The 10 Worst Fremont Suburbs For 2022


We used science and data to determine which Fremont suburbs are the real pits.

Not everyone is cut out for city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Fremont.

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 science and data to determine which Fremont 'burbs need a little tender loving care - the sore thumbs of the Fremont area if you will. Realistically, you can't expect all the suburbs to live up to Fremont proper, although Los Altos certainly tries.

Of course, not all suburbs of Fremont are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones..

We examined the 44 biggest suburbs of Fremont 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 Fremont in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Fremont for 2022:

  1. Hayward
  2. Oakland
  3. San Leandro
  4. San Jose
  5. East Palo Alto
  6. Brisbane
  7. Morgan Hill
  8. Alameda
  9. San Bruno
  10. San Mateo

What's the worst suburb of Fremont? Hayward ranks as the worst suburb of Fremont for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Fremont 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 Fremont too.

Editor's Note: If you see a slight difference between the worst in state rankings and this suburb ranking, it's because of the methodology. We needed a way to include more places, so we eliminated crime and commute times as criteria for this analysis.

For more California reading, check out:

The 10 Worst Fremont Suburbs To Live For 2022

We'll get the ball rolling with Hayward, the absolute worst place to live around Fremont according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, Hayward beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 4th worst in the Fremont area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 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 Hayward.

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.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 158,817
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $91,490 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $622,700 (lowest)
More on Hayward:  Data | Photos

Hayward, CA

Welcome to Oakland. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.

This city is 24.6 miles to Fremont. Income levels here are the lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $80,143 a year, which doesn't go a long ways even on a shoestring budget.

But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 422,575
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $80,143 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $730,000 (3rd lowest)
More on Oakland:  Data | Photos

Oakland, CA

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Fremont suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see San Leandro 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 drop out rate is poor compared to other Fremont suburbs.

But at least there are nice parks to bring the kids during the day.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 90,489
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $86,604 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $624,900 (2nd lowest)
More on San Leandro:  Data | Photos

San Leandro, CA

If you live in San Jose, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 10th lowest Fremont suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the 8th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Fremont. Remember, we looked at 44 cities for this study.

San Jose is about 15.2 miles to downtown.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 1,029,409
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $117,324 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $925,800 (10th lowest)
More on San Jose:  Data | Photos

San Jose, CA

East Palo Alto has the distinction of being a Fremont suburb. Which means that's about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, East Palo Alto has the 14th lowest home values in the metro Fremont area, where the median price is $941,300. To put that into perspective, in Los Altos, the median income is $250,001, which is the best in the area.

East Palo Alto has an unemployment rate of 4.14% which ranks 19th worst.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 29,448
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $83,511 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (19th highest)
Median Home Value: $941,300 (14th lowest)
More on East Palo Alto:  Data | Photos

East Palo Alto, CA

Brisbane has 4,645 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 3.411560191221208%.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 4,645
Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 10)
Median Income: $114,583 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (highest)
Median Home Value: $926,500 (11th lowest)
More on Brisbane:  Data | Photos

Brisbane, CA

Ah, Morgan Hill. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Fremont.

It's the place with the 17th most out of work residents in the Fremont metro area (4.25%).

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 44,789
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $128,373 (15th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.3% (17th highest)
Median Home Value: $886,300 (7th lowest)
More on Morgan Hill:  Data | Photos

Morgan Hill, CA

Alameda is a city about 24.4 miles from Fremont, but Fremont 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. Alameda has the 16th most uninsured people, 6th worst incomes, and has the 22nd highest unemployment rate (4.03%) in the entire Fremont metro area.

Homes only cost $920,200 for a reason. That's cheap for Fremont standards.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 79,827
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $106,737 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (22nd highest)
Median Home Value: $920,200 (9th lowest)
More on Alameda:  Data | Photos

Alameda, CA

If you absolutely have to live near Fremont, then San Bruno might be a place for you to consider as it's only the 9th worst Fremont suburb.

About 4.38% of residents are out of work.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 44,663
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 2)
Median Income: $113,103 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.4% (13th highest)
Median Home Value: $958,300 (15th lowest)
More on San Bruno:  Data | Photos

San Bruno, CA

Source: Public domain

Rounding out the ten worst Fremont suburbs to call home is San Mateo.

Located 20.7 miles outside the city, San Mateos is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 10th highest unemployment rate (4.55%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 103,619
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Median Income: $126,102 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (10th highest)
Median Home Value: $1,186,400 (23rd lowest)
More on San Mateo:  Data | Photos

San Mateo, CA

Source: Public domain

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Fremont for 2022

To figure out how bad a place is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what cities have the least amount of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2016-2020, 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 drop outs
  • High poverty
  • High rate of uninsured families

FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Fremont.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 44 suburbs to evaluate around Fremont.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 44 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 Fremont." We're lookin' at you, Hayward. You can download the data here.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the worst of the worst. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from worst to best.

Summary: The areas around Fremont where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2022

Well there you have it -- the worst of the 'burbs surrounding Fremont with Hayward casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Fremont aren't all bad. Los Altos takes the cake as the best place to live around Fremont.

  • Los Altos
  • Piedmont
  • Los Altos Hills

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Fremont Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Hayward 158,817 $91,490 $622,700
2 Oakland 422,575 $80,143 $730,000
3 San Leandro 90,489 $86,604 $624,900
4 San Jose 1,029,409 $117,324 $925,800
5 East Palo Alto 29,448 $83,511 $941,300
6 Brisbane 4,645 $114,583 $926,500
7 Morgan Hill 44,789 $128,373 $886,300
8 Alameda 79,827 $106,737 $920,200
9 San Bruno 44,663 $113,103 $958,300
10 San Mateo 103,619 $126,102 $1,186,400
11 Half Moon Bay 12,583 $131,233 $1,155,000
12 Walnut Creek 69,836 $108,689 $814,900
13 Newark 48,148 $127,619 $816,100
14 South San Francisco 66,878 $106,005 $911,000
15 Milpitas 75,182 $137,000 $927,200
16 Santa Clara 126,723 $136,870 $1,120,400
17 Livermore 91,763 $131,664 $806,100
18 Campbell 42,891 $122,644 $1,156,000
19 Mountain View 80,104 $144,116 $1,560,600
20 Millbrae 22,998 $126,319 $1,528,900
21 Moraga 16,896 $152,788 $1,171,500
22 Belmont 26,963 $160,046 $1,604,700
23 Sunnyvale 152,569 $150,464 $1,397,200
24 Dublin 63,856 $152,745 $934,500
25 Pleasanton 79,975 $160,689 $1,056,100
26 San Ramon 81,344 $167,345 $1,001,600
27 Danville 44,933 $167,827 $1,152,300
28 Menlo Park 35,211 $167,567 $2,000,001
29 Palo Alto 67,973 $174,003 $2,000,001
30 Burlingame 30,071 $138,344 $2,000,001
31 Los Gatos 31,943 $156,270 $1,775,500
32 Cupertino 59,799 $182,857 $1,866,200
33 Lafayette 25,949 $188,140 $1,557,200
34 Saratoga 31,084 $201,046 $2,000,001
35 Portola Valley 4,568 $235,469 $2,000,001
36 San Carlos 29,647 $189,739 $1,756,800
37 Woodside 5,593 $250,001 $2,000,001
38 Atherton 7,060 $250,001 $2,000,001
39 Hillsborough 11,608 $250,001 $2,000,001
40 Orinda 19,461 $231,230 $1,515,500
41 Monte Sereno 3,511 $250,001 $2,000,001
42 Los Altos Hills 8,496 $250,001 $2,000,001
43 Piedmont 11,454 $250,001 $2,000,001
44 Los Altos 30,878 $240,094 $2,000,001

How Is Your Town In ?

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 worst suburbs around Fremont.