaming down Old Main street. On the other hand, a Super Walmart has moved in, and Cibolo has its daily battles with traffic congestion. Property prices are still reasonably low, considering that it’s just 21 miles from downtown San Antonio, but they may not stay that way for long.
Population: 26,602
Median Household Income: $87,613
Median Home Price: $247,700
Median Age: 33.7
Violent: 1.21 Property: 8.72
Socorro
You might be surprised to find one of the safest cities in Texas sitting right on the US/Mexico border, but there it is: Socorro, Texas, just southeast of El Paso on the banks of the Rio Grande.
Safety has factored into Socorro’s history from its beginning. In 1680, members of the Manso and Piro Indian tribes revolted against the religious and political impositions of the Spanish in New Mexico. When the revlolution ended badly for the Manso and Piro, they fled to the Rio Grande and established Socorro, which means “aid” or “succor” in Spanish. Today the city is known for friendly neighbors, cultural and linguistic diversity, and authentic Mexican cuisine. The median income is far below the national average, but then again, so are home prices.
Population: 33,587
Median Household Income: $30,416
Median Home Price: $103,300
Median Age: 30.5
Violent: 1.23 Property: 8.58
http://www.riocog.org/cities/city-of-socorro/
Pearland
Returning to the Houston area, Pearland (originally named after the fruit trees that were harvested locally in the late 1800s) earns our penultimate position on the list of Texas’ safest cities. after the local harvested fruits. Unfortunately, two hurricanes in 1900 and 1915 destroyed the fruit trees, and it took a long time for Pearland to find its economic feet again. Being only sixteen miles from downtown Houston certainly helped, as did the building of NASA’s nearby Johnson Space Center in 1961.
But Pearland’s real grown didn’t come until the 21st century. Between 2000 and 2010, Pearland was the second-fastest-growing city in Texas. Some say it grew too fast resulting in crowding, traffic problems, and lack of planning for bikers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts. But let’s be honest; if you’re living through a southern Texas summer, how much time do you really want to spend outside anyway? The heat in Pearland is oppressive. (The city government’s webpage wisely devoted a page to “heatstroke.”) Still, considering that excessive heat almost always drives crime rates up, and bearing in mind that Pearland is just minutes away from one of the most dangerous cities in America, kudos to Pearland for remaining one of Texas’ safest cities.
Population: 113,693
Median Household Income: $94,653
Median Home Price: $267,300
Median Age: 35.1
Violent: 0.9 Property: 16.41
League City
A mere 12 miles southeast of Pearland is our final “Safest Cities in Texas” entry.
Cros, nothing about this city is striking me as particularly funny or interesting, except maybe its name. So I’ll give a list of facts again and hopefully there’s something useful here.
In the 2000s, nearby Galveston experienced soaring real estate prices, which caused a lot of people to leave Galveston and spill over into nearby areas like League City.
In July 2013 the financial website NerdWallet voted League City the best city in Texas for finding a job.
League City is 23 miles from Houston and 23 miles from Galveston.
The summers are, as you might imagine for a coastal town near Houston, HOT and HUMID. League City has a humid subtropical climate. Summer temperatures average in the 90s, but you have to remember that that’s wet heat.
17 percent of the population is Hispanic or Latino. 7 percent is African American. 5 percent are Asian.
In 2011 an officer accused the League City police chief, Michael Jez, of giving officers ticket quotas, which are illegal in the state of Texas. The city council put Chief Jez on administrative leave, but no one ever stated why, and no one ever admitted to any wrongdoing.
They have a museum with the world’s largest collection of Texas longhorn history. Apparently League City and John Wayne helped save the longhorn from extinction. John Wayne used the local herd in one of his films. (When he called to ask permission to use the herd, the owner thought it was a prank call and hung up on Mr. Wayne. Twice.)
Population: 98,215
Median Household Income: $90,972
Median Home Price: $264,500
Median Age: 34.6
Violent: 1.11 Property: 13.59
The Ten most Dangerous Cities in Texas
Houston
Is anyone surprised to find Houston at the top of our list of Most Dangerous Cities in Texas?
In 2019, 11 out of every 1,000 Houstonians experienced a violent crime, and 43 out of those 1,000 were victims of a property crime. And that was before the COVID pandemic caused a spike in crime in most cities. Crime rates like that make Houston one of the most dangerous places in America to live. Still, there are good reasons to love “Space City”: like an amazing culinary scene, a downtown underground tunnel system linking 95 city blocks, and the most ethnically diverse metropolitan area in the country. Plus, of course, it’s home to Queen Bey.
Population: 2,267,336
Median Household Income: $45,728
Median Home Price: $185,500
Median Age: 32.9
Violent: 10.71 Property: 43.19
Lubbock
Using recent FBI data, a nationwide study conducted by SafeWise ranked Lubbock, Texas as third most dangerous city in the US in 2021. Of course, safety is in the eye of the research who decides how to crunch the numbers, but any way you look at the data, Lubbock’s crime rates are alarming. The city’s property crime rate is more than double that of Texas, and Lubbock’s violent crime rate is nearly 2.5 times higher than the state’s. In fact, nearly one out of every 22 people in Lubbock was a victim of property crime in 2020, and one out of every 100 citizens experienced a violent crime. On the bright side, Lubbock saw fewer murders than any of the other top ten most dangerous cities, so…there’s that.
If you’re not sure where Lubbock is, it’s between Wolfforth and Idalou.
Population: 247,323
Median Household Income: $44,139
Median Home Price: $133,200
Median Age: 29.4
Violent: 10.08 Property: 46.06
Beaumont
Beaumont, 85 miles east of Houston and about three hours west of the Louisiana border, is the third most danger place to live in Texas. The city had a lucky streak in 1901 when a huge oil field was discovered there, but then the population tripled in two months and Beaumont’s troubles began. From a deadly race riot in 1943 to three hurricanes in the last decade and a half, Beaumont’s luck appears to be running dry. It has the lowest median household income of any city we’ve mentioned, but then again, housing and grocery costs in Beaumont are both 10 percent below the national average. And besides, hurricane season in Beaumont is only from June 1 to November 30, so for a full five months of the year you don’t even need to worry about your house being torn from its foundation.
Population: 118,424
Median Household Income: $39,191
Median Home Price: $108,900
Median Age: 34.3
Violent: 10.47 Property: 36.16
Odessa
You look at Odessa on a map and you think, “Oh, sure, it’s right there, west of Fort Worth and not too far from the Mexico border.” But it’s an illusion. If you try to drive it there, you’ll never arrive. The truth is, Odessa isn’t close to anything. Founded in 1881 as a water stop on the Texas and Pacific Railway, Odessa was a fly speck until oil was found there, and it’s been through a series of oil booms and busts ever since. Back in 2015, Odessa had the distinction of being the most dangerous city in Texas, but now it has slipped to number four so, you know, things are looking up. Odessa might not be for the faint of heart, but there are those who call it home. Former President George H. W. Bush said, “At Odessa we became Texans, and proud of it!”
Population: 115,930
Median Household Income: $56,119
Median Home Price: $173,400
Median Age: 30.6
Violent: 10.38 Property: 29.35
Dallas
As the ninth largest city in America and the third largest in Texas behind Houston and San Antonio, Dallas has its problems with crime just like any other big city. Originally built around major railroad lines for shipping cattle, cotton, and oil around the country, Dallas has never lost its rough, sometimes violent cowboy culture. In fact, it has embraced the whole cowboy ethic. From the Cowboys NFL team and the far more famous Cowboy Cheerleaders to Big Tex, the “world’s tallest cowboy” that towers over the Texas State Fairgrounds in Fair Park, Dallas prides itself as the rootin’est-tootin’est of them all. Interesting fact: Big Tex didn’t start life as a cowboy. Created in tiny Kerens, Texas in 1949, the 49-foot statue was actually a giant Santa Claus. Several moves and face-lifts later, he presides over the oldest state fair in the country.
Population: 1,300,122
Median Household Income: $43,359
Median Home Price: $214,700
Median Age: 32.5
Violent: 8.63 Property: 33.21
https://dallascityhall.com/Pages/default.aspx
Corpus Christi
What people love about Corpus Christi: miles and miles of sandy beaches, good sea food, surfing, the aircraft carrier that was filmed in Pearl Harbor, and more sighted species of birds than in any other American city. What’s not to love about Corpus Christi: Heat. Humidity. And crime.
In 2020, Corpus Christi was ranked the 43rd most dangerous city in America. The city’s violent crime rate is about twice the national average, and its rates for property crimes are pretty bad too. But that’s better than Houston and Dallas. And also, hey, do you really want to dig on the original home of Whataburger?
Population: 322,726
Median Household Income: $49,675
Median Home Price: $146,200
Median Age: 34.9
Violent: 7.94 Property: 34.46
San Antonio
For the second most populous city in Texas to be ranked only the seventh most dangerous is actually kind of an achievement. But it’s still pretty bad. Back in the 1990s, San Antonio was nicknamed the “Drive-By City” because it was experiencing nearly 3.5 drive-by shootings per day! Gang violence and drugs were huge problems. In 2020, San Antonio ranked fourth in the country for the biggest increase in homicides with 71 homicides in the first six months alone. While property crime rates in San Antonio have improved since 2010, most forms of violent crime have gotten worse, especially rape which has gone from 33.5 in 2010 to 104.5 in 2019.
Population: 1,461,623
Median Household Income: $46,317
Median Home Price: $175,400
Median Age: 33.2
Violent: 7.08 Property: 43.24
Amarillo
Way up at the top of the Texas panhandle sits Amarillo, aka “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” The city also bears the nickname “Rotor City, USA” for its assembly plant that makes V-22 Ospreys, a military aircraft that’s part helicopter and part airplane. Another nickname of Amarillo’s is “Bomb City” because it has the only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility in the US. Do you see a rather violent pattern here? Amarillo is notorious for its crime rates, but there is good news. In 2020, while most of the major cities in the US saw growing crime rates, things actually got better in Amarillo. With the exceptions of stolen vehicles and aggravated assaults, Amarillo’s numbers improved, and many of those vehicle thefts could have been prevented if the cards hadn’t been left running with the keys inside.
Population: 197,823
Median Household Income: $47,053
Median Home Price: $136,900
Median Age: 33.7
Violent: 7.2 Property: 38.97
Balch Springs
Remember all those lovely sounding “Safest Cities in Texas” that we found north and northwest of Dallas? Well, where you wondering what’s on the southeast side? Balch Springs. That’s what.
Balch Springs barely has a population over 25,000, so it’s a little surprising to see it on a list of Baddest Bad Boys of Texas? Balch Springs hit national news in 2017 when a teenager named Jordan Edwards was killed there by a police officer. After review of body cam footage, the officer was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Despite that horrible tragedy, Balch Springs has seen a steady improvement in most types of crime over the last decade and a half. Since 2005, robberies, rapes, burglaries, thefts, and arson have all become less frequent. However, assaults and auto thefts have gotten worse.
Population: 25,236
Median Household Income: $39,874
Median Home Price: $158,600
Median Age: 26.9
Violent: 6.47 Property: 35.47
https://www.cityofbalchsprings.com/
Lufkin
We round out our list of Most Dangerous Cities in Texas with little Lufkin, a city way out in the part of Eastern Texas referred to as the Big Thicket.
In Lufkin, your chances of becoming a victim of property crime is about 1 in 23, while your chance of experiencing a violent crime is around 1 in 193—not the best odds, but certainly not the worse we’ve seen. If we ignore 2020 (the year that COVID made crime rates go wonky all over), Lufkin’s crime rate has actually been steadily improving. All areas of violent and property crime have improved there except for theft and auto theft.
Population: 35,888
Median Household Income: $39,606
Median Home Price: $117,400
Median Age: 34.6
Violent: 5.18 Property: 43.82
All of the Top 100 Cities in Texas and Their Complete Crime Data
City - Population - Violent crime - Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter - Rape - Robbery - Aggravated assault - Property crime - Burglary - Larceny theft - Motor vehicle theft - Arson2 - Property crime per thousand residents - Violent crime per thousand residents
|
Colleyville , TX |
27,499 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
169 |
22 |
137 |
10 |
0 |
6.15 |
0.18 |
|
University Park, TX |
25,434 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
189 |
18 |
135 |
36 |
0 |
7.43 |
0.24 |
|
Sachse, TX |
26,926 |
13 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
9 |
185 |
24 |
146 |
15 |
0 |
6.87 |
0.48 |
|
Keller, TX |
48,387 |
25 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
18 |
349 |
33 |
302 |
14 |
0 |
7.21 |
0.52 |
|
Friendswood , TX |
40,735 |
26 |
0 |
12 |
8 |
6 |
264 |
53 |
193 |
18 |
3 |
6.48 |
0.64 |
|
Southlake, TX |
33,049 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
387 |
30 |
337 |
20 |
0 |
11.71 |
0.3 |
|
Flower Mound, TX |
79,052 |
43 |
0 |
13 |
5 |
25 |
730 |
83 |
624 |
23 |
2 |
9.23 |
0.54 |
|
Wylie, TX |
52,921 |
37 |
0 |
13 |
9 |
15 |
381 |
21 |
340 |
20 |
4 |
7.2 |
0.7 |
|
Cedar Park , TX |
80,170 |
57 |
2 |
24 |
8 |
23 |
674 |
65 |
558 |
51 |
4 |
8.41 |
0.71 |
|
Coppell , TX |
42,181 |
25 |
1 |
9 |
5 |
10 |
525 |
52 |
457 |
16 |
0 |
12.45 |
0.59 |
|
Allen, TX |
105,961 |
88 |
0 |
19 |
15 |
54 |
1,154 |
95 |
997 |
62 |
0 |
10.89 |
0.83 |
|
Mansfield , TX |
72,979 |
65 |
1 |
24 |
13 |
27 |
766 |
87 |
633 |
46 |
1 |
10.5 |
0.89 |
|
Frisco, TX |
199,445 |
160 |
1 |
46 |
30 |
83 |
2,390 |
249 |
2,037 |
104 |
9 |
11.98 |
0.8 |
|
Georgetown, TX |
78,332 |
81 |
0 |
25 |
8 |
48 |
730 |
103 |
586 |
41 |
1 |
9.32 |
1.03 |
|
Leander , TX |
61,314 |
67 |
0 |
32 |
7 |
28 |
520 |
48 |
439 |
33 |
4 |
8.48 |
1.09 |
|
Pflugerville, TX |
66,729 |
64 |
1 |
0 |
19 |
44 |
829 |
74 |
664 |
91 |
1 |
12.42 |
0.96 |
|
Cibolo , TX |
32,112 |
39 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
28 |
280 |
36 |
232 |
12 |
0 |
8.72 |
1.21 |
|
Socorro, TX |
34,841 |
43 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
34 |
299 |
38 |
232 |
29 |
1 |
8.58 |
1.23 |
|
Pearland, TX |
126,206 |
113 |
3 |
24 |
46 |
40 |
2,071 |
247 |
1,719 |
105 |
1 |
16.41 |
0.9 |
|
League City , TX |
109,401 |
121 |
3 |
56 |
14 |
48 |
1,487 |
192 |
1,209 |
86 |
4 |
13.59 |
1.11 |
|
Forney, TX |
25,374 |
32 |
0 |
8 |
4 |
20 |
302 |
38 |
227 |
37 |
0 |
11.9 |
1.26 |
|
McKinney, TX |
200,615 |
287 |
2 |
61 |
42 |
182 |
1,993 |
255 |
1,572 |
166 |
8 |
9.93 |
1.43 |
|
Missouri City , TX |
75,747 |
107 |
1 |
13 |
26 |
67 |
811 |
109 |
645 |
57 |
4 |
10.71 |
1.41 |
|
Rockwall, TX |
46,096 |
50 |
0 |
13 |
8 |
29 |
740 |
70 |
605 |
65 |
0 |
16.05 |
1.08 |
|
Del Rio, TX |
35,947 |
38 |
2 |
10 |
9 |
17 |
610 |
112 |
456 |
42 |
2 |
16.97 |
1.06 |
|
Kyle, TX |
49,855 |
68 |
1 |
12 |
14 |
41 |
659 |
61 |
537 |
61 |
1 |
13.22 |
1.36 |
|
Round Rock, TX |
132,747 |
165 |
3 |
21 |
51 |
90 |
2,235 |
165 |
2,017 |
53 |
4 |
16.84 |
1.24 |
|
Deer Park , TX |
34,167 |
48 |
4 |
22 |
5 |
17 |
551 |
52 |
462 |
37 |
1 |
16.13 |
1.4 |
|
Mission, TX |
85,705 |
105 |
1 |
37 |
23 |
44 |
1,618 |
161 |
1,387 |
70 |
3 |
18.88 |
1.23 |
|
Weatherford, TX |
32,656 |
50 |
1 |
22 |
4 |
23 |
482 |
53 |
383 |
46 |
0 |
14.76 |
1.53 |
|
Plano, TX |
291,611 |
431 |
3 |
90 |
144 |
194 |
4,908 |
630 |
3,831 |
447 |
14 |
16.83 |
1.48 |
|
McAllen, TX |
144,915 |
140 |
1 |
33 |
39 |
67 |
3,595 |
152 |
3,415 |
28 |
3 |
24.81 |
0.97 |
|
Richardson , TX |
123,893 |
178 |
4 |
28 |
63 |
83 |
2,279 |
292 |
1,742 |
245 |
3 |
18.39 |
1.44 |
|
Schertz, TX |
42,337 |
78 |
0 |
22 |
9 |
47 |
559 |
67 |
458 |
34 |
1 |
13.2 |
1.84 |
|
Eagle Pass, TX |
29,847 |
37 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
31 |
687 |
154 |
485 |
48 |
1 |
23.02 |
1.24 |
|
Farmers Branch , TX |
41,932 |
63 |
1 |
10 |
26 |
26 |
940 |
141 |
626 |
173 |
1 |
22.42 |
1.5 |
|
College Station , TX |
119,246 |
225 |
1 |
48 |
43 |
133 |
2,098 |
391 |
1,529 |
178 |
0 |
17.59 |
1.89 |
|
Harker Heights , TX |
32,527 |
65 |
0 |
14 |
17 |
34 |
529 |
68 |
419 |
42 |
4 |
16.26 |
2 |
|
North Richland Hills, TX |
71,816 |
143 |
1 |
39 |
24 |
79 |
1,279 |
153 |
990 |
136 |
1 |
17.81 |
1.99 |
|
Euless, TX |
58,136 |
107 |
1 |
12 |
45 |
49 |
1,186 |
126 |
924 |
136 |
3 |
20.4 |
1.84 |
|
La Porte , TX |
35,622 |
83 |
1 |
15 |
15 |
52 |
520 |
73 |
392 |
55 |
0 |
14.6 |
2.33 |
|
Burleson , TX |
48,743 |
113 |
1 |
17 |
19 |
76 |
726 |
67 |
580 |
79 |
0 |
14.89 |
2.32 |
|
New Braunfels, TX |
88,706 |
219 |
2 |
21 |
25 |
171 |
1,120 |
209 |
805 |
106 |
3 |
12.63 |
2.47 |
|
Lewisville, TX |
108,000 |
239 |
2 |
54 |
67 |
116 |
2,125 |
266 |
1,623 |
236 |
14 |
19.68 |
2.21 |
|
Grand Prairie, TX |
196,971 |
428 |
5 |
45 |
135 |
243 |
4,140 |
504 |
3,133 |
503 |
11 |
21.02 |
2.17 |
|
Denton, TX |
141,492 |
331 |
3 |
125 |
66 |
137 |
2,665 |
316 |
2,148 |
201 |
1 |
18.83 |
2.34 |
|
The Colony, TX |
44,356 |
122 |
1 |
62 |
13 |
46 |
641 |
74 |
509 |
58 |
6 |
14.45 |
2.75 |
|
Cedar Hill , TX |
48,866 |
99 |
4 |
12 |
24 |
59 |
1,252 |
76 |
1,097 |
79 |
2 |
25.62 |
2.03 |
|
Lake Jackson, TX |
27,624 |
57 |
2 |
10 |
12 |
33 |
703 |
84 |
597 |
22 |
2 |
25.45 |
2.06 |
|
Alvin , TX |
27,159 |
65 |
1 |
25 |
12 |
27 |
666 |
80 |
513 |
73 |
7 |
24.52 |
2.39 |
|
Pharr, TX |
80,896 |
235 |
0 |
50 |
28 |
157 |
1,423 |
235 |
1,135 |
53 |
3 |
17.59 |
2.9 |
|
Irving, TX |
245,423 |
617 |
5 |
56 |
294 |
262 |
5,982 |
719 |
4,552 |
711 |
16 |
24.37 |
2.51 |
|
Greenville , TX |
28,613 |
77 |
2 |
8 |
22 |
45 |
635 |
102 |
484 |
49 |
6 |
22.19 |
2.69 |
|
Bedford, TX |
49,771 |
145 |
1 |
34 |
30 |
80 |
1,010 |
94 |
823 |
93 |
2 |
20.29 |
2.91 |
|
Temple, TX |
77,558 |
217 |
4 |
61 |
39 |
113 |
1,718 |
244 |
1,276 |
198 |
1 |
22.15 |
2.8 |
|
Laredo , TX |
264,916 |
836 |
4 |
104 |
164 |
564 |
4,692 |
708 |
3,726 |
258 |
39 |
17.71 |
3.16 |
|
Seguin, TX |
30,244 |
84 |
1 |
11 |
18 |
54 |
714 |
104 |
567 |
43 |
1 |
23.61 |
2.78 |
|
Hurst , TX |
39,196 |
82 |
1 |
17 |
30 |
34 |
1,402 |
93 |
1,220 |
89 |
2 |
35.77 |
2.09 |
|
El Paso , TX |
686,793 |
2,422 |
40 |
310 |
338 |
1,734 |
10,378 |
1,048 |
8,479 |
851 |
29 |
15.11 |
3.53 |
|
Cleburne, TX |
30,860 |
101 |
0 |
25 |
8 |
68 |
588 |
147 |
396 |
45 |
0 |
19.05 |
3.27 |
|
Haltom City, TX |
44,582 |
126 |
2 |
46 |
21 |
57 |
1,171 |
210 |
792 |
169 |
3 |
26.27 |
2.83 |
|
DeSoto , TX |
54,026 |
176 |
3 |
18 |
58 |
97 |
1,188 |
172 |
846 |
170 |
2 |
21.99 |
3.26 |
|
Edinburg, TX |
100,896 |
281 |
6 |
53 |
40 |
182 |
2,959 |
335 |
2,577 |
47 |
14 |
29.33 |
2.79 |
|
Garland, TX |
244,277 |
738 |
11 |
139 |
250 |
338 |
6,311 |
1,003 |
4,337 |
971 |
9 |
25.84 |
3.02 |
|
Rosenberg, TX |
38,936 |
148 |
0 |
33 |
22 |
93 |
684 |
131 |
489 |
64 |
0 |
17.57 |
3.8 |
|
Nacogdoches, TX |
33,613 |
111 |
2 |
12 |
27 |
70 |
864 |
159 |
647 |
58 |
2 |
25.7 |
3.3 |
|
San Marcos, TX |
66,279 |
241 |
8 |
78 |
26 |
129 |
1,530 |
228 |
1,176 |
126 |
1 |
23.08 |
3.64 |
|
Killeen, TX |
151,832 |
583 |
14 |
105 |
124 |
340 |
3,432 |
818 |
2,296 |
318 |
29 |
22.6 |
3.84 |
|
Copperas Cove, TX |
32,693 |
129 |
0 |
9 |
6 |
114 |
691 |
112 |
557 |
22 |
5 |
21.14 |
3.95 |
|
Abilene, TX |
123,665 |
458 |
6 |
87 |
68 |
297 |
3,112 |
576 |
2,330 |
206 |
7 |
25.16 |
3.7 |
|
Denison , TX |
25,432 |
106 |
1 |
22 |
5 |
78 |
464 |
103 |
304 |
57 |
1 |
18.24 |
4.17 |
|
Lancaster, TX |
39,795 |
147 |
0 |
8 |
53 |
86 |
1,014 |
155 |
680 |
179 |
2 |
25.48 |
3.69 |
|
Wichita Falls, TX |
104,551 |
364 |
4 |
103 |
85 |
172 |
3,183 |
557 |
2,394 |
232 |
2 |
30.44 |
3.48 |
|
San Angelo, TX |
101,072 |
357 |
5 |
56 |
32 |
264 |
3,173 |
512 |
2,437 |
224 |
7 |
31.39 |
3.53 |
|
Tyler, TX |
106,851 |
401 |
0 |
72 |
58 |
271 |
3,206 |
439 |
2,597 |
170 |
0 |
30 |
3.75 |
|
Bryan, TX |
86,632 |
370 |
2 |
90 |
57 |
221 |
1,928 |
336 |
1,444 |
148 |
9 |
22.26 |
4.27 |
|
Brownsville, TX |
184,418 |
776 |
0 |
82 |
143 |
551 |
4,553 |
631 |
3,801 |
121 |
27 |
24.69 |
4.21 |
|
Texas City , TX |
49,659 |
199 |
5 |
29 |
52 |
113 |
1,400 |
184 |
1,090 |
126 |
3 |
28.19 |
4.01 |
|
Sherman , TX |
43,002 |
179 |
3 |
32 |
27 |
117 |
1,122 |
241 |
790 |
91 |
4 |
26.09 |
4.16 |
|
San Juan, TX |
37,542 |
173 |
1 |
22 |
18 |
132 |
859 |
101 |
711 |
47 |
1 |
22.88 |
4.61 |
|
Weslaco, TX |
41,729 |
155 |
2 |
33 |
29 |
91 |
1,528 |
161 |
1,313 |
54 |
2 |
36.62 |
3.71 |
|
Fort Worth, TX |
915,237 |
4,068 |
69 |
470 |
972 |
2,557 |
24,605 |
3,969 |
17,301 |
3,335 |
85 |
26.88 |
4.44 |
|
Duncanville , TX |
39,430 |
174 |
1 |
12 |
80 |
81 |
1,096 |
148 |
770 |
178 |
0 |
27.8 |
4.41 |
|
Converse, TX |
28,598 |
152 |
0 |
6 |
10 |
136 |
460 |
54 |
360 |
46 |
1 |
16.09 |
5.32 |
|
Austin , TX |
986,062 |
3,953 |
32 |
534 |
971 |
2,416 |
36,588 |
4,344 |
29,216 |
3,028 |
103 |
37.11 |
4.01 |
|
Longview, TX |
81,783 |
374 |
4 |
62 |
63 |
245 |
2,410 |
411 |
1,809 |
190 |
4 |
29.47 |
4.57 |
|
Baytown, TX |
77,707 |
325 |
3 |
49 |
91 |
182 |
2,838 |
447 |
2,005 |
386 |
5 |
36.52 |
4.18 |
|
Galveston , TX |
50,801 |
243 |
3 |
81 |
71 |
88 |
1,642 |
201 |
1,179 |
262 |
0 |
32.32 |
4.78 |
|
Arlington, TX |
402,304 |
2,055 |
16 |
241 |
402 |
1,396 |
11,291 |
1,305 |
8,738 |
1,248 |
14 |
28.07 |
5.11 |
|
Victoria, TX |
67,581 |
347 |
3 |
66 |
52 |
226 |
1,974 |
382 |
1,474 |
118 |
1 |
29.21 |
5.13 |
|
Kingsville, TX |
25,401 |
130 |
1 |
26 |
14 |
89 |
753 |
183 |
553 |
17 |
2 |
29.64 |
5.12 |
|
Pasadena , TX |
153,689 |
839 |
8 |
82 |
182 |
567 |
3,861 |
530 |
2,789 |
542 |
7 |
25.12 |
5.46 |
|
Mesquite, TX |
143,078 |
685 |
6 |
45 |
244 |
390 |
5,197 |
661 |
3,660 |
876 |
7 |
36.32 |
4.79 |
|
Texarkana, TX |
37,401 |
157 |
3 |
33 |
43 |
78 |
1,710 |
280 |
1,347 |
83 |
19 |
45.72 |
4.2 |
|
Harlingen, TX |
65,481 |
273 |
0 |
54 |
54 |
165 |
3,152 |
443 |
2,613 |
96 |
10 |
48.14 |
4.17 |
|
Port Arthur , TX |
55,084 |
344 |
9 |
29 |
84 |
222 |
1,203 |
326 |
757 |
120 |
11 |
21.84 |
6.25 |
|
Big Spring, TX |
28,278 |
152 |
3 |
11 |
21 |
117 |
1,049 |
173 |
731 |
145 |
7 |
37.1 |
5.38 |
|
Waco, TX |
139,870 |
799 |
10 |
88 |
133 |
568 |
4,599 |
784 |
3,492 |
323 |
9 |
32.88 |
5.71 |
|
Lufkin , TX |
35,555 |
184 |
1 |
28 |
35 |
120 |
1,558 |
261 |
1,181 |
116 |
3 |
43.82 |
5.18 |
|
Balch Springs, TX |
25,511 |
165 |
2 |
14 |
33 |
116 |
905 |
100 |
581 |
224 |
2 |
35.47 |
6.47 |
|
Amarillo, TX |
201,036 |
1,447 |
15 |
161 |
246 |
1,025 |
7,835 |
1,439 |
5,425 |
971 |
39 |
38.97 |
7.2 |
|
San Antonio, TX |
1,559,166 |
11,046 |
105 |
1,630 |
1,965 |
7,346 |
67,422 |
8,172 |
51,469 |
7,781 |
181 |
43.24 |
7.08 |
|
Corpus Christi , TX |
329,320 |
2,616 |
31 |
266 |
496 |
1,823 |
11,347 |
1,961 |
8,494 |
892 |
73 |
34.46 |
7.94 |
|
Dallas, TX |
1,363,295 |
11,764 |
198 |
797 |
4,400 |
6,369 |
45,279 |
9,210 |
25,812 |
10,257 |
144 |
33.21 |
8.63 |
|
Odessa, TX |
123,468 |
1,282 |
13 |
141 |
128 |
1,000 |
3,624 |
469 |
2,656 |
499 |
17 |
29.35 |
10.38 |
|
Beaumont, TX |
118,562 |
1,241 |
19 |
97 |
323 |
802 |
4,287 |
950 |
2,999 |
338 |
28 |
36.16 |
10.47 |
|
Lubbock, TX |
259,208 |
2,613 |
10 |
268 |
468 |
1,867 |
11,940 |
2,391 |
8,324 |
1,225 |
85 |
46.06 |
10.08 |
|
Houston, TX |
2,355,606 |
25,257 |
275 |
1,249 |
9,147 |
14,586 |
101,750 |
17,038 |
71,614 |
13,098 |
485 |
43.19 |
10.72 |
Data Sources
[1] https://businessintexas.com/texas-enters-2021-as-worlds-9th-largest-economy-by-gdp/
[2] https://datacommons.org/ranking/Count_Person/State/country/USA?h=geoId%2F06
[3] https://www.rentdata.org/states/texas/2021
[4] https://datacommons.org/place/geoId/48?topic=Economics#Median%20household%20income
[5] https://www.bestplaces.net/cost_of_living/state/texas
[6] https://www.bestplaces.net/cost_of_living/state/texas
[7] https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-4
[8] https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/txcrime.htm
[9] https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/the-fbis-list-of-the-most-dangerous-cities-in-texas/]
[10] https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/tx/amarillo/crime
[11] https://www.safewise.com/blog/safest-cities-texas/
[12] https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/gun-ownership-by-state
[13] https://www.dps.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/crimereports/19/cit2019.pdf
[14] https://www.reviews.org/home-security/property-crime-by-state-usa/
[15] https://www.dps.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/crimereports/19/cit2019.pdf
[16] https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/the-fbis-list-of-the-most-dangerous-cities-in-texas/
[17] https://www.dps.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/crimereports/19/cit2019.pdf
[18] https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-auto-theft
[19] https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-total-cities-and-towns.html
[20] https://smartasset.com/mortgage/best-places-in-texas-to-raise-a-family
- [1] As in many places, crime rates tend to go up in Texas during the hottest months, peaking in July.