More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Chandler to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Chandler are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Chandler ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Chandler area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Chandler proper, although Paradise Valley certainly tries.
We examined the 20 biggest suburbs of Chandler 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 Chandler in terms of quality of life.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 worst suburbs around Chandler for 2024
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Chandler? Coolidge ranks as the worst suburb of Chandler for 2024 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 Chandler too.
The 10 Worst Chandler Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Population: 14,175
Median Income: $60,682 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 19.0% (highest)
Median Home Value: $286,315 (2nd lowest)
More on Coolidge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
We’ll get the ball rolling with Coolidge, the absolute worst place to live around Chandler according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Coolidge beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 4th worst in the Chandler 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 Coolidge.
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: 55,186
Median Income: $64,535 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $324,372 (3rd lowest)
More on Casa Grande: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Welcome to Casa Grande. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 26.5 miles to Chandler. Income levels here are the 5th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $64,535 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: 5,335
Median Income: $56,423 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (14th highest)
Median Home Value: $259,445 (lowest)
More on Guadalupe: Data | Cost Of Living
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Chandler suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Guadalupe 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 Chandler suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 38,855
Median Income: $56,209 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.9% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $366,015 (6th lowest)
More on Apache Junction: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you live in Apache Junction, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 2nd lowest Chandler 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 Chandler. Remember, we looked at 20 cities for this study.
Apache Junction is about 20.1 miles to downtown.
/10
Population: 248,083
Median Income: $66,375 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.7% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $405,468 (9th lowest)
More on Glendale: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Glendale has the distinction of being a Chandler suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Glendale has the 9th lowest home values in the metro Chandler area, where the median price is $405,468. The median income is $221,333.
Glendale has an unemployment rate of 5.69% which ranks 7th worst.
/10
Population: 25,783
Median Income: $74,025 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $358,475 (4th lowest)
More on Florence: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Florence has 25,783 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 6.802201161724242%.
/10
Population: 7,221
Median Income: $47,875 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 2.4% (20th highest)
Median Home Value: $389,180 (7th lowest)
More on Tolleson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Ah, Tolleson. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Chandler.
It’s the place with the 20th most out of work residents in the Chandler metro area (2.44%).
/10
Population: 1,609,456
Median Income: $72,092 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (10th highest)
Median Home Value: $417,187 (10th lowest)
More on Phoenix: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Phoenix is a city about 24.1 miles from Chandler, but Chandler 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. Phoenix has the 2nd most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 10th highest unemployment rate (5.15%) in the entire Chandler metro area.
Homes only cost $417,187 for a reason. That’s cheap for Chandler standards.
/10
Population: 89,214
Median Income: $76,496 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (12th highest)
Median Home Value: $401,338 (8th lowest)
More on Avondale: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you absolutely have to live near Chandler, then Avondale might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Chandler suburb.
About 4.79% of residents are out of work.
/10
Population: 181,005
Median Income: $72,022 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.7% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $474,681 (12th lowest)
More on Tempe: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Rounding out the ten worst Chandler suburbs to call home is Tempe.
Located 8.5 miles outside the city, Tempes is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 6th highest unemployment rate (5.69%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Chandler for 2024
To figure out how bad a Chandler 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 2018-2022, 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 Chandler.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 5,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 20 suburbs to evaluate around Chandler.
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 Chandler.” We’re looking at you, Coolidge.
We updated this article for 2024, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Chandler.
Summary: The areas around Chandler where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2024
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Chandler with Coolidge casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Chandler are .
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Chandler aren’t all bad. Paradise Valley takes the cake as the best place to live around Chandler.
- Paradise Valley
- Scottsdale
- Queen Creek
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 Chandler Suburbs
Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Coolidge | 14,175 | $60,682 | $286,315 |
2 | Casa Grande | 55,186 | $64,535 | $324,372 |
3 | Guadalupe | 5,335 | $56,423 | $259,445 |
4 | Apache Junction | 38,855 | $56,209 | $366,015 |
5 | Glendale | 248,083 | $66,375 | $405,468 |
6 | Florence | 25,783 | $74,025 | $358,475 |
7 | Tolleson | 7,221 | $47,875 | $389,180 |
8 | Phoenix | 1,609,456 | $72,092 | $417,187 |
9 | Avondale | 89,214 | $76,496 | $401,338 |
10 | Tempe | 181,005 | $72,022 | $474,681 |
11 | Maricopa | 59,605 | $88,795 | $361,705 |
12 | Mesa | 503,390 | $73,766 | $431,607 |
13 | Goodyear | 97,542 | $97,307 | $479,397 |
14 | Goodyear | 97,542 | $97,307 | $479,397 |
15 | Santa Cruz | 61,367 | $105,491 | $1,318,776 |
16 | Fountain Hills | 23,739 | $100,317 | $640,087 |
17 | Gilbert | 267,267 | $115,179 | $566,231 |
18 | Queen Creek | 61,788 | $127,182 | $627,569 |
19 | Scottsdale | 240,537 | $104,197 | $798,175 |
20 | Paradise Valley | 12,672 | $221,333 | $3,234,281 |