More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Phoenix to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Phoenix are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Phoenix ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Phoenix area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Phoenix proper, although Paradise Valley certainly tries.
We examined the 20 biggest suburbs of Phoenix to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Arizona lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Phoenix in terms of quality of life.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Phoenix? El Mirage ranks as the worst suburb of Phoenix for 2025 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.
Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Arizona check out the best places in Arizona overall or the worst.
And remember, there are some good places to live around Phoenix too.
The 10 Worst Phoenix Suburbs To Live For 2025
/10
Population: 35,823
Median Income: $74,764 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.6% (highest)
Median Home Value: $344,385 (2nd lowest)
More on El Mirage: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
We’ll get the ball rolling with El Mirage, the absolute worst place to live around Phoenix according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, El Mirage beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 4th worst in the Phoenix area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s El Mirage.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
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Population: 7,233
Median Income: $55,015 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.2% (17th highest)
Median Home Value: $394,212 (3rd lowest)
More on Tolleson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Welcome to Tolleson. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 12.8 miles to Phoenix. Income levels here are the lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $55,015 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
/10
Population: 250,193
Median Income: $70,139 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $405,008 (5th lowest)
More on Glendale: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Phoenix suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Glendale on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Phoenix suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 90,644
Median Income: $81,260 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $398,466 (4th lowest)
More on Avondale: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you live in Avondale, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 7th lowest Phoenix suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 8th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Phoenix. Remember, we looked at 20 cities for this study.
Avondale is about 22.6 miles to downtown.
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Population: 5,293
Median Income: $58,507 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 2.7% (19th highest)
Median Home Value: $252,140 (lowest)
More on Guadalupe: Data | Cost Of Living
Guadalupe has the distinction of being a Phoenix suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Guadalupe has the lowest home values in the metro Phoenix area, where the median price is $252,140. The median income is $236,250.
Guadalupe has an unemployment rate of 2.7% which ranks 19th worst.
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Population: 186,419
Median Income: $77,643 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.6% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $466,004 (8th lowest)
More on Tempe: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Tempe has 186,419 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 16.175710594315245%.
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Population: 507,478
Median Income: $78,779 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $432,494 (7th lowest)
More on Mesa: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Ah, Mesa. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Phoenix.
It’s the place with the 9th most out of work residents in the Phoenix metro area (4.59%).
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Population: 102,891
Median Income: $101,814 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $471,109 (10th lowest)
More on Goodyear: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Goodyear is a city about 27.1 miles from Phoenix, but Phoenix probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb for 2018.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Goodyear has the 9th most uninsured people, 10th worst incomes, and has the 6th highest unemployment rate (4.85%) in the entire Phoenix metro area.
Homes only cost $471,109 for a reason. That’s cheap for Phoenix standards.
/10
Population: 102,891
Median Income: $101,814 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $471,109 (10th lowest)
More on Goodyear: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you absolutely have to live near Phoenix, then Goodyear might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Phoenix suburb.
About 4.85% of residents are out of work.
/10
Population: 149,519
Median Income: $93,371 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.2% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $422,703 (6th lowest)
More on Surprise: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Rounding out the ten worst Phoenix suburbs to call home is Surprise.
Located 21.9 miles outside the city, Surprises is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 11th highest unemployment rate (4.24%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Phoenix for 2025
To figure out how bad a Phoenix suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2019-2023, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Phoenix.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 20 suburbs to evaluate around Phoenix.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 20 in each category, where 1 was the “worst.”
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Phoenix.” We’re looking at you, El Mirage.
We updated this article for 2025, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Phoenix.
Summary: The areas around Phoenix where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2025
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Phoenix with El Mirage casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Phoenix are .
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Phoenix aren’t all bad. Paradise Valley takes the cake as the best place to live around Phoenix.
- Paradise Valley
- Litchfield Park
- Gilbert
For more Arizona reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Arizona
- Cheapest Places To Live In Arizona
- Most Dangerous Cities In Arizona
- Best Places To Retire In Arizona
- Richest Cities In Arizona
- Safest Places In Arizona
- Worst Places To Live In Arizona
Detailed List Of The Worst Phoenix Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Mirage | 35,823 | $74,764 | $344,385 |
| 2 | Tolleson | 7,233 | $55,015 | $394,212 |
| 3 | Glendale | 250,193 | $70,139 | $405,008 |
| 4 | Avondale | 90,644 | $81,260 | $398,466 |
| 5 | Guadalupe | 5,293 | $58,507 | $252,140 |
| 6 | Tempe | 186,419 | $77,643 | $466,004 |
| 7 | Mesa | 507,478 | $78,779 | $432,494 |
| 8 | Goodyear | 102,891 | $101,814 | $471,109 |
| 9 | Goodyear | 102,891 | $101,814 | $471,109 |
| 10 | Surprise | 149,519 | $93,371 | $422,703 |
| 11 | Peoria | 194,338 | $93,403 | $484,686 |
| 12 | Cave Creek | 5,033 | $102,589 | $1,027,286 |
| 13 | Chandler | 278,123 | $103,691 | $522,553 |
| 14 | Fountain Hills | 23,768 | $104,788 | $662,302 |
| 15 | Santa Cruz | 60,953 | $111,427 | $1,303,347 |
| 16 | Carefree | 3,672 | $141,331 | $1,277,310 |
| 17 | Scottsdale | 242,169 | $107,372 | $835,288 |
| 18 | Gilbert | 271,118 | $121,351 | $569,865 |
| 19 | Litchfield Park | 6,871 | $124,973 | $526,015 |
| 20 | Paradise Valley | 12,621 | $236,250 | $3,211,224 |
Wow. I’m not sure any of your criteria relates to me. Crime stats are really the number one thing to take into account, imo. Poverty levels may have some validity in that it’s hard to keep up your property if you don’t have the money, but the rest… worst area because there’s not enough to do? Really? You can’t drive a couple miles down the road? The personal issues like unemployment or insurance would only be of concern if it was a precursor to crime. Otherwise, that’s really not my business.
I live in Scottsdale, but these rankings are not accurate. Some of these suburbs are nice and have nice areas with multi-million dollar homes, i.e. Cave Creek (!), Mesa, Peoria… I would check with a real estate agent before writing any of these off.