After earning its worst-ever ranking last year, Texas has improved a couple of spots on an evaluation of the best states to live in, but it's still at the bottom of the pack.Each year, WalletHub's analysts compare all 50 states using 51 livability metrics to measure their affordability, economy, edu cation and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors include the cost of living, homeownership rates, population and income growth rates, wealth gaps, public school system quality, road quality, crime rates, and many others.The Lone Star State landed at No. 36 in 2026, making it the 15th-worst state to live right now. That's on par with its 2024 ranking, and it's a two-spot improvement over its 2025 performance.While Texas residents can brag about living in a state with the No. 1 highest number of restaurants per capita and the 7th best quality of life in the country, that's about it. Texas earned middling-to-poor scores among the four remaining livability rankings: safety (No. 33), affordability (No. 35), economy (No. 37), and education and health (No. 40).Here's how Texas fared in other rankings in the study out of all 50 states: ...read more read less