Caleb Hammer, the Austin-based host of the viral YouTube channel Financial Audit, toured Dallas this past weekend for a potential new home — and walked away unimpressed.
His verdict on Downtown Dallas: no thanks.
Explored Dallas today for potential move. What that city did to their downtown should be outlawed nation wide.
I have never seen a more desolate, boring, and pathetic downtown of a major US city in my life.
Now uptown on the other hand, that’s a good start.
— Caleb Hammer (@sircalebhammer) November 3, 2025
Hammer, whose show has amassed nearly 2 million subscribers, essentially echoed what The Dallas Express has been reporting for years — that Downtown Dallas continues to struggle with crime, blight, and business flight even as city officials claim progress.
Hammer’s post, published Sunday evening, quickly surpassed 640,000 views and 4,200 likes, sparking renewed debate over the same issues DX has investigated since 2022.
Hammer, who films guests in his Austin studio while pointing out their financial mistakes or debt pitfalls, offered no sugarcoating for Dallas residents. Followers flooded his replies with photos of shuttered offices, desolate parking lots, and empty plazas — images that match years of DX reporting on Downtown’s issues.
Real estate broker Aaron Layman commented, “Downtown Dallas is a soulless hellscape. Better places to live in the burbs depending on your preferences.”
A Warning Years in the Making
The problems Hammer described are not new. The Dallas Express first raised alarms about Downtown’s decline in 2022, when hotelier and DX publisher Monty J. Bennett told the Metroplex Business & Civic Association (MCBA) that “the sense of optimism has left our downtown” and warned of “a rotting core” driving businesses and residents away.
Since then, DX has tracked the same issues Bennett outlined: rising crime, persistent homelessness, and a sluggish business climate that has led to development and investment shifting to surrounding suburbs.
Downtown Still Losing Ground
Recent data confirm that Downtown Dallas continues to lag significantly behind Fort Worth in terms of public safety and livability.
According to a September 2025 analysis by the Metroplex Civic & Business Association (MCBA), Downtown Dallas’ overall crime score was 10.7 times higher than Downtown Fort Worth’s. The report found Dallas experienced 40 times more thefts, eight times more assaults, and 16 times more drug violations than its neighbor to the west.
City leaders have tried to close that gap through the Safe in the City initiative and higher police hiring targets. However, as The Dallas Express reported in September, Dallas still falls short of the voter-mandated 4,000-officer minimum required under Proposition U, the 2024 charter amendment that ties public-safety funding to city revenue growth.
The current budget projects just 3,424 sworn officers by the end of FY 2026 — more than 570 below the minimum required by law. Pay also remains short of voter expectations. Proposition U directs the City to keep police starting salaries within the top five regionally, yet Dallas’ proposed starting pay of $81,232 would rank 12th among North Texas departments — roughly $4,700 below what’s needed to compete.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn called for an “urgent review” of the City’s salary survey in August, warning that it used outdated pay data and could undermine recruitment and retention. “Our officers deserve nothing less than a city that invests in their success as much as they invest in ours,” she wrote.
Signs of Modest Progress
Downtown crime has dipped slightly since the Safe in the City program launched, according to City data shown in the Crime Analytics Dashboard. As of November 3, 2025, a total of 3,489 reported offenses had been recorded, down from 3,565 during the same period in 2024. Violent crimes also fell from 234 to 195 year-to-date.
The trend suggests that added patrols and enforcement are making a dent, but the overall crime level downtown still far exceeds that of Fort Worth. The MCBA’s findings make clear that while Dallas has improved on paper, the core of the City remains a riskier environment for workers and visitors alike.
Progress on Homelessness
While crime and business flight continue to challenge Downtown, homelessness has improved sharply since the launch of Safe in the City and Housing Forward’s Street to Home initiative.
As The Dallas Express reported last week, Housing Forward and its partners have rehoused more than 7,400 people since mid-2024, including 277 from downtown encampments. The most recent count found only 30 homeless individuals in the Central Business District, down from a peak of 411 in early 2024.
Housing Forward President and CEO Sarah Kahn credited the progress to tighter coordination between outreach teams, law enforcement, and local shelters. “Downtown Dallas has seen an immediate decrease in crime, and quality-of-life violations are down by 42%,” Kahn told DX.
Business leaders involved in the effort say there are now no active encampments in the downtown core, though ongoing funding will be required to sustain the progress and expand the model citywide.
Corporate Confidence Cracking
Hammer’s viral critique lands just weeks after The Dallas Express reported that AT&T has refused to confirm whether it plans to remain in downtown Dallas, despite growing concern from civic and business leaders.
Sources told DX that executives have toured suburban campuses in Plano and other parts of North Texas, echoing the company’s surprise 2008 relocation from San Antonio — a move that caught that City’s leadership off guard.
A Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report commissioned by Downtown Dallas Inc. warned that an AT&T departure could trigger a 30% drop in property values — about $2.7 billion in losses — and cost the City roughly $62 million annually in tax revenue.
Even The Dallas Morning News has begun sounding the alarm. In an October 25 column, Dallas Cothrum cited the same BCG findings DX previously reported, writing that if public safety downtown is not addressed, the consequences will “rapidly erode value” across North Texas.
Uptown’s Contrast
Uptown, however, just three miles north, drew Hammer’s praise.
Not only does Uptown beat the “eye test” against Downtown, but data also show a sharp difference in commercial activity between the two areas. A report from Cushman & Wakefield shows Uptown’s office vacancy rate hovering near 12%, while Downtown’s sits at about 25%.
The contrast between the two districts is clear. Uptown’s streets stay busy with restaurants and new development, while much of Downtown remains defined by empty sidewalks and shuttered storefronts.
Years of Warnings, Still Unresolved
Hammer’s viral post reflected a reality Dallas residents and business leaders have known for years. City officials have made progress with new patrols, anti-camping enforcement, and coordinated homeless outreach efforts, but serious problems persist.
Downtown still records some of the highest crime levels in North Texas. The City has yet to meet voter-mandated police staffing and pay standards under Proposition U, and AT&T, the largest downtown employer, has not said whether it will stay.
For now, the YouTube star’s viral critique has opened more eyes to the fact that Dallas is still not on the upside of Downtown’s problems.