2020: These Cities Are the Healthiest and Unhealthiest in Texas

Our research team dives deep into the latest government data to rank the healthiest and least healthy cities in Texas.

by
Last updated: Mar 11th, 2020
Heatmap of texas health

Innerbody.com has carefully evaluated the data and identified the top 10 healthiest Texas cities, as well as the 10 least healthy cities in the state.

Innerbody.com’s research team closely examined the latest government data from the Centers for Disease Control, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Economic Research Service, among others, in order to evaluate Texas’ 30 largest cities (from Odessa to Houston).

Since everything is bigger in Texas, we pored over extensive data sets, analyzing 20 different factors across the following four key dimensions in order to determine our Health Rankings:

  • Clinical Care & Prevention
  • Disease & Health Outcomes
  • Health Behaviors
  • Physical Environment

Among the 20 factors were residents' access to health care and health insurance; cancer and obesity rates; air quality and lead exposure; and even how much sleep an average resident gets.

Plano takes the top spot this year as the healthiest large city in Texas for 2020, moving up one spot from last year’s rankings. Plano has the highest overall Health Score (78.8) by a decent margin over Frisco, ranked 2nd (73.7), while Austin (69.6) rounds out the top 3.

Plano ranked an impressive #1 or #2 in each of our four dimensions. With outstanding clinical care and prevention, low disease rates, healthy behavioral habits, and a great physical environment, Plano will be tough to beat in the years to come.

Meanwhile, the least healthy large city in Texas for 2020 is Waco (30.2), with Brownsville (33.9) and Laredo (35.4) most narrowly escaping that distinction.

Here are all 20 factors that we used for this study:

Healthfactors

Table of Contents

In this Review

Top 10 Healthiest Cities in Texas

Without further ado, here are the Top 10 Healthiest Cities in the Lone Star State for 2020:

Plano
1
1. Plano
78.8
259,841
Ranked # 2 (out of 30)
Ranked # 2 (out of 30)
Ranked # 1 (out of 30)
Ranked # 1 (out of 30)
Frisco
2
2. Frisco
73.7
116,989
Ranked # 1 (out of 30)
Ranked # 1 (out of 30)
Ranked # 2 (out of 30)
Ranked # 23 (out of 30)
Austin
3
3. Austin
69.6
790,390
Ranked # 4 (out of 30)
Ranked # 3 (out of 30)
Ranked # 3 (out of 30)
Ranked # 8 (out of 30)
McKinney
4
4. McKinney
62.8
195,342
Ranked # 3 (out of 30)
Ranked # 4 (out of 30)
Ranked # 4 (out of 30)
Ranked # 20 (out of 30)
Carrollton
5
5. Carrollton
62.4
119,097
Ranked # 5 (out of 30)
Ranked # 5 (out of 30)
Ranked # 5 (out of 30)
Ranked # 16 (out of 30)
Irving
6
6. Irving
59.4
216,290
Ranked # 14 (out of 30)
Ranked # 6 (out of 30)
Ranked # 9 (out of 30)
Ranked # 2 (out of 30)
Midland
7
7. Midland
58.4
111,147
Ranked # 13 (out of 30)
Ranked # 11 (out of 30)
Ranked # 6 (out of 30)
Ranked # 3 (out of 30)
El Paso
8
8. El Paso
54.3
649,121
Ranked # 17 (out of 30)
Ranked # 12 (out of 30)
Ranked # 7 (out of 30)
Ranked # 14 (out of 30)
Arlington
9
9. Arlington
53.2
365,438
Ranked # 9 (out of 30)
Ranked # 13 (out of 30)
Ranked # 14 (out of 30)
Ranked # 9 (out of 30)
Garland
10
10. Garland
51.3
226,876
Ranked # 18 (out of 30)
Ranked # 10 (out of 30)
Ranked # 18 (out of 30)
Ranked # 5 (out of 30)

Bottom 10 Least Healthy Cities in Texas

Below are cities #30 - #21, the least healthy cities in Texas:

Waco
30
30. Waco
30.2
124,805
Ranked # 23 (out of 30)
Ranked # 28 (out of 30)
Ranked # 27 (out of 30)
Ranked # 30 (out of 30)
Brownsville
29
29. Brownsville
33.9
175,023
Ranked # 29 (out of 30)
Ranked # 20 (out of 30)
Ranked # 29 (out of 30)
Ranked # 24 (out of 30)
Laredo
28
28. Laredo
35.4
236,091
Ranked # 30 (out of 30)
Ranked # 26 (out of 30)
Ranked # 30 (out of 30)
Ranked # 15 (out of 30)
Beaumont
27
27. Beaumont
36.1
118,296
Ranked # 8 (out of 30)
Ranked # 29 (out of 30)
Ranked # 28 (out of 30)
Ranked # 28 (out of 30)
Wichita Falls
26
26. Wichita Falls
37.9
104,553
Ranked # 10 (out of 30)
Ranked # 30 (out of 30)
Ranked # 23 (out of 30)
Ranked # 27 (out of 30)
Abilene
25
25. Abilene
40.1
117,063
Ranked # 21 (out of 30)
Ranked # 25 (out of 30)
Ranked # 22 (out of 30)
Ranked # 25 (out of 30)
Killeen
24
24. Killeen
40.9
127,921
Ranked # 6 (out of 30)
Ranked # 27 (out of 30)
Ranked # 26 (out of 30)
Ranked # 29 (out of 30)
Mesquite
23
23. Mesquite
45.1
139,824
Ranked # 16 (out of 30)
Ranked # 16 (out of 30)
Ranked # 24 (out of 30)
Ranked # 18 (out of 30)
Fort Worth
22
22. Fort Worth
45.2
741,206
Ranked # 15 (out of 30)
Ranked # 19 (out of 30)
Ranked # 21 (out of 30)
Ranked # 17 (out of 30)
Pasadena
21
21. Pasadena
45.3
149,043
Ranked # 27 (out of 30)
Ranked # 23 (out of 30)
Ranked # 25 (out of 30)
Ranked # 12 (out of 30)

Best and Worst in Select Ranking Factors

Here are how some of the cities fared in select factors:

Lowest Obesity Rates
1. Austin2. Plano3. Frisco4. Carrollton5. McKinney
research_image
Highest Obesity Rates
1. Laredo2. McAllen3. Brownsville4. Waco5. Wichita Falls
Ratings based on obesity rates among adults aged ≥18 years.
Lowest Air Pollution
1. Amarillo2. Midland3. Odessa4. Abilene5. Lubbock
research_image
Highest Air Pollution
1. Houston2. Pasadena3. Plano4. Irving5. Carrollton
Ratings based on average daily concentration of fine particulate matter in the air.
High Access to Health Insurance
1. Frisco2. Plano3. Austin4. McKinney5. Denton
research_image
Low Access to Health Insurance
1. Laredo2. Brownsville3. McAllen4. Pasadena5. Paso
Ratings based on current lack of health insurance among adults.
Most Hours of Sleep
1. Austin2. Frisco3. Denton4. Carrollton5. Plano
research_image
Least Hours of Sleep
1. Killeen2. Wichita Falls3. Beaumont4. El Paso5. Fort Worth
Ratings based on the percentage of adults sleeping less than 7 hours per day.
Best Flu Shot Rates
1. Plano2. Frisco3. Arlington (tied)4. McKinney (tied)5. Denton
research_image
Worst Flu Shot Rates
1. Laredo2. Brownsville3. Odessa4. El Paso5. McAllen
Ratings based on percentage of older adults who are up to date on influenza vaccinations.
Least Amount of Binge Drinking
1. Plano2. Frisco3. Midland4. Denton5. McKinney
research_image
Most Amount of Binge Drinking
1. Brownsville2. Laredo3. McAllen4. Waco5. Beaumont
Ratings based on percentage of older adults who are up to date on influenza vaccinations.

How All Texan Cities Fared — All Rankings

Below is how each of the largest 30 cities in Texas was ranked overall, along with how each was ranked in each of our four key dimensions: Care & Prevention, Disease Outcomes, Health Behaviors, and Physical Environment:

Overall Health Rank
City
Population
Overall Health Score
Care & Prevention
Disease Outcomes
Health Behaviors
Physical Environment

How We Collected Data and Developed Our Rankings

We examined the 30 largest cities in Texas (from Houston to Odessa) based on the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics across four key dimensions: Clinical Care & Prevention, Disease & Health Outcomes, Health Behaviors, and Physical Environment. We analyzed 5 metrics within each dimension.

Therefore, for each city we looked at no less than 20 different health factors in total. We graded each metric on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 always representing the healthiest, most favorable conditions.

More detailed information about each metric - including definition, source, and weighting - is as follows:

Clinical Care & Prevention: 25% total weight

Insurance Access: 5% weight

  • Measures: Current lack of health insurance among adults aged 18–64 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Routine Checkups: 5% weight

  • Measures: Visits to doctor for routine checkup within the past year among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dental Visits: 5% weight

  • Measures: Visits to dentist or dental clinic among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Influenza Vaccination: 5% weight

  • Measures: Older adults aged ≥65 years who are up to date on a core set of clinical preventive services (influenza or pneumococcal vaccination)
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Cholesterol Screening: 5% weight

  • Measures: Cholesterol screening among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Disease & Health Outcomes: 25% total weight

Cancer: 5% weight

  • Measures: Cancer (excluding skin cancer) among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

High Blood Pressure: 5% weight

  • Measures: High blood pressure among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Diabetes: 5% weight

  • Measures: Diagnosed diabetes among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Coronary Heart Disease: 5% weight

  • Measures: Coronary heart disease among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Asthma: 5% weight

  • Measures: Current asthma prevalence among adults aged ≥18 Years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Unhealthy Behaviors: 25% total weight

Smoking: 5% weight

  • Measures: Current smoking among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Obesity: 5% weight

  • Measures: Obesity among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Lack of Physical Activity: 5% weight

  • Measures: No leisure-time physical activity among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Lack of Sleep: 5% weight

  • Measures: Sleeping less than 7 hours among adults aged ≥18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Binge Drinking: 5% weight

  • Measures: Binge drinking among adults aged ≥ 18 years
  • Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Physical Environment: 25% total weight

Air Pollution: 5% weight

  • Measures: Average daily concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) per cubic meter (average)
  • Source: US Environmental Protection Agency

Healthy Food Access: 5% weight

  • Measures: Population living more than ½ mile from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store (%)
  • Source: Economic Research Service

Lead Exposure Risk: 5% weight

  • Measures: Poverty-adjusted risk of housing-based lead exposure (index)
  • Source: American Community Survey

Park Access: 5% weight

  • Measures: Population living within a 10 minute walk of green space (%)
  • Source: ParkServe®

Walkability: 5% weight

  • Measures: Neighborhood amenities accessible by walking as calculated by Walk Score® (index)
  • Source: Walk Score®

Sources

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • US Environmental Protection Agency
  • Economic Research Service
  • American Community Survey
  • ParkServe®
  • Walk Score®
  • Innerbody.com Research

Additional Health Resources

Support Resources

Fair Use Statement

Innerbody.com is committed to providing accurate and useful health information in order to improve public health and wellbeing. The reason why we invest the time and effort into creating this and other health-related research and guides is to raise awareness by making information widely available. We hope to reach as many people as possible. As such, please feel free to share our content for educational, editorial, or discussion purposes. We only ask that you link back to this page and credit the author as Innerbody.com.

About Innerbody.com

Innerbody.com is the largest online medical testing guide, helping over one million visitors each month. Over the past 20 years that we have been online, we have helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions involving staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles.

All of our expert writers and test reviewers have advanced degrees in relevant scientific fields. In the cases where our guides and reviews contain medical-related information, all such material is thoroughly reviewed by one or more members of Innerbody’s Medical Review Board, which consists of board-certified physicians and medical experts from across the country.

If you have any questions or feedback regarding this research or any other material on our website, you can email us at questions@innerbody.com.