The 10 Worst Pasadena Suburbs


The worst Pasadena suburbs are Commerce and Cudahy based on Saturday Night Science. Find out where your town ranks.

More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Pasadena to avoid all the hustle and bustle.

So the question arises: what suburbs of Pasadena are the worst?

Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Pasadena ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Pasadena area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Pasadena proper, although Hermosa Beach certainly tries.

We examined the 89 biggest suburbs of Pasadena 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 Pasadena in terms of quality of life.


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


Now don’t freak out.

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

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 Pasadena too.

The 10 Worst Pasadena Suburbs To Live For 2023

Commerce, CA

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

5
/10

Population: 12,459
Median Income: $58,226 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.5% (20th highest)
Median Home Value: $455,700 (15th lowest)
More on Commerce: Data

We’ll get the ball rolling with Commerce, the absolute worst place to live around Pasadena 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 Pasadena area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 15th 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.

Cudahy, CA

Source: Flickr User [email protected] | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 23,003
Median Income: $47,050 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $434,200 (7th lowest)
More on Cudahy: Data

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

This city is 13.8 miles to Pasadena. 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.

Huntington Park, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Jmiles92 | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 55,439
Median Income: $51,065 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.0% (highest)
Median Home Value: $452,300 (13th lowest)
More on Huntington Park: Data

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Pasadena 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 Pasadena suburbs.

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

Compton, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Epolk at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 96,083
Median Income: $62,297 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.2% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,000 (4th lowest)
More on Compton: Data

If you live in Compton, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 12th lowest Pasadena suburb for median household incomes.

Not only that, but this is the 7th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Pasadena. Remember, we looked at 89 cities for this study.

Compton is about 19.1 miles to downtown.

Montclair, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Westpacificmovement | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 37,871
Median Income: $67,483 (19th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.8% (12th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,300 (5th lowest)
More on Montclair: Data

Montclair has the distinction of being a Pasadena suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Montclair has the 5th lowest home values in the metro Pasadena area, where the median price is $423,300. The median income is $250,001.

Montclair has an unemployment rate of 7.76% which ranks 12th worst.

Lynwood, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 67,497
Median Income: $61,612 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.5% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $449,300 (10th lowest)
More on Lynwood: Data

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%.

Palmdale, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 167,987
Median Income: $70,858 (26th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (17th highest)
Median Home Value: $332,400 (2nd lowest)
More on Palmdale: Data

Ah, Palmdale. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Pasadena.

It’s the place with the 17th most out of work residents in the Pasadena metro area (7.65%).

South Gate, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 93,308
Median Income: $59,647 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $470,200 (18th lowest)
More on South Gate: Data

South Gate is a city about 15.3 miles from Pasadena, but Pasadena 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 4th highest unemployment rate (8.65%) in the entire Pasadena metro area.

Homes only cost $470,200 for a reason. That’s cheap for Pasadena standards.

Bell Gardens, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 39,870
Median Income: $50,311 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (48th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,700 (6th lowest)
More on Bell Gardens: Data

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

About 5.8% of residents are out of work.

Bell, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 33,915
Median Income: $51,183 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.6% (36th highest)
Median Home Value: $450,900 (11th lowest)
More on Bell: Data

Rounding out the ten worst Pasadena suburbs to call home is Bell.

Located 12.7 miles outside the city, Bells is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 36th highest unemployment rate (6.58%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Pasadena for 2023

To figure out how bad a Pasadena 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 Pasadena.

We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 89 suburbs to evaluate around Pasadena.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 89 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 Pasadena.” We’re looking at you, Commerce.

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

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

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

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

  • Hermosa Beach
  • Manhattan Beach
  • Redondo Beach

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Pasadena Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Commerce 12,459 $58,226 $455,700
2 Cudahy 23,003 $47,050 $434,200
3 Huntington Park 55,439 $51,065 $452,300
4 Compton 96,083 $62,297 $423,000
5 Montclair 37,871 $67,483 $423,300
6 Lynwood 67,497 $61,612 $449,300
7 Palmdale 167,987 $70,858 $332,400
8 South Gate 93,308 $59,647 $470,200
9 Bell Gardens 39,870 $50,311 $423,700
10 Bell 33,915 $51,183 $450,900
11 Pomona 151,592 $67,549 $446,300
12 South El Monte 19,860 $60,244 $478,800
13 El Monte 110,144 $56,524 $508,200
14 Maywood 25,477 $54,535 $481,800
15 Hawaiian Gardens 14,178 $66,578 $439,900
16 Stanton 38,167 $68,821 $454,200
17 Paramount 53,904 $60,456 $412,300
18 Inglewood 108,206 $62,845 $603,900
19 Montebello 62,828 $66,584 $557,400
20 Azusa 49,457 $74,043 $477,300
21 Los Angeles 3,902,440 $69,778 $705,900
22 La Puente 38,447 $73,827 $467,200
23 Baldwin Park 72,813 $72,554 $464,800
24 Bellflower 79,070 $70,236 $535,300
25 Westminster 91,267 $71,108 $651,200
26 Hawthorne 87,863 $63,847 $644,600
27 Lawndale 32,035 $72,246 $587,900
28 Long Beach 466,565 $71,150 $614,900
29 San Fernando 24,086 $64,581 $525,200
30 Santa Fe Springs 18,817 $75,086 $490,200
31 Gardena 60,917 $68,413 $562,400
32 Rosemead 51,698 $64,224 $610,000
33 Garden Grove 172,708 $78,046 $601,000
34 Pico Rivera 62,383 $78,056 $490,300
35 Glendale 196,512 $74,488 $865,400
36 Temple 5,093 $77,509 $129,100
37 Carson 95,104 $92,548 $541,900
38 Duarte 21,723 $86,903 $575,500
39 La Habra 63,287 $88,002 $600,400
40 Covina 51,061 $81,570 $575,500
41 Signal Hill 11,780 $79,309 $551,000
42 Artesia 16,390 $83,321 $635,000
43 Upland 78,624 $82,259 $571,600
44 Monterey Park 61,153 $68,497 $667,300
45 Los Alamitos 11,780 $91,051 $822,100
46 Fullerton 142,964 $92,718 $698,600
47 Downey 114,293 $77,972 $608,600
48 San Gabriel 39,673 $76,918 $768,500
49 Norwalk 103,330 $83,217 $487,800
50 West Covina 109,396 $89,834 $602,400
51 Whittier 87,184 $80,306 $630,200
52 Monrovia 37,999 $87,077 $723,000
53 Burbank 107,364 $82,246 $837,900
54 Buena Park 83,974 $90,503 $627,200
55 Alhambra 83,174 $73,035 $654,000
56 La Verne 31,423 $95,957 $625,000
57 Santa Clarita 227,182 $106,166 $591,400
58 Seal Beach 25,216 $75,821 $451,900
59 Glendora 52,458 $103,159 $662,400
60 Lomita 20,884 $85,852 $643,500
61 West Hollywood 35,678 $78,719 $782,500
62 San Dimas 34,775 $101,144 $626,000
63 Chino Hills 78,229 $109,285 $677,000
64 Beverly Hills 32,903 $103,944 $2,000,001
65 Brea 46,912 $108,721 $727,500
66 Placentia 51,951 $103,041 $697,900
67 La Mirada 47,957 $97,672 $629,900
68 Diamond Bar 55,339 $100,776 $702,600
69 Lakewood 82,419 $102,163 $620,100
70 Arcadia 56,697 $99,588 $1,152,200
71 Claremont 36,312 $111,937 $711,800
72 Santa Monica 92,828 $99,847 $1,484,500
73 Cypress 50,279 $109,180 $702,000
74 Walnut 28,641 $121,882 $827,700
75 Torrance 147,156 $100,215 $840,900
76 Cerritos 49,630 $115,600 $764,200
77 La Habra Heights 5,651 $181,591 $945,800
78 Rolling Hills Estates 8,305 $160,724 $1,461,500
79 El Segundo 17,243 $126,683 $1,244,200
80 Hidden Hills 2,182 $250,001 $2,000,001
81 La Palma 15,650 $106,473 $733,600
82 Sierra Madre 11,253 $116,884 $1,048,300
83 Yorba Linda 68,319 $137,011 $884,900
84 South Pasadena 26,837 $115,088 $1,174,400
85 San Marino 12,620 $174,722 $2,000,001
86 Palos Verdes Estates 13,403 $202,569 $2,000,001
87 Redondo Beach 70,998 $123,874 $1,026,500
88 Manhattan Beach 35,585 $169,586 $2,000,001
89 Hermosa Beach 19,787 $144,388 $1,674,500
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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