Poorest Cities In California For 2022


We used science and data to determine which places in California are basically dead broke.

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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the poorest places in California.

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:

  1. Huron
  2. Firebaugh
  3. Orange Cove
  4. Mendota
  5. Clearlake
  6. Lindsay
  7. Calipatria
  8. Arcata
  9. McFarland
  10. Brawley

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:

The 10 Poorest Cities In California For 2022

1. Huron

Huron, CA

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 7,084
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 2)
Median Income: $31,429 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 18.9% (4th highest)
Poverty Rate: 41.3% (2nd highest)
More on Huron:  Data | Photos

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

Firebaugh, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,772
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 5)
Median Income: $36,411 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 20.9% (2nd highest)
Poverty Rate: 33.1% (6th highest)
More on Firebaugh:  Data | Photos

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

Orange Cove, CA

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 10,120
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $25,587 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 12.8% (16th highest)
Poverty Rate: 44.9% (highest)
More on Orange Cove:  Data | Photos

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

Mendota, CA

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 12,173
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 3)
Median Income: $36,376 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 16.2% (8th highest)
Poverty Rate: 38.5% (3rd highest)
More on Mendota:  Data | Photos

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

Clearlake, CA

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 15,329
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $36,339 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 19.7% (3rd highest)
Poverty Rate: 29.4% (13th highest)
More on Clearlake:  Data | Photos

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

Lindsay, CA

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 12,793
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 2)
Median Income: $37,073 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 17.2% (6th highest)
Poverty Rate: 32.8% (7th highest)
More on Lindsay:  Data | Photos

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

Calipatria, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,260
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $37,196 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 12.2% (18th highest)
Poverty Rate: 35.4% (4th highest)
More on Calipatria:  Data | Photos

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

Arcata, CA

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 18,266
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Median Income: $38,603 (15th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 14.6% (15th highest)
Poverty Rate: 34.5% (5th highest)
More on Arcata:  Data | Photos

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

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

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

Brawley, CA

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 25,942
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $46,177 (39th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 22.5% (highest)
Poverty Rate: 31.4% (10th highest)
More on Brawley:  Data | Photos

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:

Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In California

Rank City Population Poverty Rate
1 Huron 7,084 41.3%
2 Firebaugh 7,772 33.1%
3 Orange Cove 10,120 44.9%
4 Mendota 12,173 38.5%
5 Clearlake 15,329 29.4%
6 Lindsay 12,793 32.8%
7 Calipatria 7,260 35.4%
8 Arcata 18,266 34.5%
9 Mcfarland 13,244 29.2%
10 Brawley 25,942 31.4%
11 Corcoran 22,078 28.8%
12 Holtville 6,129 25.3%
13 Arvin 21,220 32.0%
14 Coachella 45,658 18.9%
15 California City 14,001 25.3%
16 Red Bluff 14,091 25.1%
17 Dinuba 24,455 29.4%
18 Porterville 59,056 23.1%
19 Calexico 39,841 20.0%
20 Reedley 25,710 23.0%
21 Barstow 23,547 30.4%
22 El Centro 43,881 24.2%
23 Farmersville 10,842 25.9%
24 Adelanto 34,238 25.3%
25 Avenal 13,033 27.5%
26 Exeter 10,433 21.8%
27 Crescent City 6,690 24.8%
28 Merced 84,081 25.8%
29 Oroville 19,659 25.8%
30 Madera 65,575 26.1%
31 Wasco 27,553 19.0%
32 Hemet 84,686 17.8%
33 Twentynine Palms 26,748 23.5%
34 Yucca Valley 21,701 22.0%
35 Huntington Park 57,761 21.6%
36 Delano 52,821 18.9%
37 Selma 24,405 23.3%
38 Desert Hot Springs 29,280 24.0%
39 Blythe 19,747 23.4%
40 Eureka 26,938 19.8%
41 Shafter 19,743 23.4%
42 Cudahy 23,606 27.7%
43 Fresno 526,147 23.5%
44 San Bernardino 216,784 23.7%
45 Victorville 122,958 21.0%
46 Banning 30,276 18.9%
47 Marysville 12,467 22.1%
48 Yreka 7,589 22.6%
49 Corning 7,589 20.7%
50 Bell 35,301 23.0%
51 Ukiah 15,963 18.2%
52 Hesperia 95,163 18.8%
53 Apple Valley 73,339 17.6%
54 Fort Bragg 7,279 19.5%
55 Bell Gardens 41,770 26.6%
56 Atwater 30,336 17.7%
57 Indio 89,996 17.2%
58 Compton 95,804 19.5%
59 Willows 6,053 18.8%
60 San Jacinto 48,786 16.6%
61 Lynwood 69,625 16.1%
62 Coalinga 17,252 18.9%
63 El Cajon 103,249 19.4%
64 Lompoc 42,753 17.6%
65 Woodlake 7,708 28.1%
66 Chico 98,683 22.4%
67 Ceres 48,355 14.5%
68 Paradise 17,560 14.7%
69 South Gate 94,905 15.5%
70 Livingston 14,392 15.3%
71 Maywood 27,127 20.4%
72 National City 61,342 16.1%
73 Cathedral City 54,812 18.4%
74 Waterford 8,884 20.3%
75 Taft 9,189 28.4%
76 Palm Springs 48,390 16.4%
77 Kerman 14,920 14.4%
78 Tehachapi 12,718 11.4%
79 Stockton 311,103 16.8%
80 Live Oak 8,794 19.8%
81 Tulare 64,546 18.5%
82 Rialto 103,549 15.7%
83 Fortuna 12,135 18.7%
84 Loma Linda 24,239 14.7%
85 Imperial Beach 27,334 16.6%
86 Los Banos 39,443 13.8%
87 Lodi 66,562 14.7%
88 Parlier 15,645 31.8%
89 Lancaster 157,697 20.2%
90 Gustine 5,748 14.4%
91 Susanville 14,922 20.0%
92 Highland 55,339 16.6%
93 San Luis Obispo 47,402 28.2%
94 Montclair 40,041 18.3%
95 South El Monte 20,791 21.1%
96 Bakersfield 379,879 17.2%
97 El Monte 113,917 17.4%
98 Turlock 72,715 15.0%
99 Hawthorne 85,410 15.9%
100 Chowchilla 18,443 17.4%

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