The 10 Worst Glendale Suburbs For 2022


We used science and data to determine which Glendale 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 Glendale.

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 Glendale 'burbs need a little tender loving care - the sore thumbs of the Glendale area if you will. Realistically, you can't expect all the suburbs to live up to Glendale proper, although Hermosa Beach certainly tries.

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

We examined the 82 biggest suburbs of Glendale 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 Glendale in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Glendale for 2022:

  1. Huntington Park
  2. Compton
  3. Cudahy
  4. Palmdale
  5. Lynwood
  6. Bell Gardens
  7. Bell
  8. Commerce
  9. Maywood
  10. South Gate

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

Read on to see how we determined the places around Glendale 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 Glendale 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 Glendale Suburbs To Live For 2022

We'll get the ball rolling with Huntington Park, the absolute worst place to live around Glendale according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, Huntington Park beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 3rd worst in the Glendale area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 9th 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 Huntington Park.

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

4
/10

Population: 57,761
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 2)
Median Income: $46,738 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (highest)
Median Home Value: $426,700 (9th lowest)
More on Huntington Park:  Data | Photos

Huntington Park, CA

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

This city is 19.9 miles to Glendale. Income levels here are the 14th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $58,703 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

5
/10

Population: 95,804
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 3)
Median Income: $58,703 (14th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.1% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $383,500 (3rd lowest)
More on Compton:  Data | Photos

Compton, CA

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Glendale suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Cudahy 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 Glendale suburbs.

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

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 23,606
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 3)
Median Income: $46,279 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.7% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $422,700 (8th lowest)
More on Cudahy:  Data | Photos

Cudahy, CA

If you live in Palmdale, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 24th lowest Glendale suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the 12th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Glendale. Remember, we looked at 82 cities for this study.

Palmdale is about 29.4 miles to downtown.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 153,240
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 3)
Median Income: $65,444 (24th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (12th highest)
Median Home Value: $302,800 (2nd lowest)
More on Palmdale:  Data | Photos

Palmdale, CA

Source: Public domain

Lynwood has the distinction of being a Glendale suburb. Which means that's about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Lynwood has the 7th lowest home values in the metro Glendale area, where the median price is $422,200. To put that into perspective, in Hermosa Beach, the median income is $250,001, which is the best in the area.

Lynwood has an unemployment rate of 9.68% which ranks 2nd worst.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 69,625
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 5)
Median Income: $57,063 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.7% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $422,200 (7th lowest)
More on Lynwood:  Data | Photos

Lynwood, CA

Source: Public domain

Bell Gardens has 41,770 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 26.62392645457845%.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 41,770
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 4)
Median Income: $45,289 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (28th highest)
Median Home Value: $402,600 (5th lowest)
More on Bell Gardens:  Data | Photos

Bell Gardens, CA

Source: Public domain

Ah, Bell. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Glendale.

It's the place with the 9th most out of work residents in the Glendale metro area (7.63%).

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 35,301
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Median Income: $47,740 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $436,400 (13th lowest)
More on Bell:  Data | Photos

Bell, CA

Source: Public domain

Commerce is a city about 14.0 miles from Glendale, but Glendale 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. Commerce has the 7th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 4highest unemployment rate (5.56%) in the entire Glendale metro area.

Homes only cost $429,800 for a reason. That's cheap for Glendale standards.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 12,738
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 7)
Median Income: $54,639 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.6% (4highest)
Median Home Value: $429,800 (12th lowest)
More on Commerce:  Data | Photos

Commerce, CA

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

About 6.81% of residents are out of work.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 27,127
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 5)
Median Income: $50,996 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (2highest)
Median Home Value: $427,300 (10th lowest)
More on Maywood:  Data | Photos

Maywood, CA

Rounding out the ten worst Glendale suburbs to call home is South Gate.

Located 16.7 miles outside the city, South Gates is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 4th highest unemployment rate (8.83%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 94,905
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Income: $55,084 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.8% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $438,100 (15th lowest)
More on South Gate:  Data | Photos

South Gate, CA

Source: Public domain

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Glendale 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 Glendale.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 82 suburbs to evaluate around Glendale.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 82 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 Glendale." We're lookin' at you, Huntington Park. 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 Glendale where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2022

Well there you have it -- the worst of the 'burbs surrounding Glendale with Huntington Park casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Glendale aren't all bad. Hermosa Beach takes the cake as the best place to live around Glendale.

  • Hermosa Beach
  • Manhattan Beach
  • Redondo Beach

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Glendale Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Huntington Park 57,761 $46,738 $426,700
2 Compton 95,804 $58,703 $383,500
3 Cudahy 23,606 $46,279 $422,700
4 Palmdale 153,240 $65,444 $302,800
5 Lynwood 69,625 $57,063 $422,200
6 Bell Gardens 41,770 $45,289 $402,600
7 Bell 35,301 $47,740 $436,400
8 Commerce 12,738 $54,639 $429,800
9 Maywood 27,127 $50,996 $427,300
10 South Gate 94,905 $55,084 $438,100
11 South El Monte 20,791 $54,208 $452,700
12 Pomona 151,124 $62,407 $420,600
13 El Monte 113,917 $53,874 $480,100
14 Paramount 53,949 $57,313 $388,300
15 Azusa 49,584 $65,912 $438,700
16 Montebello 62,697 $62,781 $519,000
17 La Puente 39,780 $66,132 $446,800
18 Inglewood 109,309 $58,536 $555,000
19 Bellflower 76,339 $63,848 $483,100
20 Hawaiian Gardens 14,212 $61,422 $428,300
21 Los Angeles 3,973,278 $65,290 $670,700
22 Hawthorne 85,410 $57,849 $602,100
23 Lawndale 32,533 $65,923 $551,800
24 Baldwin Park 75,659 $68,741 $436,800
25 San Fernando 24,244 $60,655 $471,500
26 Duarte 21,399 $82,620 $519,700
27 Long Beach 462,081 $66,410 $584,200
28 Santa Fe Springs 17,643 $69,922 $462,400
29 Carson 91,354 $86,040 $494,800
30 Rosemead 53,850 $60,006 $576,000
31 Gardena 59,401 $64,015 $519,000
32 Covina 47,787 $77,913 $549,500
33 Norwalk 104,524 $77,425 $461,000
34 Pico Rivera 62,507 $70,620 $464,700
35 La Habra 62,787 $83,532 $577,900
36 Fullerton 141,061 $85,471 $667,300
37 Los Alamitos 11,521 $89,323 $772,300
38 Temple 4,709 $67,628 $123,800
39 Monterey Park 60,597 $63,389 $641,700
40 Downey 111,263 $75,974 $582,500
41 Signal Hill 11,430 $86,140 $528,300
42 Artesia 16,456 $74,375 $600,000
43 Whittier 84,821 $76,026 $598,000
44 San Gabriel 40,108 $70,892 $712,400
45 West Covina 105,808 $85,626 $578,800
46 Burbank 103,411 $79,212 $790,300
47 Monrovia 37,636 $81,990 $694,700
48 Pasadena 142,017 $85,129 $822,100
49 Buena Park 82,228 $84,680 $608,800
50 Santa Clarita 212,519 $100,932 $564,500
51 La Verne 32,346 $93,473 $602,000
52 Lomita 20,212 $76,090 $618,700
53 Alhambra 84,509 $66,593 $630,200
54 Glendora 51,087 $99,153 $637,500
55 San Dimas 33,812 $90,234 $604,600
56 Calabasas 23,842 $136,138 $1,127,500
57 Simi Valley 125,768 $99,245 $612,700
58 La Mirada 48,260 $92,493 $606,200
59 West Hollywood 35,506 $71,692 $743,700
60 Lakewood 79,676 $96,487 $595,200
61 Beverly Hills 33,709 $101,241 $2,000,001
62 Santa Monica 91,600 $98,300 $1,452,100
63 Brea 44,182 $100,969 $687,700
64 Walnut 29,764 $108,264 $806,900
65 Diamond Bar 55,870 $100,723 $690,500
66 Cypress 49,137 $102,005 $665,100
67 Arcadia 57,053 $95,736 $1,136,700
68 Torrance 144,430 $94,781 $796,800
69 El Segundo 16,575 $115,846 $1,180,000
70 La Habra Heights 5,318 $163,750 $916,500
71 Cerritos 49,388 $109,229 $716,000
72 Hidden Hills 2,218 $250,001 $2,000,001
73 Sierra Madre 10,829 $106,719 $1,007,800
74 Agoura Hills 20,269 $126,956 $828,100
75 Rolling Hills Estates 8,025 $149,632 $1,362,900
76 La Palma 15,657 $108,363 $686,800
77 South Pasadena 25,478 $109,927 $1,113,100
78 San Marino 13,020 $164,423 $2,000,001
79 Palos Verdes Estates 13,359 $197,826 $1,935,900
80 Redondo Beach 66,663 $116,832 $974,200
81 Manhattan Beach 35,064 $153,926 $2,000,001
82 Hermosa Beach 19,147 $142,500 $1,649,900

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 Glendale.