Texas received an F grade from CNBC in the outlet’s listicle published Friday under the headline, “These are America’s 10 worst states to live in for 2026.” CNBC said it based its grades on crime rates, air quality, healthcare access, worker protections and civil rights laws. The rankings are a part of the outlet’s annual America’s Top States for Business study.
While CNBC often ranks Texas high among its best states for business, its quality of life ranking pales in comparison. For several years in a row, Texas has been unable to escape being ranked as one of the worst states to live. The Lone Star State was crowned the worst in 2023 and 2024, rising up to second-to-worst in 2025.
Low rates of health insurance, an almost-total-ban on abortion, crime, anti-DEI bills and workers protections are the Texas features that have in recent years tanked the state’s quality of life ranking.
“While Texas continues to lead the nation in attracting workers, those workers are finding a broad array of challenges when they get there,” the 2026 CNBC ranking states. “The Lone Star State has America’s highest rate of people without health insurance at 16.7%, according to the United Health Foundation, more than twice the national average. More than 17% of Texas adults said they had to forgo a doctor visit that they needed in the past year because of the cost. Even those who do have health insurance can have trouble finding a doctor. The state finishes dead last in primary care physicians per capita. “
Childcare and air quality were, however, strengths that CNBC identified. A 2025 study by ChildCare Aware of America calculated the average cost of childcare in 2024 to be $13,128. Texas fell below that number, with the average annual cost of childcare for infants estimated at $11,349. The estimated cost for toddlers in Texas was $10,921.
Overall, Texas received 78 out of the maximum available 290 points in the CNBC ranking. Tennessee scored 64 points, with crime, inclusiveness and workers protections cited as the deciding factors. CNBC pointed to anti-LGBTQ bathroom laws, a ban on anti-discrimination ordinances and a resolution by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declaring June “Nuclear Family Month.”
“Inclusiveness isn’t the only area where the Volunteer State falls short,” the CNBC ranking reads. “Tennessee also has one of the highest violent crime rates in the nation, according to FBI statistics. And it has the third-highest rate of drug deaths, according to the United Health Foundation.”
Here is the list of CNBC’s bottom 10 states in which to live: