The 10 Worst Huntington Beach Suburbs For 2022


We used science and data to determine which Huntington Beach 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 Huntington Beach.

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

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

We examined the 91 biggest suburbs of Huntington Beach 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 Huntington Beach in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Huntington Beach for 2022:

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

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

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

We'll get the ball rolling with Huntington Park, the absolute worst place to live around Huntington Beach 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 4th worst in the Huntington Beach area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 11th 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 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (highest)
Median Home Value: $426,700 (11th lowest)
More on Huntington Park:  Data | Photos

Huntington Park, CA

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

This city is 21.3 miles to Huntington Beach. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $46,279 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

6
/10

Population: 23,606
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 3)
Median Income: $46,279 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.7% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $422,700 (10th lowest)
More on Cudahy:  Data | Photos

Cudahy, CA

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

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

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 12,738
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 2)
Median Income: $54,639 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.6% (34th highest)
Median Home Value: $429,800 (14th lowest)
More on Commerce:  Data | Photos

Commerce, CA

If you live in Compton, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 16th lowest Huntington Beach suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the 3rd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Huntington Beach. Remember, we looked at 91 cities for this study.

Compton is about 18.8 miles to downtown.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 95,804
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $58,703 (16th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.1% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $383,500 (4th lowest)
More on Compton:  Data | Photos

Compton, CA

Bell Gardens has the distinction of being a Huntington Beach suburb. Which means that's about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Bell Gardens has the 6th lowest home values in the metro Huntington Beach area, where the median price is $402,600. To put that into perspective, in Hermosa Beach, the median income is $197,826, which is the best in the area.

Bell Gardens has an unemployment rate of 6.47% which ranks 24th worst.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 41,770
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 3)
Median Income: $45,289 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (24th highest)
Median Home Value: $402,600 (6th lowest)
More on Bell Gardens:  Data | Photos

Bell Gardens, CA

Source: Public domain

Lynwood has 69,625 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 16.148548722008933%.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 69,625
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 4)
Median Income: $57,063 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.7% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $422,200 (9th lowest)
More on Lynwood:  Data | Photos

Lynwood, CA

Source: Public domain

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

It's the place with the 6th most out of work residents in the Huntington Beach metro area (7.63%).

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 35,301
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $47,740 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $436,400 (16th lowest)
More on Bell:  Data | Photos

Bell, CA

Source: Public domain

Maywood is a city about 23.0 miles from Huntington Beach, but Huntington Beach 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. Maywood has the 5th most uninsured people, 6th worst incomes, and has the 18th highest unemployment rate (6.81%) in the entire Huntington Beach metro area.

Homes only cost $427,300 for a reason. That's cheap for Huntington Beach standards.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 27,127
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 4)
Median Income: $50,996 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (18th highest)
Median Home Value: $427,300 (12th lowest)
More on Maywood:  Data | Photos

Maywood, CA

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

About 6.29% of residents are out of work.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 151,124
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 2)
Median Income: $62,407 (19th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.3% (27th highest)
Median Home Value: $420,600 (8th lowest)
More on Pomona:  Data | Photos

Pomona, CA

Source: Public domain

Rounding out the ten worst Huntington Beach suburbs to call home is South El Monte.

Located 24.9 miles outside the city, South El Montes is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 33rd highest unemployment rate (5.7%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 20,791
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Median Income: $54,208 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.7% (33rd highest)
Median Home Value: $452,700 (20th lowest)
More on South El Monte:  Data

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Huntington Beach 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 Huntington Beach.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 91 suburbs to evaluate around Huntington Beach.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 91 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 Huntington Beach." 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 Huntington Beach where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2022

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

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

  • Hermosa Beach
  • Manhattan Beach
  • Redondo Beach

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Huntington Beach Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Huntington Park 57,761 $46,738 $426,700
2 Cudahy 23,606 $46,279 $422,700
3 Commerce 12,738 $54,639 $429,800
4 Compton 95,804 $58,703 $383,500
5 Bell Gardens 41,770 $45,289 $402,600
6 Lynwood 69,625 $57,063 $422,200
7 Bell 35,301 $47,740 $436,400
8 Maywood 27,127 $50,996 $427,300
9 Pomona 151,124 $62,407 $420,600
10 South El Monte 20,791 $54,208 $452,700
11 South Gate 94,905 $55,084 $438,100
12 Paramount 53,949 $57,313 $388,300
13 El Monte 113,917 $53,874 $480,100
14 Stanton 38,317 $66,017 $432,600
15 Montebello 62,697 $62,781 $519,000
16 La Puente 39,780 $66,132 $446,800
17 Inglewood 109,309 $58,536 $555,000
18 Bellflower 76,339 $63,848 $483,100
19 Hawaiian Gardens 14,212 $61,422 $428,300
20 Baldwin Park 75,659 $68,741 $436,800
21 Hawthorne 85,410 $57,849 $602,100
22 Lawndale 32,533 $65,923 $551,800
23 Santa Ana 332,610 $72,406 $525,900
24 Long Beach 462,081 $66,410 $584,200
25 Chino 89,170 $85,659 $476,800
26 Westminster 90,857 $67,142 $624,000
27 Anaheim 353,085 $76,723 $602,400
28 Carson 91,354 $86,040 $494,800
29 Santa Fe Springs 17,643 $69,922 $462,400
30 Rosemead 53,850 $60,006 $576,000
31 Garden Grove 172,800 $73,611 $580,300
32 Norwalk 104,524 $77,425 $461,000
33 Covina 47,787 $77,913 $549,500
34 La Habra 62,787 $83,532 $577,900
35 Gardena 59,401 $64,015 $519,000
36 Pico Rivera 62,507 $70,620 $464,700
37 Fullerton 141,061 $85,471 $667,300
38 Midway 3,132 $51,005 $162,900
39 Monterey Park 60,597 $63,389 $641,700
40 Corona 168,112 $88,434 $491,000
41 Los Alamitos 11,521 $89,323 $772,300
42 Downey 111,263 $75,974 $582,500
43 Laguna Woods 16,056 $46,449 $309,400
44 Temple 4,709 $67,628 $123,800
45 Artesia 16,456 $74,375 $600,000
46 Signal Hill 11,430 $86,140 $528,300
47 Whittier 84,821 $76,026 $598,000
48 West Covina 105,808 $85,626 $578,800
49 San Gabriel 40,108 $70,892 $712,400
50 Buena Park 82,228 $84,680 $608,800
51 Costa Mesa 112,958 $90,370 $807,000
52 Alhambra 84,509 $66,593 $630,200
53 Orange 139,322 $96,605 $680,300
54 Seal Beach 24,268 $72,596 $417,700
55 Lomita 20,212 $76,090 $618,700
56 Tustin 80,815 $88,386 $693,000
57 Chino Hills 82,800 $104,661 $642,500
58 San Juan Capistrano 35,976 $103,922 $760,400
59 Fountain Valley 56,118 $89,924 $777,200
60 La Mirada 48,260 $92,493 $606,200
61 Irvine 272,694 $108,318 $861,700
62 Lakewood 79,676 $96,487 $595,200
63 Lake Forest 84,666 $112,988 $682,700
64 Brea 44,182 $100,969 $687,700
65 Laguna Hills 31,613 $102,358 $744,800
66 Placentia 52,049 $100,707 $653,400
67 Diamond Bar 55,870 $100,723 $690,500
68 Walnut 29,764 $108,264 $806,900
69 Laguna Niguel 65,048 $119,608 $863,600
70 Torrance 144,430 $94,781 $796,800
71 Cypress 49,137 $102,005 $665,100
72 Laguna Beach 22,991 $128,099 $1,874,400
73 El Cerrito 25,280 $108,294 $858,000
74 Cerritos 49,388 $109,229 $716,000
75 El Segundo 16,575 $115,846 $1,180,000
76 San Clemente 64,929 $108,183 $931,400
77 La Habra Heights 5,318 $163,750 $916,500
78 Dana Point 33,782 $105,250 $923,100
79 Rancho Santa Margarita 48,280 $125,329 $679,500
80 Aliso Viejo 50,385 $118,540 $656,600
81 Mission Viejo 95,638 $121,299 $732,100
82 Rolling Hills Estates 8,025 $149,632 $1,362,900
83 La Palma 15,657 $108,363 $686,800
84 Villa Park 5,883 $164,476 $1,238,800
85 Yorba Linda 68,103 $133,088 $862,900
86 Rancho Palos Verdes 41,635 $146,163 $1,209,200
87 Newport Beach 86,694 $133,849 $1,976,400
88 Palos Verdes Estates 13,359 $197,826 $1,935,900
89 Redondo Beach 66,663 $116,832 $974,200
90 Manhattan Beach 35,064 $153,926 $2,000,001
91 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 Huntington Beach.
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.