25 Dumbest Cities in America

2. Houston

Population: 2,264,876

Percentage of People Living Below the Poverty Line: 19.4% 

Unemployment Rate: 4.8%

Average Annual Income Per Family: $60,426 

According to a report by the Economic Innovation Group, Houston is home to some of the most “newly poor” neighborhoods in the United States. Despite robust, if not record, economic gains throughout much of the last four decades, the analysis demonstrates that many of Houston’s disadvantaged communities have only remained poorer. Since many of Houston’s poorer communities are situated in close proximity to the city’s affluent districts, they have taken a disproportionate share of the city’s coronavirus-related job losses. Reasons for this tendency include the availability and accessibility of low-cost housing options throughout the city. High unemployment caused by company closures to halt the spread of the coronavirus is affecting impoverished communities harder, and it is likely to weaken workers’ ability to bargain for higher salaries. These areas are especially at risk since the jobs available are typically low-skilled and pay poorly, and they are located in areas where unemployment rates are already high. It’s not just that poverty is increasing in Houston; it’s also that it’s expanding outward from the city center and changing neighborhoods that were previously considered middle-class. Since money is unevenly distributed across the three-county area surrounding Houston, the percentage of the population living in poverty has a direct effect on the region’s economic health. All these easily make Houston one of the dumbest dumbest cities in America.