Being a Texan is one of the best parts of living in Texas. Well, that and Whataburger. But we're all aware that there are dangerous cities, towns, and neighborhoods across our state. Surprisingly this list is made up mostly of smaller cities, suburbs, and towns, aside from Houston, TX, which comes in at No. 7.

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The Lone Star State has the numbers to back up its well placed sense of pride. It's the second-largest state in the U.S. by area, spanning over 261,797 square miles and by population too -- just over 28.7 million people call Texas home.

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While there is an abundance of great and safe communities in Texas, with all these millions of people you know we're going to have our share of bad eggs, and in this case the bad eggs I'm speaking of are violent criminals.

According to World Population Review, "Violent crime is a crime committed by a person or persons behaving in a manner that intends to inflict physical harm on another person or property. Violent crimes include both crimes where the violent act is the means to an end and where the violent act is the objective of the crime. Violent crimes include, but are not limited to, sexual assault, manslaughter, mass shootings, kidnappings, airplane hijackings, rape, and homicide."

As one would suspect there is a direct correlation between the most dangerous places in Texas and low income, high unemployment, and lack of quality housing. Across the U.S., not just in Texas, these things lend to poorer living conditions and higher crime rates.

Based on these metrics, World Population Review has ranked the most dangerous cities in Texas. And, perhaps surprisingly, a suburb of Waco, with a tiny population of 10,494 at the 2020 census, is the most dangerous in Texas. Here are the Top 10:

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