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Traffic flows down East 12th Street toward the intersection of East Washington Street in downtown Brownsville on Friday, December 13, 2025. Dina Arévalo

By Dina Arévalo 
South Texas Reporter
MYSA

It’s an unenviable distinction. The city of Brownsville in the Rio Grande Valley, has been named as one of the Neediest Cities in America" second only to Detroit, Michigan.

While the Valley’s largest and oldest city has one of the most affordable costs of living in the country, it’s also one of the most impoverished, and that’s why it’s been ranked as the second-neediest city in America for 2026 by WalletHub, a personal finance site. But Brownsville wasn’t the only city in South Texas to make the list. Both Corpus Christi and Laredo cracked the top 10, while the state’s largest cities, Houston and Texas, were ranked within the top 25% of the country’s neediest cities.

“In the neediest cities, a large number of people lack access to adequate food, health care and shelter, but there are plenty of other less obvious issues that also need to be resolved,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said.

“The neediest cities need to address problems like high school dropout rates, lack of access to quality internet, overcrowded housing, poor mental health and more,” he added.

A homeless man looks for food in the garbage along a street in downtown Brownsville, on June 22, 2018 in Brownsville, Texas. In 2025, about one-fourth of the city's residents lived in poverty. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Why is Brownsville one of the neediest cities in the U.S.?

So, just why is Brownsville ranked as one of the neediest cities in the country? People living in Brownsville have a significant education gap, there’s a lack of online connectivity, and Brownsville has more uninsured and food-insecure people than anywhere else, the personal finance site found.

“Over 29% of the population ages 25+ never graduated high school, the fourth-highest percentage in the country. Residents also lack the means to get easy access to continued education online, as the city ranks first when it comes to households lacking a computer and seventh for lacking a broadband internet connection,” WalletHub officials said.

Brownsville also has the 15th-highest rate of adults living in poverty and the 16th-highest of children living in poverty. And the 15th-worst unemployment rate at 8.5 percent as of September 4, according to updated statistics published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s nearly double the national average of 4.6 percent.

Further, despite agriculture being one of the Valley's biggest industries and economic drivers, generating an estimated $1 billion in revenue per year, nearly 1 in 4 Brownsville residents struggles with food insecurity. And slightly more than that – 29 percent –  don’t have health insurance.

“That’s a deadly combination, as going without food can create medical issues that leave people with the choice to either skip the doctor or pay heavily without insurance,” WalletHub said.

And chronic illness and disease are something that many Brownsville residents have to contend with, where as many as 1 in 5 have been diagnosed with diabetes. It’s a lifelong chronic disease that puts people at higher risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney and liver damage, and limb loss, according to RGV Health Connect’s Unidos Contra la Diabetes.

People walk through downtown Brownsville, a border city which has become dependent on the daily crossing into and out of Mexico on June 22, 2018 in Brownsville, Texas. In 2025, about one-fourth of the city's residents are living at or below the poverty line. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

How was Brownsville ranked as one of the neediest cities in the United States?

WalletHub analyzed data to compare the 150 most populated cities in the U.S., and — for states with smaller populations — at least two of the most populated cities in each state, to compare how they stacked up when it came to “economic well-being” and “health and safety.” The personal finance site analyzed data from a variety of sources, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, Feeding America, and more.

Using that data, WalletHub came up with a weighted ranking for each city on more than two dozen metrics, such as child and adult poverty rates, unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates, and a host of health trends. A dozen Texas cities ranked among the top half as the “neediest” cities in the country. They included: Garland, (91), Grand Prairie (88), Irving (84), Amarillo (63), El Paso (54), Dallas (48), Lubbock (41), San Antonio (38), Houston (18), Laredo (9), and Corpus Christi (7).