Welp. Here’s your ragebait report for the day, Texas.
Over the past few years, Texas has continued to attract workers by the masses. Houston, alone, has remained as the most moved-to city in the entire country for the past five years – in the company of San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas in the top 10.
However, it seems like the Lonestar State is not all sunshine and rainbows. This past weekend, CNBC put out a report ranking the worst states to live in measured by quality of life. According to its metrics, Texas is the worst state to live in the country behind Tennessee.
According to CNBC, the quality of life category in its 2026 state rankings evaluates a region’s livability based on several key metrics:
- Per-capita crime rates
- Environmental quality
- Healthcare and childcare availability/affordability
- Worker protections
- Inclusiveness in state laws
- Voting rights and election security
- Reproductive rights
Graded as a “F”: Texas scored 78 out of 290 points on CNBC’s scale.
While the publication acknowledged Texas as the leading destination for workers, the report docked the state for its heatlhcare accessibility, stating that Texas has “America’s highest rate of people without health insurance at 16.7%”. Citing the United Health Foundation, that number is twice the national average.
“More than 17% of Texas adults said that they had to forgo a doctor visit that they needed in the past year because of the cost,” the report reads. “Even those who do have health insurance can have trouble finding a doctor. The state finished dead last in primary care physicians per capita”.
The state also scored low with regard to crime, inclusiveness, reproductive rights, and worker protections.
In a separate report, CNBC ranked Vermont as the best places to live in the country 2026.
Interested parties can see CNBC’s full report here.
