Cities in Texas by unemployed people

Houston, TX had the highest unemployed people of 134 cities in 2022, at 48,344. Melissa, TX had the lowest, at 299. The median was 1,229. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest48,344Houston, TX
Lowest299Melissa, TX
Median1,229134 cities

Top 40 cities, 2022

Houston, TX: 48,344 personsHouston, TX48,344Dallas, TX: 26,506 personsDallas, TX26,506San Antonio, TX: 26,363 personsSan Antonio, TX26,363Fort Worth, TX: 18,289 personsFort Worth, TX18,289Austin, TX: 17,880 personsAustin, TX17,880El Paso, TX: 12,679 personsEl Paso, TX12,679Arlington, TX: 8,012 personsArlington, TX8,012Corpus Christi, TX: 6,802 personsCorpus Christi, TX6,802Plano, TX: 5,496 personsPlano, TX5,496Irving, TX: 4,878 personsIrving, TX4,878Garland, TX: 4,734 personsGarland, TX4,734Brownsville, TX: 4,684 personsBrownsville, TX4,684Lubbock, TX: 4,660 personsLubbock, TX4,660Laredo, TX: 4,540 personsLaredo, TX4,540Grand Prairie, TX: 4,096 personsGrand Prairie, TX4,096McKinney, TX: 3,884 personsMcKinney, TX3,884Frisco, TX: 3,635 personsFrisco, TX3,635Pasadena, TX: 3,448 personsPasadena, TX3,448McAllen, TX: 3,171 personsMcAllen, TX3,171Amarillo, TX: 3,100 personsAmarillo, TX3,100Killeen, TX: 3,074 personsKilleen, TX3,074Mesquite, TX: 3,038 personsMesquite, TX3,038Denton, TX: 2,852 personsDenton, TX2,852Baytown, TX: 2,799 personsBaytown, TX2,799Carrollton, TX: 2,617 personsCarrollton, TX2,617Beaumont, TX: 2,592 personsBeaumont, TX2,592Waco, TX: 2,575 personsWaco, TX2,575Lewisville, TX: 2,545 personsLewisville, TX2,545Midland, TX: 2,430 personsMidland, TX2,430Edinburg, TX: 2,423 personsEdinburg, TX2,423Pharr, TX: 2,297 personsPharr, TX2,297Pearland, TX: 2,295 personsPearland, TX2,295College Station, TX: 2,257 personsCollege Station, TX2,257Richardson, TX: 2,256 personsRichardson, TX2,256League City, TX: 2,218 personsLeague City, TX2,218Mission, TX: 2,211 personsMission, TX2,211Odessa, TX: 2,209 personsOdessa, TX2,209Round Rock, TX: 2,101 personsRound Rock, TX2,101Abilene, TX: 2,078 personsAbilene, TX2,078Sugar Land, TX: 2,028 personsSugar Land, TX2,028Houston, TX: 48,344 personsHouston, TX48,344Dallas, TX: 26,506 personsDallas, TX26,506San Antonio, TX: 26,363 personsSan Antonio, TX26,363Fort Worth, TX: 18,289 personsFort Worth, TX18,289Austin, TX: 17,880 personsAustin, TX17,880El Paso, TX: 12,679 personsEl Paso, TX12,679Arlington, TX: 8,012 personsArlington, TX8,012Corpus Christi, TX: 6,802 personsCorpus Christi, TX6,802Plano, TX: 5,496 personsPlano, TX5,496Irving, TX: 4,878 personsIrving, TX4,878Garland, TX: 4,734 personsGarland, TX4,734Brownsville, TX: 4,684 personsBrownsville, TX4,684Lubbock, TX: 4,660 personsLubbock, TX4,660Laredo, TX: 4,540 personsLaredo, TX4,540Grand Prairie, TX: 4,096 personsGrand Prairie, TX4,096McKinney, TX: 3,884 personsMcKinney, TX3,884Frisco, TX: 3,635 personsFrisco, TX3,635Pasadena, TX: 3,448 personsPasadena, TX3,448McAllen, TX: 3,171 personsMcAllen, TX3,171Amarillo, TX: 3,100 personsAmarillo, TX3,100Killeen, TX: 3,074 personsKilleen, TX3,074Mesquite, TX: 3,038 personsMesquite, TX3,038Denton, TX: 2,852 personsDenton, TX2,852Baytown, TX: 2,799 personsBaytown, TX2,799Carrollton, TX: 2,617 personsCarrollton, TX2,617Beaumont, TX: 2,592 personsBeaumont, TX2,592Waco, TX: 2,575 personsWaco, TX2,575Lewisville, TX: 2,545 personsLewisville, TX2,545Midland, TX: 2,430 personsMidland, TX2,430Edinburg, TX: 2,423 personsEdinburg, TX2,423Pharr, TX: 2,297 personsPharr, TX2,297Pearland, TX: 2,295 personsPearland, TX2,295College Station, TX: 2,257 personsCollege Station, TX2,257Richardson, TX: 2,256 personsRichardson, TX2,256League City, TX: 2,218 personsLeague City, TX2,218Mission, TX: 2,211 personsMission, TX2,211Odessa, TX: 2,209 personsOdessa, TX2,209Round Rock, TX: 2,101 personsRound Rock, TX2,101Abilene, TX: 2,078 personsAbilene, TX2,078Sugar Land, TX: 2,028 personsSugar Land, TX2,028
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2022
persons
Change on 2021
1Houston, TX48,344-31.9%
2Dallas, TX26,506-32.2%
3San Antonio, TX26,363-29.3%
4Fort Worth, TX18,289-29.2%
5Austin, TX17,880-24.4%
6El Paso, TX12,679-29%
7Arlington, TX8,012-30.4%
8Corpus Christi, TX6,802-31.8%
9Plano, TX5,496-24.6%
10Irving, TX4,878-30.7%
11Garland, TX4,734-26.9%
12Brownsville, TX4,684-28.5%
13Lubbock, TX4,660-25.7%
14Laredo, TX4,540-33.7%
15Grand Prairie, TX4,096-29.1%
16McKinney, TX3,884-21.1%
17Frisco, TX3,635-17.3%
18Pasadena, TX3,448-32.2%
19McAllen, TX3,171-27.9%
20Amarillo, TX3,100-22.6%
21Killeen, TX3,074-25.7%
22Mesquite, TX3,038-31.9%
23Denton, TX2,852-24.3%
24Baytown, TX2,799-33.4%
25Carrollton, TX2,617-28.2%
26Beaumont, TX2,592-39.3%
27Waco, TX2,575-24%
28Lewisville, TX2,545-26.1%
29Midland, TX2,430-44.1%
30Edinburg, TX2,423-20.6%
31Pharr, TX2,297-25.9%
32Pearland, TX2,295-27%
33College Station, TX2,257-13.4%
34Richardson, TX2,256-25.5%
35League City, TX2,218-26.8%
36Mission, TX2,211-30.3%
37Odessa, TX2,209-49.1%
38Round Rock, TX2,101-23.7%
39Abilene, TX2,078-20.2%
40Sugar Land, TX2,028-33.6%
41Tyler, TX2,002-25.5%
42Allen, TX1,956-23.9%
43Conroe, TX1,878-27.9%
44Port Arthur, TX1,819-35.9%
45Missouri City, TX1,813-28.9%
46Wichita Falls, TX1,739-25.7%
47New Braunfels, TX1,736-18.4%
48Longview, TX1,642-33.5%
49San Angelo, TX1,573-30.3%
50Bryan, TX1,529-24.9%
51Temple, TX1,512-18.1%
52DeSoto, TX1,501-29.4%
53Georgetown, TX1,499-11%
54Mansfield, TX1,483-21%
55Harlingen, TX1,470-24.4%
56San Marcos, TX1,369-20.1%
57Texas City, TX1,360-29.9%
58North Richland Hills, TX1,356-27.7%
59Rowlett, TX1,344-23.8%
60Flower Mound, TX1,325-18.1%
61Cedar Park, TX1,282-25.6%
62Pflugerville, TX1,272-36.7%
63Cedar Hill, TX1,269-30.1%
64Victoria, TX1,252-33.5%
65San Juan, TX1,250-25.6%
66Euless, TX1,249-32.7%
67Leander, TX1,235-12.8%
68Weslaco, TX1,222-24.4%
69Lancaster, TX1,133-30.8%
70Eagle Pass, TX1,120-35.9%
71Little Elm, TX1,062-15.8%
72Galveston, TX1,054-32%
73Wylie, TX1,012-23.8%
74The Colony, TX1,010-24.9%
75Bedford, TX1,005-34.1%
76Grapevine, TX975-26.2%
77Rockwall, TX922-20.2%
78Kyle, TX914-22.8%
79Burleson, TX913-26%
80Waxahachie, TX875-15.2%
81La Porte, TX858-34.2%
82Duncanville, TX850-32.5%
83Haltom City, TX837-30.7%
84Sherman, TX819-18.6%
85Rosenberg, TX812-31.2%
86Farmers Branch, TX802-27.7%
87Coppell, TX796-24.5%
88Deer Park, TX781-31.6%
89Keller, TX773-17.2%
90Del Rio, TX755-26%
91Hurst, TX753-31%
92Forney, TX748-13.8%
93Schertz, TX726-23%
94Texarkana, TX722-23.7%
95Friendswood, TX718-28.3%
96Huntsville, TX715-20.5%
97Socorro, TX710-31.3%
98Lake Jackson, TX681-34.4%
99Midlothian, TX680-13.8%
100Lufkin, TX650-30.6%
101Nacogdoches, TX643-23.3%
102Copperas Cove, TX620-19.9%
103San Benito, TX618-43.1%
104Converse, TX617-30.8%
105Prosper, TX614-21.1%
106Alvin, TX610-34.5%
107Hutto, TX585-19.2%
108Harker Heights, TX583-20.8%
109Cibolo, TX576-20.4%
110Weatherford, TX574-15.6%
111Paris, TX570-23.5%
112Greenville, TX566-21.4%
113Seguin, TX556-17.3%
114Cleburne, TX553-24.2%
115Sachse, TX537-17%
116Kingsville, TX525-32.1%
117Balch Springs, TX519-31.3%
118Big Spring, TX498-23.7%
119Corsicana, TX484-24.8%
120Southlake, TX480-19.5%
121Denison, TX475-19.2%
122Saginaw, TX472-22.9%
123Princeton, TX470-10%
124Fulshear, TX460+21.4%
125Celina, TX456+34.5%
126Katy, TX443-24.5%
127Anna, TX432-12.2%
128Colleyville, TX407-23.9%
129Belton, TX384-13.5%
129University Park, TX384-19.7%
131Royse City, TX376-11.5%
132Kerrville, TX372-23%
133Fate, TX333-3.2%
134Melissa, TX299-1%

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. 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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Texas by unemployed people, 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2022. 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, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2022.

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, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_texas_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2022. 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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2022
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.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/texas-cities?period=2022.
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.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployed people?

Houston, TX, with 48,344 in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Melissa, TX, with 299 in 2022.

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.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Texas: more rankings