It seems like everyone and their dog is moving to Texas, and the numbers back that up. But are those people making a mistake? A new ranking surprisingly placed Texas among the worst states to live in America in 2026. Here’s why.
Despite a nearly 2% population growth between 2020 and 2024, CNBC put Texas in the No. 2 spot for the worst states to live in. The state scored an F on quality of life due to crime, low access to healthcare and reproductive rights and a lack of inclusiveness and worker protections. However, the state was given props when it comes to childcare and air quality.
“While Texas continues to lead the nation in attracting workers, those workers are finding a broad array of challenges when they get there,” the ranking reads. “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.”
It seems that healthcare earned the Lone Star State its poor ranking. CNBC did note that Gov. Greg Abbott announced $56 million in federal grants to rural hospitals back in May, shaking out to about $1.80 for each of the 31 million people in the state or $350,000 for each of the nearly 160 rural hospitals in Texas.
While Texas came in at No. 2, Tennessee took the top spot. CNBC’s ranking says Tennessee has “a rash of state laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community, including a so-called ‘bathroom law’ requiring transgender people to use the facilities designated for their sex at birth.” Texas has a similar bill.
“The state also explicitly bars localities from adopting their own antidiscrimination ordinances. To underscore the point, [Gov. Bill Lee] signed a resolution earlier this year designating June ‘Nuclear Family Month,'” the ranking reads. It also noted that the Volunteer State has one of the highest rates of violent crime in the country and the third-highest rate of drug deaths, according to FBI statistics and the United Health Foundation.