The suburbs of Anaheim call to all types of people looking to escape city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Anaheim to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: do the suburbs maintain a semblance of the larger-than-life appeal of their more famous neighbor?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Anaheim ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Anaheim area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Anaheim proper, although San Marino certainly tries.
Of course, not all suburbs of Anaheim are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones.
We examined the 103 biggest suburbs of Anaheim to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in California lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Anaheim in terms of quality of life.
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Anaheim? Commerce ranks as the worst suburb of Anaheim for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Anaheim that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don’t blame the messenger.
Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in California check out the best places in California overall or the worst.
And remember, there are some good places to live around Anaheim too.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
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 Worst Anaheim Suburbs To Live For 2023
/10
Population: 12,459
Median Income: $58,226 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.5% (14th highest)
Median Home Value: $455,700 (25th lowest)
More on Commerce:
We’ll get the ball rolling with Commerce, the absolute worst place to live around Anaheim according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Commerce beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 10th worst in the Anaheim area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 25th 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 Commerce.
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.
/10
Population: 23,003
Median Income: $47,050 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $434,200 (16th lowest)
More on Cudahy:
Welcome to Cudahy. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 25.3 miles to Anaheim. Income levels here are the lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $47,050 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: 103,799
Median Income: $69,934 (24th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (highest)
Median Home Value: $350,000 (6th lowest)
More on Rialto:
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Anaheim suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Rialto 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 Anaheim suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 55,439
Median Income: $51,065 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.0% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $452,300 (23rd lowest)
More on Huntington Park:
If you live in Huntington Park, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 3rd lowest Anaheim suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 2nd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Anaheim. Remember, we looked at 103 cities for this study.
Huntington Park is about 27.6 miles to downtown.
/10
Population: 53,894
Median Income: $60,874 (14th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (15th highest)
Median Home Value: $325,800 (4th lowest)
More on Colton:
Colton has the distinction of being a Anaheim suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Colton has the 4th lowest home values in the metro Anaheim area, where the median price is $325,800. The median income is $181,591.
Colton has an unemployment rate of 7.36% which ranks 15th worst.
/10
Population: 37,871
Median Income: $67,483 (20th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.8% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,300 (14th lowest)
More on Montclair:
Montclair has 37,871 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 17.779793022511466%.
/10
Population: 96,083
Median Income: $62,297 (16th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.2% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,000 (12th lowest)
More on Compton:
Ah, Compton. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Anaheim.
It’s the place with the 8th most out of work residents in the Anaheim metro area (8.23%).
8. Lakeland
/10
Population: 110,401
Median Income: $52,972 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (4highest)
Median Home Value: $171,700 (3rd lowest)
More on Lakeland:
Lakeland is a city about 26.7 miles from Anaheim, but Anaheim 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. Lakeland has the 19th most uninsured people, 5th worst incomes, and has the 4highest unemployment rate (6.0%) in the entire Anaheim metro area.
Homes only cost $171,700 for a reason. That’s cheap for Anaheim standards.
/10
Population: 67,497
Median Income: $61,612 (15th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.5% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $449,300 (20th lowest)
More on Lynwood:
If you absolutely have to live near Anaheim, then Lynwood might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Anaheim suburb.
About 9.55% of residents are out of work.
/10
Population: 33,915
Median Income: $51,183 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.6% (3highest)
Median Home Value: $450,900 (2lowest)
More on Bell:
Rounding out the ten worst Anaheim suburbs to call home is Bell.
Located 25.5 miles outside the city, Bells is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 3highest unemployment rate (6.58%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Anaheim for 2023
To figure out how bad a Anaheim suburb is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
It’s Saturday Night Science.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2017-2021, 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 Anaheim.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 103 suburbs to evaluate around Anaheim.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 103 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 Anaheim.” We’re looking at you, Commerce.
We updated this article for 2023, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Anaheim.
Summary: The areas around Anaheim where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Anaheim with Commerce casting itself ahead of the pack.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Anaheim aren’t all bad. San Marino takes the cake as the best place to live around Anaheim.
- San Marino
- Newport Beach
- South Pasadena
For more California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Retire In California
- Richest Cities In California
- Safest Places In California
- Worst Places To Live In California
Detailed List Of The Worst Anaheim Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Commerce | 12,459 |
| 2 | Cudahy | 23,003 |
| 3 | Rialto | 103,799 |
| 4 | Huntington Park | 55,439 |
| 5 | Colton | 53,894 |
| 6 | Montclair | 37,871 |
| 7 | Compton | 96,083 |
| 8 | Lakeland | 110,401 |
| 9 | Lynwood | 67,497 |
| 10 | Bell | 33,915 |
| 11 | Bell Gardens | 39,870 |
| 12 | Jurupa Valley | 104,684 |
| 13 | South Gate | 93,308 |
| 14 | Lake Elsinore | 68,822 |
| 15 | Pomona | 151,592 |
| 16 | Ontario | 175,223 |
| 17 | El Monte | 110,144 |
| 18 | South El Monte | 19,860 |
| 19 | Maywood | 25,477 |
| 20 | Riverside | 314,858 |
| 21 | Stanton | 38,167 |
| 22 | Hawaiian Gardens | 14,178 |
| 23 | Azusa | 49,457 |
| 24 | Paramount | 53,904 |
| 25 | Baldwin Park | 72,813 |
| 26 | Fontana | 208,087 |
| 27 | Montebello | 62,828 |
| 28 | La Puente | 38,447 |
| 29 | Grand Terrace | 13,079 |
| 30 | Bellflower | 79,070 |
| 31 | Westminster | 91,267 |
| 32 | Long Beach | 466,565 |
| 33 | Midway | 3,402 |
| 34 | Santa Fe Springs | 18,817 |
| 35 | Santa Ana | 313,818 |
| 36 | Garden Grove | 172,708 |
| 37 | Duarte | 21,723 |
| 38 | Rosemead | 51,698 |
| 39 | Chino | 90,279 |
| 40 | Carson | 95,104 |
| 41 | Pico Rivera | 62,383 |
| 42 | Temple | 5,093 |
| 43 | Laguna Woods | 17,546 |
| 44 | La Habra | 63,287 |
| 45 | Los Alamitos | 11,780 |
| 46 | Downey | 114,293 |
| 47 | Covina | 51,061 |
| 48 | Monterey Park | 61,153 |
| 49 | Artesia | 16,390 |
| 50 | Signal Hill | 11,780 |
| 51 | Norwalk | 103,330 |
| 52 | Fullerton | 142,964 |
| 53 | Upland | 78,624 |
| 54 | San Gabriel | 39,673 |
| 55 | West Covina | 109,396 |
| 56 | Corona | 157,844 |
| 57 | Monrovia | 37,999 |
| 58 | Whittier | 87,184 |
| 59 | Alhambra | 83,174 |
| 60 | La Verne | 31,423 |
| 61 | Buena Park | 83,974 |
| 62 | Costa Mesa | 112,148 |
| 63 | Tustin | 79,895 |
| 64 | Glendora | 52,458 |
| 65 | Orange | 139,195 |
| 66 | Chino Hills | 78,229 |
| 67 | San Juan Capistrano | 35,319 |
| 68 | Seal Beach | 25,216 |
| 69 | Rancho Cucamonga | 173,946 |
| 70 | San Dimas | 34,775 |
| 71 | Norco | 26,176 |
| 72 | Irvine | 297,868 |
| 73 | Laguna Hills | 31,409 |
| 74 | Brea | 46,912 |
| 75 | Diamond Bar | 55,339 |
| 76 | Fountain Valley | 57,139 |
| 77 | Lake Forest | 85,516 |
| 78 | Placentia | 51,951 |
| 79 | Claremont | 36,312 |
| 80 | La Mirada | 47,957 |
| 81 | Lakewood | 82,419 |
| 82 | Arcadia | 56,697 |
| 83 | Huntington Beach | 198,735 |
| 84 | Walnut | 28,641 |
| 85 | Cypress | 50,279 |
| 86 | Laguna Niguel | 64,608 |
| 87 | Cerritos | 49,630 |
| 88 | Laguna Beach | 23,121 |
| 89 | La Habra Heights | 5,651 |
| 90 | El Cerrito | 25,898 |
| 91 | Dana Point | 33,327 |
| 92 | Eastvale | 68,539 |
| 93 | La Palma | 15,650 |
| 94 | Rancho Santa Margarita | 48,190 |
| 95 | Sierra Madre | 11,253 |
| 96 | Mission Viejo | 93,932 |
| 97 | Villa Park | 5,864 |
| 98 | San Clemente | 64,600 |
| 99 | Aliso Viejo | 51,943 |
| 100 | Yorba Linda | 68,319 |
