Cities in Texas by unemployed people

Houston, TX had the highest unemployed people of 122 cities in 2016, at 57,234. Forney, TX had the lowest, at 294. The median was 1,236. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest57,234Houston, TX
Lowest294Forney, TX
Median1,236122 cities

Top 40 cities, 2016

Houston, TX: 57,234 personsHouston, TX57,234Dallas, TX: 25,982 personsDallas, TX25,982San Antonio, TX: 24,417 personsSan Antonio, TX24,417Fort Worth, TX: 16,991 personsFort Worth, TX16,991Austin, TX: 16,686 personsAustin, TX16,686El Paso, TX: 13,652 personsEl Paso, TX13,652Corpus Christi, TX: 8,344 personsCorpus Christi, TX8,344Arlington, TX: 7,954 personsArlington, TX7,954Brownsville, TX: 5,876 personsBrownsville, TX5,876Plano, TX: 5,670 personsPlano, TX5,670Laredo, TX: 5,212 personsLaredo, TX5,212Irving, TX: 4,869 personsIrving, TX4,869Garland, TX: 4,817 personsGarland, TX4,817Pasadena, TX: 4,347 personsPasadena, TX4,347Lubbock, TX: 4,315 personsLubbock, TX4,315Grand Prairie, TX: 3,963 personsGrand Prairie, TX3,963McAllen, TX: 3,428 personsMcAllen, TX3,428Odessa, TX: 3,302 personsOdessa, TX3,302McKinney, TX: 3,168 personsMcKinney, TX3,168Mesquite, TX: 3,159 personsMesquite, TX3,159Beaumont, TX: 3,158 personsBeaumont, TX3,158Amarillo, TX: 3,110 personsAmarillo, TX3,110Baytown, TX: 2,964 personsBaytown, TX2,964Midland, TX: 2,935 personsMidland, TX2,935Frisco, TX: 2,871 personsFrisco, TX2,871Killeen, TX: 2,804 personsKilleen, TX2,804Carrollton, TX: 2,660 personsCarrollton, TX2,660Pearland, TX: 2,512 personsPearland, TX2,512Waco, TX: 2,484 personsWaco, TX2,484Mission, TX: 2,480 personsMission, TX2,480Pharr, TX: 2,468 personsPharr, TX2,468Sugar Land, TX: 2,419 personsSugar Land, TX2,419Denton, TX: 2,394 personsDenton, TX2,394Edinburg, TX: 2,324 personsEdinburg, TX2,324Lewisville, TX: 2,319 personsLewisville, TX2,319League City, TX: 2,315 personsLeague City, TX2,315Longview, TX: 2,266 personsLongview, TX2,266Port Arthur, TX: 2,264 personsPort Arthur, TX2,264Richardson, TX: 2,191 personsRichardson, TX2,191Tyler, TX: 2,167 personsTyler, TX2,167Houston, TX: 57,234 personsHouston, TX57,234Dallas, TX: 25,982 personsDallas, TX25,982San Antonio, TX: 24,417 personsSan Antonio, TX24,417Fort Worth, TX: 16,991 personsFort Worth, TX16,991Austin, TX: 16,686 personsAustin, TX16,686El Paso, TX: 13,652 personsEl Paso, TX13,652Corpus Christi, TX: 8,344 personsCorpus Christi, TX8,344Arlington, TX: 7,954 personsArlington, TX7,954Brownsville, TX: 5,876 personsBrownsville, TX5,876Plano, TX: 5,670 personsPlano, TX5,670Laredo, TX: 5,212 personsLaredo, TX5,212Irving, TX: 4,869 personsIrving, TX4,869Garland, TX: 4,817 personsGarland, TX4,817Pasadena, TX: 4,347 personsPasadena, TX4,347Lubbock, TX: 4,315 personsLubbock, TX4,315Grand Prairie, TX: 3,963 personsGrand Prairie, TX3,963McAllen, TX: 3,428 personsMcAllen, TX3,428Odessa, TX: 3,302 personsOdessa, TX3,302McKinney, TX: 3,168 personsMcKinney, TX3,168Mesquite, TX: 3,159 personsMesquite, TX3,159Beaumont, TX: 3,158 personsBeaumont, TX3,158Amarillo, TX: 3,110 personsAmarillo, TX3,110Baytown, TX: 2,964 personsBaytown, TX2,964Midland, TX: 2,935 personsMidland, TX2,935Frisco, TX: 2,871 personsFrisco, TX2,871Killeen, TX: 2,804 personsKilleen, TX2,804Carrollton, TX: 2,660 personsCarrollton, TX2,660Pearland, TX: 2,512 personsPearland, TX2,512Waco, TX: 2,484 personsWaco, TX2,484Mission, TX: 2,480 personsMission, TX2,480Pharr, TX: 2,468 personsPharr, TX2,468Sugar Land, TX: 2,419 personsSugar Land, TX2,419Denton, TX: 2,394 personsDenton, TX2,394Edinburg, TX: 2,324 personsEdinburg, TX2,324Lewisville, TX: 2,319 personsLewisville, TX2,319League City, TX: 2,315 personsLeague City, TX2,315Longview, TX: 2,266 personsLongview, TX2,266Port Arthur, TX: 2,264 personsPort Arthur, TX2,264Richardson, TX: 2,191 personsRichardson, TX2,191Tyler, TX: 2,167 personsTyler, TX2,167
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2016
persons
Change on 2015
1Houston, TX57,234+16.6%
2Dallas, TX25,982-2.4%
3San Antonio, TX24,417-2.4%
4Fort Worth, TX16,991+3.7%
5Austin, TX16,686+3.6%
6El Paso, TX13,652+1%
7Corpus Christi, TX8,344+18.5%
8Arlington, TX7,954-2.3%
9Brownsville, TX5,876+13.4%
10Plano, TX5,670-0.4%
11Laredo, TX5,212+12.8%
12Irving, TX4,869+1.2%
13Garland, TX4,817-4.6%
14Pasadena, TX4,347+14%
15Lubbock, TX4,315+3.4%
16Grand Prairie, TX3,963+2.8%
17McAllen, TX3,428+10%
18Odessa, TX3,302+29.6%
19McKinney, TX3,168+7.4%
20Mesquite, TX3,159-1%
21Beaumont, TX3,158-0.2%
22Amarillo, TX3,110+2.9%
23Baytown, TX2,964+28.8%
24Midland, TX2,935+20%
25Frisco, TX2,871+21%
26Killeen, TX2,804+6.1%
27Carrollton, TX2,660-1.2%
28Pearland, TX2,512+25.2%
29Waco, TX2,484+1%
30Mission, TX2,480+22.2%
31Pharr, TX2,468+23.5%
32Sugar Land, TX2,419+50.3%
33Denton, TX2,394+3.5%
34Edinburg, TX2,324+22.6%
35Lewisville, TX2,319+13.3%
36League City, TX2,315+18.7%
37Longview, TX2,266+20.5%
38Port Arthur, TX2,264+2.4%
39Richardson, TX2,191+1%
40Tyler, TX2,167+3.8%
41Abilene, TX2,060+2.4%
42Missouri City, TX2,026+15.4%
43College Station, TX2,008+15.1%
44San Angelo, TX2,005+7.2%
45Round Rock, TX1,926-3.1%
46Wichita Falls, TX1,849-0.1%
47Conroe, TX1,796+44.5%
48Allen, TX1,793+2.9%
49Eagle Pass, TX1,709+21.1%
50Victoria, TX1,684+23.6%
51Harlingen, TX1,561+8.6%
52DeSoto, TX1,500+3.7%
53Texas City, TX1,497+14.4%
54Bryan, TX1,445+2.6%
55North Richland Hills, TX1,346-1.5%
56San Juan, TX1,345+26.9%
57Temple, TX1,326+6.1%
58Galveston, TX1,259+6.4%
59Cedar Hill, TX1,244+3.2%
60Flower Mound, TX1,243-2%
61New Braunfels, TX1,238+22.5%
62Cedar Park, TX1,233+17.1%
63Euless, TX1,210+6.1%
64Weslaco, TX1,207+28.1%
65Mansfield, TX1,201+5.4%
66Rowlett, TX1,197-6.9%
67San Marcos, TX1,152+8.9%
68Pflugerville, TX1,135+25.7%
69Bedford, TX1,131+5.1%
70Lancaster, TX1,116+6%
71La Porte, TX1,034+18.3%
72Grapevine, TX973-1.7%
73Del Rio, TX960+10.5%
74Wylie, TX944+12.2%
75The Colony, TX937+5.4%
76Deer Park, TX899+16.8%
77Duncanville, TX895-8%
78Georgetown, TX886-10.1%
79Friendswood, TX884+18.8%
80Lufkin, TX883+5%
81Haltom City, TX875-6.5%
82Coppell, TX870+6.4%
83Rosenberg, TX855+19.4%
84Burleson, TX844+8.6%
85Hurst, TX831+1.8%
86Rockwall, TX801+4.2%
87Keller, TX790+1.2%
87Kingsville, TX790+20.1%
89Socorro, TX780+11.1%
90Sherman, TX756+0.1%
91Texarkana, TX731-0.3%
92Huntsville, TX708+13.1%
93Alvin, TX707+21.9%
94Little Elm, TX701+36.4%
95Schertz, TX684+19.4%
96Nacogdoches, TX677+1%
97Lake Jackson, TX675+16%
98San Benito, TX669+17%
99Waxahachie, TX653+8.3%
100Leander, TX607+13.5%
101Kyle, TX604+33.9%
102Cleburne, TX602-2.7%
103Copperas Cove, TX591+6.7%
104Big Spring, TX569+18.5%
105Paris, TX560+5.3%
106Harker Heights, TX554-0.4%
107Weatherford, TX534+2.3%
108Balch Springs, TX533+4.3%
109Farmers Branch, TX528-18.3%
110Sachse, TX510+8.5%
111Southlake, TX499+0.4%
112Greenville, TX498-8.1%
113Seguin, TX494+6%
114Corsicana, TX489+1.9%
115Midlothian, TX485+33.2%
116Cibolo, TX443+28.4%
117Colleyville, TX442+3.5%
118Converse, TX424+12.5%
119Denison, TX419-10.5%
120University Park, TX400+5.8%
121Hutto, TX386+65.7%
122Forney, TX294+3.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 12 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2016 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Cities in Texas by unemployed people, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Texas by unemployed people, 2016. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Cities in Texas by unemployed people, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Texas by unemployed people, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_texas_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Texas by unemployed people, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2016. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Texas by unemployed people, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployed people?

Houston, TX, with 57,234 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Forney, TX, with 294 in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 12 cities have no value for 2016 and are not ranked.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Texas: more rankings