The 10 Worst Oakland Suburbs For 2023


We used data and Friday Night Science to identify the worst suburbs of Oakland for 2023. The worst Oakland suburbs are Richmond and Antioch.

The suburbs of Oakland call to all types of people looking to escape city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Oakland 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 Oakland ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Oakland area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Oakland proper, although Los Altos certainly tries.

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

We examined the 68 biggest suburbs of Oakland 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 Oakland in terms of quality of life.

The 10 worst suburbs around Oakland for 2023

  1. Richmond
  2. Antioch
  3. Pittsburg
  4. Vallejo
  5. San Pablo
  6. Hayward
  7. San Leandro
  8. Concord
  9. Novato
  10. Brisbane

Now don’t freak out.

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

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


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


For more California reading, check out:

The 10 Worst Oakland Suburbs To Live For 2023

Richmond, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Audiohifi | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 115,677
Median Income: $79,478 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.9% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $557,900 (7th lowest)
More on Richmond:

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

And in the world of worst rankings, Richmond beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 3rd worst in the Oakland area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 7th 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 Richmond.

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.

Antioch, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 114,750
Median Income: $82,244 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.8% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $467,500 (4th lowest)
More on Antioch:

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

This city is 27.4 miles to Oakland. Income levels here are the 4th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $82,244 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.

Pittsburg, CA

Source: Wikipedia User ShakataGaNai | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 75,701
Median Income: $88,343 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $456,300 (3rd lowest)
More on Pittsburg:

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

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

Vallejo, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Eugene Zelenko | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 125,350
Median Income: $78,243 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $434,800 (2nd lowest)
More on Vallejo:

If you live in Vallejo, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 2nd lowest Oakland suburb for median household incomes.

Not only that, but this is the 5th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Oakland. Remember, we looked at 68 cities for this study.

Vallejo is about 23.4 miles to downtown.

San Pablo, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 31,975
Median Income: $67,294 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.0% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $413,000 (lowest)
More on San Pablo:

San Pablo has the distinction of being a Oakland suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, San Pablo has the lowest home values in the metro Oakland area, where the median price is $413,000. The median income is $250,001.

San Pablo has an unemployment rate of 6.96% which ranks 7th worst.

Hayward, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Mercurywoodrose | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 162,254
Median Income: $98,837 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.4% (17th highest)
Median Home Value: $653,500 (14th lowest)
More on Hayward:

Hayward has 162,254 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 7.9659167857948985%.

San Leandro, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Walter Siegmund | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 91,176
Median Income: $89,663 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.6% (15th highest)
Median Home Value: $658,400 (15th lowest)
More on San Leandro:

Ah, San Leandro. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Oakland.

It’s the place with the 15th most out of work residents in the Oakland metro area (5.62%).

Concord, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 125,769
Median Income: $100,011 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (27th highest)
Median Home Value: $612,600 (10th lowest)
More on Concord:

Concord is a city about 18.6 miles from Oakland, but Oakland 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. Concord has the 8th most uninsured people, 10th worst incomes, and has the 27th highest unemployment rate (4.82%) in the entire Oakland metro area.

Homes only cost $612,600 for a reason. That’s cheap for Oakland standards.

Novato, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 53,214
Median Income: $107,975 (14th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.4% (18th highest)
Median Home Value: $839,700 (18th lowest)
More on Novato:

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

About 5.4% of residents are out of work.

Brisbane, CA

Source: Wikipedia User ERobson at English Wikipedia | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 4,803
Median Income: $122,202 (27th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.3% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $923,800 (25th lowest)
More on Brisbane:

Rounding out the ten worst Oakland suburbs to call home is Brisbane.

Located 10.8 miles outside the city, Brisbanes is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 2nd highest unemployment rate (10.3%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Oakland for 2023

To figure out how bad a Oakland 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 Oakland.

We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 68 suburbs to evaluate around Oakland.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 68 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 Oakland.” We’re looking at you, Richmond.

We updated this article for 2023, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Oakland.

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

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

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

  • Los Altos
  • Los Altos Hills
  • Belvedere

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Oakland Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Richmond 115,677 $79,478 $557,900
2 Antioch 114,750 $82,244 $467,500
3 Pittsburg 75,701 $88,343 $456,300
4 Vallejo 125,350 $78,243 $434,800
5 San Pablo 31,975 $67,294 $413,000
6 Hayward 162,254 $98,837 $653,500
7 San Leandro 91,176 $89,663 $658,400
8 Concord 125,769 $100,011 $612,600
9 Novato 53,214 $107,975 $839,700
10 Brisbane 4,803 $122,202 $923,800
11 San Rafael 61,158 $104,521 $1,037,200
12 American Canyon 21,735 $117,846 $553,800
13 East Palo Alto 29,888 $96,349 $955,300
14 Fairfax 7,605 $111,290 $905,300
15 Pinole 19,065 $104,275 $590,900
16 Daly City 104,914 $105,374 $904,000
17 Brentwood 63,618 $125,152 $634,700
18 Emeryville 12,747 $109,960 $553,900
19 El Cerrito 25,898 $116,875 $894,600
20 Berkeley 119,607 $97,834 $1,111,000
21 Newark 47,815 $144,011 $870,200
22 Martinez 37,308 $114,390 $653,000
23 San Mateo 105,087 $133,612 $1,283,900
24 Alameda 78,320 $113,339 $972,800
25 Hercules 26,050 $114,124 $590,800
26 Half Moon Bay 11,792 $137,346 $1,265,300
27 Pleasant Hill 34,649 $131,012 $828,400
28 South San Francisco 66,331 $112,818 $965,300
29 Benicia 27,191 $118,433 $627,000
30 Milpitas 79,593 $149,312 $994,200
31 San Bruno 43,775 $117,747 $1,027,400
32 Larkspur 12,972 $135,260 $1,463,600
33 Livermore 88,403 $139,904 $851,300
34 Fremont 231,502 $153,475 $1,069,700
35 Pacifica 38,595 $138,548 $1,012,200
36 Walnut Creek 69,876 $121,205 $858,000
37 Albany 19,958 $113,602 $963,700
38 Sausalito 7,260 $140,417 $1,461,400
39 Millbrae 23,083 $141,399 $1,606,700
40 Lafayette 25,384 $192,546 $1,606,400
41 Sunnyvale 155,550 $161,670 $1,528,500
42 Moraga 16,750 $167,784 $1,226,200
43 Mountain View 82,409 $158,104 $1,613,300
44 Mountain View 82,409 $158,104 $1,613,300
45 Pleasanton 79,558 $167,932 $1,116,800
46 Clayton 11,136 $150,948 $827,000
47 Belmont 28,109 $178,125 $1,682,000
48 Dublin 69,818 $171,168 $983,000
49 Corte Madera 10,145 $183,661 $1,372,500
50 Menlo Park 33,677 $179,913 $2,000,001
51 Tiburon 9,146 $192,292 $2,000,001
52 San Ramon 85,688 $173,519 $1,063,200
53 Burlingame 31,142 $150,182 $2,000,001
54 San Anselmo 12,795 $153,381 $1,209,300
55 Palo Alto 68,624 $194,782 $2,000,001
56 Danville 43,673 $181,453 $1,252,400
57 Mill Valley 14,240 $179,529 $1,724,900
58 Portola Valley 4,458 $250,001 $2,000,001
59 Hillsborough 11,390 $250,001 $2,000,001
60 San Carlos 30,754 $204,570 $1,904,400
61 Woodside 5,316 $250,001 $2,000,001
62 Ross 2,405 $250,001 $2,000,001
63 Orinda 19,497 $248,984 $1,538,400
64 Atherton 7,181 $250,001 $2,000,001
65 Piedmont 11,368 $250,001 $2,000,001
66 Belvedere 2,309 $246,500 $2,000,001
67 Los Altos Hills 8,520 $250,001 $2,000,001
68 Los Altos 31,562 $250,001 $2,000,001
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

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