Eighteen of the 20 worst cities in the United States in a recent WalletHub survey relating to the health and welfare of their residents come from traditionally Republican-led states, with all five of the cities ranking lowest in health insurance coverage coming from Texas.

In the 2022 Neediest Cities survey, WalletHub polled four leaders in the research of public administration, public health and social work to determine what cities had the populations with the greatest needs and the most difficult pathways to overcome those needs, either through obtaining available government subsidies or through private benefactors.  While the overall ranks of “Neediest Cities” was split evenly between jurisdictions in Red and Blue states, when looking at the specific health and welfare of residents, cities in Republican-run states rated worst in general.

Five Texas cities–Brownsville, Laredo, Garland, Houston and Dallas–ranked dead last in health insurance coverage.  A person in Brownsville is 17 times more likely to be uninsured compared to a resident of South Burlington, Vermont, the city with the best health insurance coverage.  Brownsville was also ranked second-worst for food insecurity.

Brownsville ranked as the second-neediest city overall, with Detroit taking the top spot.  Texas led with three cities among the neediest top 20, with California (which has a population 50% greater than Texas), Ohio, Louisiana and Mississippi have two cities listed in the top 20.