The suburbs of Glendale call to all types of people looking to escape city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Glendale 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 Glendale ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Glendale area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of 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.
The 10 worst suburbs around Glendale for 2023
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Glendale? Commerce ranks as the worst suburb of Glendale for 2023 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.
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 Glendale Suburbs To Live For 2023
/10
Population: 12,459
Median Income: $58,226 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.5% (17th highest)
Median Home Value: $455,700 (12th lowest)
More on Commerce:
We’ll get the ball rolling with Commerce, the absolute worst place to live around Glendale 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 7th worst in the Glendale area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 12th 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% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $434,200 (6th lowest)
More on Cudahy:
Welcome to Cudahy. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 15.4 miles to Glendale. 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: 55,439
Median Income: $51,065 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.0% (highest)
Median Home Value: $452,300 (11th lowest)
More on Huntington Park:
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Glendale suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Huntington Park 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 Glendale suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 96,083
Median Income: $62,297 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.2% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,000 (4th lowest)
More on Compton:
If you live in Compton, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 12th lowest Glendale 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 Glendale. Remember, we looked at 82 cities for this study.
Compton is about 19.9 miles to downtown.
/10
Population: 167,987
Median Income: $70,858 (24th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (14th highest)
Median Home Value: $332,400 (2nd lowest)
More on Palmdale:
Palmdale has the distinction of being a Glendale suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Palmdale has the 2nd lowest home values in the metro Glendale area, where the median price is $332,400. The median income is $250,001.
Palmdale has an unemployment rate of 7.65% which ranks 14th worst.
/10
Population: 67,497
Median Income: $61,612 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.5% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $449,300 (9th lowest)
More on Lynwood:
Lynwood has 67,497 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 16.49350849838677%.
/10
Population: 39,870
Median Income: $50,311 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (43rd highest)
Median Home Value: $423,700 (5th lowest)
More on Bell Gardens:
Ah, Bell Gardens. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Glendale.
It’s the place with the 43rd most out of work residents in the Glendale metro area (5.8%).
/10
Population: 93,308
Median Income: $59,647 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $470,200 (15th lowest)
More on South Gate:
South Gate is a city about 16.7 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. South Gate has the 7th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 5th highest unemployment rate (8.65%) in the entire Glendale metro area.
Homes only cost $470,200 for a reason. That’s cheap for Glendale standards.
/10
Population: 33,915
Median Income: $51,183 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.6% (33rd highest)
Median Home Value: $450,900 (10th lowest)
More on Bell:
If you absolutely have to live near Glendale, then Bell might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Glendale suburb.
About 6.58% of residents are out of work.
/10
Population: 19,860
Median Income: $60,244 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.6% (49th highest)
Median Home Value: $478,800 (17th lowest)
More on South El Monte:
Rounding out the ten worst Glendale suburbs to call home is South El Monte.
Located 14.5 miles outside the city, South El Montes is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 49th highest unemployment rate (5.61%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Glendale for 2023
To figure out how bad a Glendale 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 Glendale.
We also limited the analysis to places with 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 looking at you, Commerce.
We updated this article for 2023, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Glendale.
Summary: The areas around Glendale where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Glendale with Commerce 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
- Palos Verdes Estates
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 Glendale Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Commerce | 12,459 |
| 2 | Cudahy | 23,003 |
| 3 | Huntington Park | 55,439 |
| 4 | Compton | 96,083 |
| 5 | Palmdale | 167,987 |
| 6 | Lynwood | 67,497 |
| 7 | Bell Gardens | 39,870 |
| 8 | South Gate | 93,308 |
| 9 | Bell | 33,915 |
| 10 | South El Monte | 19,860 |
| 11 | Pomona | 151,592 |
| 12 | El Monte | 110,144 |
| 13 | Maywood | 25,477 |
| 14 | Hawaiian Gardens | 14,178 |
| 15 | Paramount | 53,904 |
| 16 | Inglewood | 108,206 |
| 17 | Azusa | 49,457 |
| 18 | Montebello | 62,828 |
| 19 | Los Angeles | 3,902,440 |
| 20 | La Puente | 38,447 |
| 21 | Baldwin Park | 72,813 |
| 22 | Bellflower | 79,070 |
| 23 | Hawthorne | 87,863 |
| 24 | Lawndale | 32,035 |
| 25 | Long Beach | 466,565 |
| 26 | San Fernando | 24,086 |
| 27 | Santa Fe Springs | 18,817 |
| 28 | Rosemead | 51,698 |
| 29 | Gardena | 60,917 |
| 30 | Pico Rivera | 62,383 |
| 31 | Carson | 95,104 |
| 32 | Temple | 5,093 |
| 33 | La Habra | 63,287 |
| 34 | Duarte | 21,723 |
| 35 | Covina | 51,061 |
| 36 | Signal Hill | 11,780 |
| 37 | Artesia | 16,390 |
| 38 | Los Alamitos | 11,780 |
| 39 | Monterey Park | 61,153 |
| 40 | Fullerton | 142,964 |
| 41 | Downey | 114,293 |
| 42 | San Gabriel | 39,673 |
| 43 | Norwalk | 103,330 |
| 44 | West Covina | 109,396 |
| 45 | Whittier | 87,184 |
| 46 | Monrovia | 37,999 |
| 47 | Pasadena | 138,771 |
| 48 | Burbank | 107,364 |
| 49 | Buena Park | 83,974 |
| 50 | Alhambra | 83,174 |
| 51 | La Verne | 31,423 |
| 52 | Santa Clarita | 227,182 |
| 53 | Lomita | 20,884 |
| 54 | West Hollywood | 35,678 |
| 55 | Glendora | 52,458 |
| 56 | Calabasas | 23,410 |
| 57 | San Dimas | 34,775 |
| 58 | Beverly Hills | 32,903 |
| 59 | Simi Valley | 126,809 |
| 60 | Brea | 46,912 |
| 61 | La Mirada | 47,957 |
| 62 | Diamond Bar | 55,339 |
| 63 | Lakewood | 82,419 |
| 64 | Arcadia | 56,697 |
| 65 | Santa Monica | 92,828 |
| 66 | Cypress | 50,279 |
| 67 | Torrance | 147,156 |
| 68 | Walnut | 28,641 |
| 69 | Cerritos | 49,630 |
| 70 | La Habra Heights | 5,651 |
| 71 | Rolling Hills Estates | 8,305 |
| 72 | El Segundo | 17,243 |
| 73 | Agoura Hills | 20,362 |
| 74 | La Palma | 15,650 |
| 75 | Hidden Hills | 2,182 |
| 76 | Sierra Madre | 11,253 |
| 77 | South Pasadena | 26,837 |
| 78 | San Marino | 12,620 |
| 79 | Redondo Beach | 70,998 |
| 80 | Palos Verdes Estates | 13,403 |
| 81 | Manhattan Beach | 35,585 |
| 82 | Hermosa Beach | 19,787 |