The 10 Worst Ontario Suburbs For 2022


We used science and data to determine which Ontario 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 Ontario.

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

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

We examined the 75 biggest suburbs of Ontario 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 Ontario in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Ontario for 2022:

  1. San Bernardino
  2. Hesperia
  3. Perris
  4. Highland
  5. Rialto
  6. Colton
  7. Montclair
  8. Moreno Valley
  9. Jurupa Valley
  10. Pomona

What's the worst suburb of Ontario? San Bernardino ranks as the worst suburb of Ontario for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.

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

We'll get the ball rolling with San Bernardino, the absolute worst place to live around Ontario according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, San Bernardino beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Ontario area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 4th 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 San Bernardino.

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: 216,784
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $49,287 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $272,600 (4th lowest)
More on San Bernardino:  Data | Photos

San Bernardino, CA

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

This city is 29.7 miles to Ontario. Income levels here are the 4th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $54,149 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: 95,163
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $54,149 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.3% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $255,500 (3rd lowest)
More on Hesperia:  Data

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

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

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 77,708
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $66,926 (17th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (18th highest)
Median Home Value: $309,500 (6th lowest)
More on Perris:  Data | Photos

Perris, CA

If you live in Highland, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 11th lowest Ontario suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the 8th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Ontario. Remember, we looked at 75 cities for this study.

Highland is about 25.6 miles to downtown.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 55,339
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $62,956 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.7% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $338,500 (9th lowest)
More on Highland:  Data | Photos

Highland, CA

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

All snarkiness aside, Rialto has the 7th lowest home values in the metro Ontario area, where the median price is $330,000. To put that into perspective, in La Palma, the median income is $164,476, which is the best in the area.

Rialto has an unemployment rate of 10.63% which ranks worst.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 103,549
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $65,538 (13th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.6% (highest)
Median Home Value: $330,000 (7th lowest)
More on Rialto:  Data | Photos

Rialto, CA

Source: Public domain

Colton has 54,215 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 15.109517528377953%.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 54,215
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Median Income: $56,762 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (19th highest)
Median Home Value: $292,300 (5th lowest)
More on Colton:  Data | Photos

Colton, CA

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

It's the place with the 13th most out of work residents in the Ontario metro area (7.21%).

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 40,041
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 3)
Median Income: $63,245 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% (13th highest)
Median Home Value: $388,100 (13th lowest)
More on Montclair:  Data | Photos

Montclair, CA

Moreno Valley is a city about 24.2 miles from Ontario, but Ontario 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. Moreno Valley has the 13th most uninsured people, 23rd worst incomes, and has the 4th highest unemployment rate (8.27%) in the entire Ontario metro area.

Homes only cost $335,700 for a reason. That's cheap for Ontario standards.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 208,751
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $70,385 (23rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.3% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $335,700 (8th lowest)
More on Moreno Valley:  Data | Photos

Moreno Valley, CA

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

About 7.43% of residents are out of work.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 106,646
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 4)
Median Income: $77,787 (36th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $393,200 (16th lowest)
More on Jurupa Valley:  Data

Rounding out the ten worst Ontario suburbs to call home is Pomona.

Located 9.1 miles outside the city, Pomonas is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 26th highest unemployment rate (6.29%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 151,124
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Income: $62,407 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.3% (26th highest)
Median Home Value: $420,600 (17th lowest)
More on Pomona:  Data | Photos

Pomona, CA

Source: Public domain

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Ontario 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 Ontario.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 75 suburbs to evaluate around Ontario.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 75 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 Ontario." We're lookin' at you, San Bernardino. 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 Ontario where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2022

Well there you have it -- the worst of the 'burbs surrounding Ontario with San Bernardino casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Ontario aren't all bad. La Palma takes the cake as the best place to live around Ontario.

  • La Palma
  • Mission Viejo
  • Yorba Linda

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Ontario Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 San Bernardino 216,784 $49,287 $272,600
2 Hesperia 95,163 $54,149 $255,500
3 Perris 77,708 $66,926 $309,500
4 Highland 55,339 $62,956 $338,500
5 Rialto 103,549 $65,538 $330,000
6 Colton 54,215 $56,762 $292,300
7 Montclair 40,041 $63,245 $388,100
8 Moreno Valley 208,751 $70,385 $335,700
9 Jurupa Valley 106,646 $77,787 $393,200
10 Pomona 151,124 $62,407 $420,600
11 South El Monte 20,791 $54,208 $452,700
12 Lake Elsinore 64,201 $74,490 $366,200
13 El Monte 113,917 $53,874 $480,100
14 Loma Linda 24,239 $56,021 $381,300
15 La Puente 39,780 $66,132 $446,800
16 Azusa 49,584 $65,912 $438,700
17 Stanton 38,317 $66,017 $432,600
18 Riverside 327,569 $72,738 $389,500
19 Montebello 62,697 $62,781 $519,000
20 Baldwin Park 75,659 $68,741 $436,800
21 Fontana 212,704 $75,681 $393,200
22 Santa Ana 332,610 $72,406 $525,900
23 Duarte 21,399 $82,620 $519,700
24 Chino 89,170 $85,659 $476,800
25 Westminster 90,857 $67,142 $624,000
26 Anaheim 353,085 $76,723 $602,400
27 Santa Fe Springs 17,643 $69,922 $462,400
28 Grand Terrace 12,559 $70,200 $355,400
29 Redlands 71,680 $81,265 $424,900
30 Rosemead 53,850 $60,006 $576,000
31 Norwalk 104,524 $77,425 $461,000
32 Garden Grove 172,800 $73,611 $580,300
33 Temple 4,709 $67,628 $123,800
34 Pico Rivera 62,507 $70,620 $464,700
35 Midway 3,132 $51,005 $162,900
36 La Habra 62,787 $83,532 $577,900
37 Covina 47,787 $77,913 $549,500
38 Corona 168,112 $88,434 $491,000
39 Upland 77,348 $76,259 $547,100
40 Fullerton 141,061 $85,471 $667,300
41 Artesia 16,456 $74,375 $600,000
42 Whittier 84,821 $76,026 $598,000
43 San Gabriel 40,108 $70,892 $712,400
44 West Covina 105,808 $85,626 $578,800
45 Norco 27,021 $106,370 $559,100
46 Monrovia 37,636 $81,990 $694,700
47 La Verne 32,346 $93,473 $602,000
48 Buena Park 82,228 $84,680 $608,800
49 Rancho Cucamonga 178,060 $92,290 $515,600
50 Glendora 51,087 $99,153 $637,500
51 Orange 139,322 $96,605 $680,300
52 Tustin 80,815 $88,386 $693,000
53 San Dimas 33,812 $90,234 $604,600
54 Chino Hills 82,800 $104,661 $642,500
55 Irvine 272,694 $108,318 $861,700
56 La Mirada 48,260 $92,493 $606,200
57 Claremont 35,610 $101,080 $688,600
58 Brea 44,182 $100,969 $687,700
59 Placentia 52,049 $100,707 $653,400
60 Lake Forest 84,666 $112,988 $682,700
61 Walnut 29,764 $108,264 $806,900
62 Diamond Bar 55,870 $100,723 $690,500
63 Arcadia 57,053 $95,736 $1,136,700
64 Eastvale 65,766 $127,881 $596,200
65 La Habra Heights 5,318 $163,750 $916,500
66 Cypress 49,137 $102,005 $665,100
67 El Cerrito 25,280 $108,294 $858,000
68 Sierra Madre 10,829 $106,719 $1,007,800
69 Cerritos 49,388 $109,229 $716,000
70 Rancho Santa Margarita 48,280 $125,329 $679,500
71 Villa Park 5,883 $164,476 $1,238,800
72 San Marino 13,020 $164,423 $2,000,001
73 Yorba Linda 68,103 $133,088 $862,900
74 Mission Viejo 95,638 $121,299 $732,100
75 La Palma 15,657 $108,363 $686,800

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 Ontario.
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.