Cities in Texas by unemployed people

Houston, TX had the highest unemployed people of 122 cities in 2017, at 55,795. Forney, TX had the lowest, at 318. The median was 1,242. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest55,795Houston, TX
Lowest318Forney, TX
Median1,242122 cities

Top 40 cities, 2017

Houston, TX: 55,795 personsHouston, TX55,795Dallas, TX: 26,205 personsDallas, TX26,205San Antonio, TX: 23,801 personsSan Antonio, TX23,801Austin, TX: 16,474 personsAustin, TX16,474Fort Worth, TX: 16,141 personsFort Worth, TX16,141El Paso, TX: 13,114 personsEl Paso, TX13,114Corpus Christi, TX: 8,019 personsCorpus Christi, TX8,019Arlington, TX: 7,793 personsArlington, TX7,793Plano, TX: 5,629 personsPlano, TX5,629Brownsville, TX: 5,491 personsBrownsville, TX5,491Irving, TX: 4,838 personsIrving, TX4,838Garland, TX: 4,638 personsGarland, TX4,638Pasadena, TX: 4,607 personsPasadena, TX4,607Laredo, TX: 4,552 personsLaredo, TX4,552Lubbock, TX: 4,167 personsLubbock, TX4,167Grand Prairie, TX: 3,826 personsGrand Prairie, TX3,826Baytown, TX: 3,601 personsBaytown, TX3,601McAllen, TX: 3,353 personsMcAllen, TX3,353McKinney, TX: 3,323 personsMcKinney, TX3,323Beaumont, TX: 3,313 personsBeaumont, TX3,313Mesquite, TX: 3,178 personsMesquite, TX3,178Frisco, TX: 3,090 personsFrisco, TX3,090Amarillo, TX: 2,982 personsAmarillo, TX2,982Killeen, TX: 2,745 personsKilleen, TX2,745Carrollton, TX: 2,629 personsCarrollton, TX2,629Waco, TX: 2,548 personsWaco, TX2,548Pharr, TX: 2,499 personsPharr, TX2,499Port Arthur, TX: 2,481 personsPort Arthur, TX2,481Pearland, TX: 2,377 personsPearland, TX2,377Lewisville, TX: 2,350 personsLewisville, TX2,350Mission, TX: 2,332 personsMission, TX2,332League City, TX: 2,282 personsLeague City, TX2,282Denton, TX: 2,260 personsDenton, TX2,260Edinburg, TX: 2,236 personsEdinburg, TX2,236Odessa, TX: 2,232 personsOdessa, TX2,232Sugar Land, TX: 2,205 personsSugar Land, TX2,205Richardson, TX: 2,147 personsRichardson, TX2,147Midland, TX: 2,121 personsMidland, TX2,121Missouri City, TX: 2,048 personsMissouri City, TX2,048Tyler, TX: 2,013 personsTyler, TX2,013Houston, TX: 55,795 personsHouston, TX55,795Dallas, TX: 26,205 personsDallas, TX26,205San Antonio, TX: 23,801 personsSan Antonio, TX23,801Austin, TX: 16,474 personsAustin, TX16,474Fort Worth, TX: 16,141 personsFort Worth, TX16,141El Paso, TX: 13,114 personsEl Paso, TX13,114Corpus Christi, TX: 8,019 personsCorpus Christi, TX8,019Arlington, TX: 7,793 personsArlington, TX7,793Plano, TX: 5,629 personsPlano, TX5,629Brownsville, TX: 5,491 personsBrownsville, TX5,491Irving, TX: 4,838 personsIrving, TX4,838Garland, TX: 4,638 personsGarland, TX4,638Pasadena, TX: 4,607 personsPasadena, TX4,607Laredo, TX: 4,552 personsLaredo, TX4,552Lubbock, TX: 4,167 personsLubbock, TX4,167Grand Prairie, TX: 3,826 personsGrand Prairie, TX3,826Baytown, TX: 3,601 personsBaytown, TX3,601McAllen, TX: 3,353 personsMcAllen, TX3,353McKinney, TX: 3,323 personsMcKinney, TX3,323Beaumont, TX: 3,313 personsBeaumont, TX3,313Mesquite, TX: 3,178 personsMesquite, TX3,178Frisco, TX: 3,090 personsFrisco, TX3,090Amarillo, TX: 2,982 personsAmarillo, TX2,982Killeen, TX: 2,745 personsKilleen, TX2,745Carrollton, TX: 2,629 personsCarrollton, TX2,629Waco, TX: 2,548 personsWaco, TX2,548Pharr, TX: 2,499 personsPharr, TX2,499Port Arthur, TX: 2,481 personsPort Arthur, TX2,481Pearland, TX: 2,377 personsPearland, TX2,377Lewisville, TX: 2,350 personsLewisville, TX2,350Mission, TX: 2,332 personsMission, TX2,332League City, TX: 2,282 personsLeague City, TX2,282Denton, TX: 2,260 personsDenton, TX2,260Edinburg, TX: 2,236 personsEdinburg, TX2,236Odessa, TX: 2,232 personsOdessa, TX2,232Sugar Land, TX: 2,205 personsSugar Land, TX2,205Richardson, TX: 2,147 personsRichardson, TX2,147Midland, TX: 2,121 personsMidland, TX2,121Missouri City, TX: 2,048 personsMissouri City, TX2,048Tyler, TX: 2,013 personsTyler, TX2,013
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2017
persons
Change on 2016
1Houston, TX55,795-2.5%
2Dallas, TX26,205+0.9%
3San Antonio, TX23,801-2.5%
4Austin, TX16,474-1.3%
5Fort Worth, TX16,141-5%
6El Paso, TX13,114-3.9%
7Corpus Christi, TX8,019-3.9%
8Arlington, TX7,793-2%
9Plano, TX5,629-0.7%
10Brownsville, TX5,491-6.6%
11Irving, TX4,838-0.6%
12Garland, TX4,638-3.7%
13Pasadena, TX4,607+6%
14Laredo, TX4,552-12.7%
15Lubbock, TX4,167-3.4%
16Grand Prairie, TX3,826-3.5%
17Baytown, TX3,601+21.5%
18McAllen, TX3,353-2.2%
19McKinney, TX3,323+4.9%
20Beaumont, TX3,313+4.9%
21Mesquite, TX3,178+0.6%
22Frisco, TX3,090+7.6%
23Amarillo, TX2,982-4.1%
24Killeen, TX2,745-2.1%
25Carrollton, TX2,629-1.2%
26Waco, TX2,548+2.6%
27Pharr, TX2,499+1.3%
28Port Arthur, TX2,481+9.6%
29Pearland, TX2,377-5.4%
30Lewisville, TX2,350+1.3%
31Mission, TX2,332-6%
32League City, TX2,282-1.4%
33Denton, TX2,260-5.6%
34Edinburg, TX2,236-3.8%
35Odessa, TX2,232-32.4%
36Sugar Land, TX2,205-8.8%
37Richardson, TX2,147-2%
38Midland, TX2,121-27.7%
39Missouri City, TX2,048+1.1%
40Tyler, TX2,013-7.1%
41Longview, TX2,003-11.6%
42Abilene, TX2,002-2.8%
43Round Rock, TX1,959+1.7%
44College Station, TX1,895-5.6%
45Allen, TX1,842+2.7%
46San Angelo, TX1,670-16.7%
47Conroe, TX1,650-8.1%
48Harlingen, TX1,649+5.6%
49Wichita Falls, TX1,615-12.7%
50DeSoto, TX1,538+2.5%
51Texas City, TX1,503+0.4%
52Victoria, TX1,501-10.9%
53Eagle Pass, TX1,417-17.1%
54Bryan, TX1,312-9.2%
55San Juan, TX1,305-3%
56North Richland Hills, TX1,301-3.3%
57Temple, TX1,286-3%
58New Braunfels, TX1,273+2.8%
59Cedar Park, TX1,255+1.8%
60Flower Mound, TX1,254+0.9%
61Cedar Hill, TX1,245+0.1%
62Galveston, TX1,239-1.6%
63Weslaco, TX1,227+1.7%
64Mansfield, TX1,208+0.6%
65Rowlett, TX1,199+0.2%
66Pflugerville, TX1,192+5%
67Euless, TX1,160-4.1%
68San Marcos, TX1,146-0.5%
69La Porte, TX1,131+9.4%
70Lancaster, TX1,121+0.4%
71Bedford, TX1,065-5.8%
72Deer Park, TX1,034+15%
73The Colony, TX1,012+8%
74Grapevine, TX983+1%
75Duncanville, TX908+1.5%
76Georgetown, TX904+2%
77Wylie, TX893-5.4%
78Lake Jackson, TX845+25.2%
79Coppell, TX840-3.4%
80Haltom City, TX838-4.2%
81Friendswood, TX830-6.1%
82Burleson, TX807-4.4%
82Hurst, TX807-2.9%
84Rosenberg, TX802-6.2%
85Del Rio, TX791-17.6%
86Little Elm, TX788+12.4%
86Rockwall, TX788-1.6%
88Keller, TX787-0.4%
89Texarkana, TX751+2.7%
90Leander, TX723+19.1%
91Alvin, TX713+0.8%
92San Benito, TX712+6.4%
93Lufkin, TX702-20.5%
94Socorro, TX695-10.9%
95Sherman, TX688-9%
96Huntsville, TX672-5.1%
97Kingsville, TX661-16.3%
98Nacogdoches, TX648-4.3%
99Schertz, TX638-6.7%
100Waxahachie, TX634-2.9%
101Kyle, TX621+2.8%
102Copperas Cove, TX572-3.2%
103Farmers Branch, TX552+4.5%
104Cleburne, TX533-11.5%
105Harker Heights, TX532-4%
106Paris, TX529-5.5%
107Sachse, TX524+2.7%
108Balch Springs, TX517-3%
109Greenville, TX494-0.8%
110Southlake, TX490-1.8%
111Midlothian, TX482-0.6%
112Seguin, TX478-3.2%
113Weatherford, TX473-11.4%
114Corsicana, TX467-4.5%
115Big Spring, TX438-23%
116Colleyville, TX432-2.3%
117Cibolo, TX429-3.2%
118Hutto, TX407+5.4%
119Denison, TX400-4.5%
120Converse, TX397-6.4%
121University Park, TX389-2.8%
122Forney, TX318+8.2%

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 2017 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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_texas_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2017.
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 55,795 in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Forney, TX, with 318 in 2017.

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 2017 and are not ranked.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Texas: more rankings