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California brings to mind images of Sacramento, beautiful landscapes, and some of the best people you'll find in the good ole US of A.
However, like all states, California has certain places that are going on hard times. These places have an above average percent of people that are living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
With all the talk about income inequality going on around the country, we thought it prudent to take a look at the places in each state that are struggling to make it even as the economy continues to improve. So we set our sites on bringing attention to the places in California that could use a helping hand.
To do so, we analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 427 places in California with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the ten poorest places in California for 2022:
Again, this isn't a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it's just a look at the facts.
What's the poorst city in California? According to the facts, Huron is the poorest place in California for 2022.
Rich people more your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the best places in California or the most dangerous.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.
If you're looking for something more national, check out the poorest states in America or the poorest cities in America.
For more California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Most Dangerous Cities In California
The 10 Poorest Cities In California For 2022
1. Huron
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Huron, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in California thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 7,084 people averages the 2nd lowest median household income in California and the 2nd highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Firebaugh
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The second poorest city in California is Firebaugh.
The city ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty and 8th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate 'only' ranks as the 2nd highest in the Golden State.
3. Orange Cove
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Placing as the third poorest city, Orange Cove's median income ranks as the lowest.
And that's a sign that there's a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 44.92222332309522% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Golden State.
4. Mendota
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Mendota ranks as the fourth poorest place in California.
The town ranks as having the 7th lowest median household income and the 3rd highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there's still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Clearlake
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The fifth poorest city in California is Clearlake.
The city ranks as having the 6th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 13th highest in California.
Still not the best news for Clearlake.
6. Lindsay
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Lindsay ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Golden State.
It ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty and the 6th highest unemployment rate.
7. Calipatria
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Calipatria places as the seventh poorest city in California.
The city of over 7,260 ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Arcata
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Arcata ranks as the eighth poorest city in California.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 15th highest in the state.
9. Mcfarland
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Population: 13,244
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $36,586 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 15.2% (12th highest)
Poverty Rate: 29.2% (14th highest)
More on Mcfarland: Data
McFarland couldn't stay out of the top ten poorest places in California; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, McFarland ranks as having the 14th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in California.
10. Brawley
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And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in California is Brawley.
The city of 25,942 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Golden State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In California for 2022
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don't think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "poorest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2016-2020 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income adjusted for the cost of living
- Unemployment Rate
The "median household income adjusted for the cost of living" attempts to gauge how expensive it is to live in a place and how that impacts the quality of life. For example, a town might have fewer people living below the official poverty line, but the cost of living is so high they'd still feel poor.
The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for improvement in the city or town. If more people are employed, the brighter the future looks and vice versa.
After we collected the data for all 427 places with more than 5,000 people in California, we ranked each place from 1 to 427 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Poor Score" with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Huron, crowned the "Poorest Place In California For 2022". You can download the data here.
Summary: The Poorest Places In California For 2022
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in California, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in California.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the richest cities in California, according to data:
-
Richest: Los Altos Hills
2nd Richest: La Habra Heights
3rd Richest: Orinda
For more California reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In California
- Safest Places In California
- Worst Places To Live In California
- Most Expensive Places To Live In California
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In California
Rank | City | Population |
---|---|---|
1 | Huron | 7,084 |
2 | Firebaugh | 7,772 |
3 | Orange Cove | 10,120 |
4 | Mendota | 12,173 |
5 | Clearlake | 15,329 |
6 | Lindsay | 12,793 |
7 | Calipatria | 7,260 |
8 | Arcata | 18,266 |
9 | Mcfarland | 13,244 |
10 | Brawley | 25,942 |
11 | Corcoran | 22,078 |
12 | Holtville | 6,129 |
13 | Arvin | 21,220 |
14 | Coachella | 45,658 |
15 | California City | 14,001 |
16 | Red Bluff | 14,091 |
17 | Dinuba | 24,455 |
18 | Porterville | 59,056 |
19 | Calexico | 39,841 |
20 | Reedley | 25,710 |
21 | Barstow | 23,547 |
22 | El Centro | 43,881 |
23 | Farmersville | 10,842 |
24 | Adelanto | 34,238 |
25 | Avenal | 13,033 |
26 | Exeter | 10,433 |
27 | Crescent City | 6,690 |
28 | Merced | 84,081 |
29 | Oroville | 19,659 |
30 | Madera | 65,575 |
31 | Wasco | 27,553 |
32 | Hemet | 84,686 |
33 | Twentynine Palms | 26,748 |
34 | Yucca Valley | 21,701 |
35 | Huntington Park | 57,761 |
36 | Delano | 52,821 |
37 | Selma | 24,405 |
38 | Desert Hot Springs | 29,280 |
39 | Blythe | 19,747 |
40 | Eureka | 26,938 |
41 | Shafter | 19,743 |
42 | Cudahy | 23,606 |
43 | Fresno | 526,147 |
44 | San Bernardino | 216,784 |
45 | Victorville | 122,958 |
46 | Banning | 30,276 |
47 | Marysville | 12,467 |
48 | Yreka | 7,589 |
49 | Corning | 7,589 |
50 | Bell | 35,301 |
51 | Ukiah | 15,963 |
52 | Hesperia | 95,163 |
53 | Apple Valley | 73,339 |
54 | Fort Bragg | 7,279 |
55 | Bell Gardens | 41,770 |
56 | Atwater | 30,336 |
57 | Indio | 89,996 |
58 | Compton | 95,804 |
59 | Willows | 6,053 |
60 | San Jacinto | 48,786 |
61 | Lynwood | 69,625 |
62 | Coalinga | 17,252 |
63 | El Cajon | 103,249 |
64 | Lompoc | 42,753 |
65 | Woodlake | 7,708 |
66 | Chico | 98,683 |
67 | Ceres | 48,355 |
68 | Paradise | 17,560 |
69 | South Gate | 94,905 |
70 | Livingston | 14,392 |
71 | Maywood | 27,127 |
72 | National City | 61,342 |
73 | Cathedral City | 54,812 |
74 | Waterford | 8,884 |
75 | Taft | 9,189 |
76 | Palm Springs | 48,390 |
77 | Kerman | 14,920 |
78 | Tehachapi | 12,718 |
79 | Stockton | 311,103 |
80 | Live Oak | 8,794 |
81 | Tulare | 64,546 |
82 | Rialto | 103,549 |
83 | Fortuna | 12,135 |
84 | Loma Linda | 24,239 |
85 | Imperial Beach | 27,334 |
86 | Los Banos | 39,443 |
87 | Lodi | 66,562 |
88 | Parlier | 15,645 |
89 | Lancaster | 157,697 |
90 | Gustine | 5,748 |
91 | Susanville | 14,922 |
92 | Highland | 55,339 |
93 | San Luis Obispo | 47,402 |
94 | Montclair | 40,041 |
95 | South El Monte | 20,791 |
96 | Bakersfield | 379,879 |
97 | El Monte | 113,917 |
98 | Turlock | 72,715 |
99 | Hawthorne | 85,410 |
100 | Chowchilla | 18,443 |