The 10 Worst Irvine Suburbs For 2023


We used data and Friday Night Science to identify the worst suburbs of Irvine for 2023. The worst Irvine suburbs are Montclair and Lakeland.

The suburbs of Irvine call to all types of people looking to escape city live. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Irvine 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 science and data to determine which Irvine ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Irvine area if you will. Realistically, you can’t expect all the suburbs to live up to Irvine proper, although Newport Beach certainly tries.

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

We examined the 73 biggest suburbs of Irvine 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 Irvine in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Irvine for 2023:

  1. Montclair
  2. Lakeland
  3. Jurupa Valley
  4. Lynwood
  5. Lake Elsinore
  6. Pomona
  7. Ontario
  8. Bell Gardens
  9. Wildomar
  10. Riverside

What’s the worst suburb of Irvine? Montclair ranks as the worst suburb of Irvine for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.

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



For more California reading, check out:

The 10 Worst Irvine Suburbs To Live For 2023

Montclair, CA

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 37,871
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $67,483 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.8% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,300 (9th lowest)
More on Montclair:  Data | Photos

We’ll get the ball rolling with Montclair, the absolute worst place to live around Irvine according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, Montclair beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 8th worst in the Irvine 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 Montclair.

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.

2. Lakeland

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 110,401
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $52,972 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (24th highest)
Median Home Value: $171,700 (2nd lowest)
More on Lakeland:

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

This city is 23.3 miles to Irvine. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $52,972 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: 104,684
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $83,430 (3lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $416,300 (7th lowest)
More on Jurupa Valley:  Data

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

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

Lynwood, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 67,497
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $61,612 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.5% (highest)
Median Home Value: $449,300 (14th lowest)
More on Lynwood:  Data | Photos

If you live in Lynwood, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 6th lowest Irvine suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Irvine. Remember, we looked at 73 cities for this study.

Lynwood is about 30.0 miles to downtown.

Lake Elsinore, CA

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 68,822
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $80,350 (25th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.3% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $392,200 (4th lowest)
More on Lake Elsinore:  Data | Photos

Lake Elsinore has the distinction of being a Irvine suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Lake Elsinore has the 4th lowest home values in the metro Irvine area, where the median price is $392,200. To put that into perspective, in Newport Beach, the median income is $181,591, which is the best in the area.

Lake Elsinore has an unemployment rate of 7.32% which ranks 8th worst.

Pomona, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 151,592
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Income: $67,549 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.6% (19th highest)
Median Home Value: $446,300 (13th lowest)
More on Pomona:  Data | Photos

Pomona has 151,592 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 16.360157401522628%.

Ontario, CA

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 175,223
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $71,908 (14th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.2% (22nd highest)
Median Home Value: $438,300 (11th lowest)
More on Ontario:  Data | Photos

Ah, Ontario. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Irvine.

It’s the place with the 22nd most out of work residents in the Irvine metro area (6.2%).

Bell Gardens, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 39,870
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Median Income: $50,311 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (28th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,700 (10th lowest)
More on Bell Gardens:  Data | Photos

Bell Gardens is a city about 29.5 miles from Irvine, but Irvine 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. Bell Gardens has the most uninsured people, worst incomes, and has the 28th highest unemployment rate (5.8%) in the entire Irvine metro area.

Homes only cost $423,700 for a reason. That’s cheap for Irvine standards.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 36,511
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $81,622 (27th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.1% (12th highest)
Median Home Value: $413,800 (6th lowest)
More on Wildomar:  Data

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

About 7.08% of residents are out of work.

Riverside, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 314,858
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Median Income: $76,755 (18th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.4% (20th highest)
Median Home Value: $418,000 (8th lowest)
More on Riverside:  Data | Photos

Rounding out the ten worst Irvine suburbs to call home is Riverside.

Located 28.1 miles outside the city, Riversides is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 20th highest unemployment rate (6.4%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Irvine for 2023

To figure out how bad a Irvine 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.

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 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 drop outs
  • High poverty
  • High rate of uninsured families

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

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 73 suburbs to evaluate around Irvine.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 73 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 Irvine.” We’re lookin’ at you, Montclair.

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.

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 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Irvine.

Summary: The areas around Irvine where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023

Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Irvine with Montclair casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Irvine aren’t all bad. Newport Beach takes the cake as the best place to live around Irvine.

  • Newport Beach
  • Yorba Linda
  • Villa Park

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Irvine Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Montclair 37,871 $67,483 $423,300
2 Lakeland 110,401 $52,972 $171,700
3 Jurupa Valley 104,684 $83,430 $416,300
4 Lynwood 67,497 $61,612 $449,300
5 Lake Elsinore 68,822 $80,350 $392,200
6 Pomona 151,592 $67,549 $446,300
7 Ontario 175,223 $71,908 $438,300
8 Bell Gardens 39,870 $50,311 $423,700
9 Wildomar 36,511 $81,622 $413,800
10 Riverside 314,858 $76,755 $418,000
11 Stanton 38,167 $68,821 $454,200
12 Hawaiian Gardens 14,178 $66,578 $439,900
13 Paramount 53,904 $60,456 $412,300
14 Bellflower 79,070 $70,236 $535,300
15 La Puente 38,447 $73,827 $467,200
16 Westminster 91,267 $71,108 $651,200
17 Long Beach 466,565 $71,150 $614,900
18 Santa Fe Springs 18,817 $75,086 $490,200
19 Santa Ana 313,818 $77,283 $556,300
20 Midway 3,402 $55,947 $164,900
21 Anaheim 348,204 $81,806 $623,300
22 Garden Grove 172,708 $78,046 $601,000
23 Chino 90,279 $91,107 $503,800
24 Pico Rivera 62,383 $78,056 $490,300
25 Carson 95,104 $92,548 $541,900
26 La Habra 63,287 $88,002 $600,400
27 Downey 114,293 $77,972 $608,600
28 Los Alamitos 11,780 $91,051 $822,100
29 Norwalk 103,330 $83,217 $487,800
30 Laguna Woods 17,546 $53,076 $327,000
31 Covina 51,061 $81,570 $575,500
32 Signal Hill 11,780 $79,309 $551,000
33 Artesia 16,390 $83,321 $635,000
34 Fullerton 142,964 $92,718 $698,600
35 Corona 157,844 $95,268 $530,100
36 West Covina 109,396 $89,834 $602,400
37 Whittier 87,184 $80,306 $630,200
38 Buena Park 83,974 $90,503 $627,200
39 Costa Mesa 112,148 $96,391 $841,700
40 Tustin 79,895 $93,901 $735,400
41 Orange 139,195 $102,125 $712,500
42 Chino Hills 78,229 $109,285 $677,000
43 San Juan Capistrano 35,319 $111,875 $770,000
44 San Dimas 34,775 $101,144 $626,000
45 Seal Beach 25,216 $75,821 $451,900
46 Laguna Hills 31,409 $109,750 $755,200
47 Norco 26,176 $115,619 $594,800
48 Diamond Bar 55,339 $100,776 $702,600
49 Brea 46,912 $108,721 $727,500
50 Fountain Valley 57,139 $92,765 $816,900
51 Lake Forest 85,516 $117,374 $719,700
52 Placentia 51,951 $103,041 $697,900
53 La Mirada 47,957 $97,672 $629,900
54 Lakewood 82,419 $102,163 $620,100
55 Huntington Beach 198,735 $104,728 $845,500
56 Canyon Lake 11,071 $120,118 $496,700
57 Cypress 50,279 $109,180 $702,000
58 Walnut 28,641 $121,882 $827,700
59 Cerritos 49,630 $115,600 $764,200
60 Laguna Niguel 64,608 $125,495 $909,500
61 El Cerrito 25,898 $116,875 $894,600
62 Laguna Beach 23,121 $135,976 $2,000,001
63 La Habra Heights 5,651 $181,591 $945,800
64 Dana Point 33,327 $111,132 $966,600
65 Eastvale 68,539 $141,827 $615,300
66 Mission Viejo 93,932 $126,320 $772,400
67 La Palma 15,650 $106,473 $733,600
68 Rancho Santa Margarita 48,190 $135,350 $719,800
69 San Clemente 64,600 $123,090 $975,300
70 Aliso Viejo 51,943 $122,320 $685,700
71 Villa Park 5,864 $172,375 $1,287,100
72 Yorba Linda 68,319 $137,011 $884,900
73 Newport Beach 85,806 $142,463 $2,000,001