More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Richmond to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Richmond are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Richmond ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Richmond area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Richmond proper, although Bellaire certainly tries.
We examined the 19 biggest suburbs of Richmond to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Texas lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Richmond in terms of quality of life.
$65,934 median income · $348,438 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Brookshire, the absolute worst place to live around Richmond according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Brookshire beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 5th worst in the Richmond area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 10th worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Brookshire.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$58,212 median income · $219,259 median home price
Located in
Wharton County, Texas
Welcome to Wharton. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 27.7 miles to Richmond. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $58,212 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,813 median income · $264,336 median home price
Located in
Montgomery County, Texas
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Richmond suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Houston on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Richmond suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$56,514 median income · $373,692 median home price
Located in
Austin County, Texas
If you live in Sealy, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the lowest Richmond suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 11th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Richmond. Remember, we looked at 19 cities for this study.
Sealy is about 27.3 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$65,668 median income · $313,841 median home price
Located in
Fort Bend County, Texas
Rosenberg has the distinction of being a Richmond suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Rosenberg has the 5th lowest home values in the metro Richmond area, where the median price is $313,841. The median income is $250,001.
Rosenberg has an unemployment rate of 5.9% which ranks 8th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$72,007 median income · $346,523 median home price
Pleak has 2,344 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 4.7%.
$70,900 median income · $358,706 median home price
Ah, Needville. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Richmond.
It’s the place with the 18th most out of work residents in the Richmond metro area (0.8%).
Data | Movers
$90,057 median income · $293,211 median home price
Meadows Place is a city about 11.5 miles from Richmond, but Richmond probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Meadows Place has the 10th most uninsured people, 9th worst incomes, and has the 4th highest unemployment rate (6.7%) in the entire Richmond metro area.
Homes only cost $293,211 for a reason. That’s cheap for Richmond standards.
Data | Movers
$97,961 median income · $333,946 median home price
If you absolutely have to live near Richmond, then East Bernard might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Richmond suburb.
About 5.9% of residents are out of work.
$87,432 median income · $299,018 median home price
Located in
Harris County, Texas
Rounding out the ten worst Richmond suburbs to call home is Stafford.
Located 12.1 miles outside the city, Stafford is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 9th highest unemployment rate (5.8%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Texas’s statewide median.
Texas statewide median: $78,476
Texas statewide median: $300,957
Texas statewide median: 5.3%
Texas statewide median: 13.8%
On the map
Where the worst Richmond suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Richmond for 2026
To figure out how bad a Richmond suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Richmond.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 19 suburbs to evaluate around Richmond.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 19 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Richmond.” We’re looking at you, Brookshire.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Richmond.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Richmond Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brookshire | 4.71 | 5,495 | $65,934 | $348,438 |
| 2 | Wharton | 5.00 | 8,724 | $58,212 | $219,259 |
| 3 | Houston | 5.43 | 2,328,253 | $64,813 | $264,336 |
| 4 | Sealy | 5.57 | 7,053 | $56,514 | $373,692 |
| 5 | Rosenberg | 6.57 | 40,646 | $65,668 | $313,841 |
| 6 | Pleak | 7.43 | 2,344 | $72,007 | $346,523 |
| 7 | Needville | 8.14 | 3,094 | $70,900 | $358,706 |
| 8 | Meadows Place | 8.43 | 4,689 | $90,057 | $293,211 |
| 9 | East Bernard | 8.43 | 3,053 | $97,961 | $333,946 |
| 10 | Stafford | 8.57 | 17,401 | $87,432 | $299,018 |
| 11 | Katy | 8.57 | 25,184 | $114,912 | $338,082 |
| 12 | Manvel | 10.14 | 14,758 | $118,808 | $443,743 |
| 13 | Iowa Colony | 11.29 | 12,891 | $144,092 | $339,032 |
| 14 | Sugar Land | 13.71 | 110,016 | $136,217 | $447,176 |
| 15 | Pearland | 14.00 | 127,514 | $118,842 | $382,157 |
| 16 | Fulshear | 14.86 | 34,868 | $187,035 | $505,480 |
| 17 | Weston Lakes | 15.57 | 4,217 | $145,394 | $714,323 |
| 18 | West University Place | 16.71 | 14,982 | $250,001 | $1,560,991 |
| 19 | Bellaire | 16.86 | 17,206 | $244,015 | $1,164,142 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 19 suburbs within 30 miles of Richmond.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Richmond where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Richmond with Brookshire casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Richmond are Brookshire, Wharton, Houston, Sealy, Rosenberg, Pleak, Needville, Meadows Place, East Bernard, and Stafford.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Richmond aren’t all bad. Bellaire takes the cake as the best place to live around Richmond. Not sold on Texas? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Richmond FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Richmond?
Brookshire ranks as the worst suburb around Richmond for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Wharton and Houston are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Richmond?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Richmond are Brookshire, Wharton, Houston, Sealy, Rosenberg, Pleak, Needville, Meadows Place, East Bernard, and Stafford. We scored all 19 places within 30 miles.
Why does Brookshire rank as the worst suburb?
Brookshire posts the roughest combined numbers of the 19 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $65,934, a median home value of $348,438, and a poverty rate of 21.4%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Richmond?
Bellaire lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Richmond by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Richmond list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
