A new study has ranked Houston as less sinful than it was two years ago, now sitting pretty as the sixth-most sinful city in the country.
The last time we checked on the Sindex (the index measuring how sinful a city is), Houston ranked as the second most sinful city in the country behind Las Vegas, Nevada. The WalletHub study that produced the ranking used things like crime statistics and adult entertainment venues per capita to make their case for which cities are the most immoral. This time around, while still in the top 10, Houston has fallen down the rankings, possibly signaling that the city is turning its life around.
Gambling website Pokertube put together a list of the most sinful cities using a similar criteria to the previous list. In order to identify the most “sinful” cities in the nation, the website ranked over 200 US cities using a comprehensive index that takes into account the density of nightlife venues (bars, nightclubs, pubs), adult entertainment infrastructure (strip clubs, casinos, adult stores, tattoo shops), the percentage of single residents, rates of STDs, and excessive drinking rates.
While it’s potentially good (and silly), Houston has dropped in the sinful rankings, and there are some concerns around the data set used. The study does not account for the breadth of Houston’s sprawl, considering only a fraction of its true population, which is also inaccurate. The study says Houston has a population of 1,909,279, when in 2026 the city of Houston had approximately 2.4 million people. When you add the greater Houston area, the number jumps to approximately 7.9 million people.
The use of the city-only population reduces the number of nightlife institutions, stating there are 242 bars in Houston, and only 34 nightclubs, numbers that seem lacking considering Houston’s nightlife reputation.
According to the study, Houston houses 51 adult stores and only four strip clubs. Houston, for better or worse, is known for its adult entertainment facilities, even ones that may be dangerous for patrons to frequent. So, only factoring in four adult entertainment clubs is a little misleading. Houston is one of the strip club capitals in the country, with over 70 clubs in the greater Houston area.
The study also factors in some public health and demographic data, like the percentage of single men and women. There is nothing inherently sinful about being single, but it is a data point for some reason. The study also looks at sexually transmitted disease rates, which are used in the formula to determine the immoral ground cities stand on.
The initial promise of Houston changing its sinful ways was unfortunately greatly exaggerated. Houston is possibly much more sinful than this new study gives the city credit for. However, like with most internet studies from gambling websites, it should not be taken that seriously. Just laugh at the data, and repent for the city if you feel so inclined.