The 10 Worst Pomona Suburbs


The worst Pomona suburbs are San Bernardino and Commerce 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 Pomona to avoid all the hustle and bustle.

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

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

We examined the 93 biggest suburbs of Pomona 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 Pomona 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 Pomona? San Bernardino ranks as the worst suburb of Pomona 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 Pomona too.

The 10 Worst Pomona Suburbs To Live For 2023

San Bernardino, CA

Source: Flickr User MOHSEN.WISE | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 220,821
Median Income: $55,372 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.4% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $293,000 (3rd lowest)
More on San Bernardino: Data

We’ll get the ball rolling with San Bernardino, the absolute worst place to live around Pomona 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 6th worst in the Pomona area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 3rd 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.

Commerce, CA

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

5
/10

Population: 12,459
Median Income: $58,226 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.5% (16th highest)
Median Home Value: $455,700 (23rd lowest)
More on Commerce: Data

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

This city is 22.7 miles to Pomona. Income levels here are the 9th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $58,226 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.

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% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $434,200 (15th lowest)
More on Cudahy: Data

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

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

Rialto, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 103,799
Median Income: $69,934 (23rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (highest)
Median Home Value: $350,000 (5th lowest)
More on Rialto: Data

If you live in Rialto, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 23rd lowest Pomona suburb for median household incomes.

Not only that, but this is the worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Pomona. Remember, we looked at 93 cities for this study.

Rialto is about 21.6 miles to downtown.

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% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $452,300 (2lowest)
More on Huntington Park: Data

Huntington Park has the distinction of being a Pomona suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Huntington Park has the 2lowest home values in the metro Pomona area, where the median price is $452,300. The median income is $181,591.

Huntington Park has an unemployment rate of 10.0% which ranks 2nd worst.

Montclair, CA

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

6
/10

Population: 37,871
Median Income: $67,483 (20th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.8% (13th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,300 (13th lowest)
More on Montclair: Data

Montclair has 37,871 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 17.779793022511466%.

Compton, CA

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

5
/10

Population: 96,083
Median Income: $62,297 (15th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.2% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,000 (11th lowest)
More on Compton: Data

Ah, Compton. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Pomona.

It’s the place with the 9th most out of work residents in the Pomona metro area (8.23%).

Lynwood, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 67,497
Median Income: $61,612 (14th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.5% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $449,300 (18th lowest)
More on Lynwood: Data

Lynwood is a city about 26.9 miles from Pomona, but Pomona 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. Lynwood has the 4th most uninsured people, 14th worst incomes, and has the 3rd highest unemployment rate (9.55%) in the entire Pomona metro area.

Homes only cost $449,300 for a reason. That’s cheap for Pomona standards.

Colton, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Bruce Fingerhood from Springfield, Oregon, US | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 53,894
Median Income: $60,874 (13th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (17th highest)
Median Home Value: $325,800 (4th lowest)
More on Colton: Data

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

About 7.36% of residents are out of work.

Bell Gardens, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 39,870
Median Income: $50,311 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (44th highest)
Median Home Value: $423,700 (14th lowest)
More on Bell Gardens: Data

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

Located 23.4 miles outside the city, Bell Gardenss is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 44th highest unemployment rate (5.8%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Pomona for 2023

To figure out how bad a Pomona 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 Pomona.

We also limited the analysis to places with over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 93 suburbs to evaluate around Pomona.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 93 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 Pomona.” We’re looking at you, San Bernardino.

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

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

Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Pomona with San Bernardino casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Pomona aren’t all bad. San Marino takes the cake as the best place to live around Pomona.

  • San Marino
  • South Pasadena
  • Yorba Linda

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Pomona Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 San Bernardino 220,821 $55,372 $293,000
2 Commerce 12,459 $58,226 $455,700
3 Cudahy 23,003 $47,050 $434,200
4 Rialto 103,799 $69,934 $350,000
5 Huntington Park 55,439 $51,065 $452,300
6 Montclair 37,871 $67,483 $423,300
7 Compton 96,083 $62,297 $423,000
8 Lynwood 67,497 $61,612 $449,300
9 Colton 53,894 $60,874 $325,800
10 Bell Gardens 39,870 $50,311 $423,700
11 Bell 33,915 $51,183 $450,900
12 South Gate 93,308 $59,647 $470,200
13 Jurupa Valley 104,684 $83,430 $416,300
14 El Monte 110,144 $56,524 $508,200
15 South El Monte 19,860 $60,244 $478,800
16 Ontario 175,223 $71,908 $438,300
17 Maywood 25,477 $54,535 $481,800
18 Loma Linda 24,712 $63,272 $416,300
19 Stanton 38,167 $68,821 $454,200
20 Riverside 314,858 $76,755 $418,000
21 Hawaiian Gardens 14,178 $66,578 $439,900
22 Paramount 53,904 $60,456 $412,300
23 Azusa 49,457 $74,043 $477,300
24 Baldwin Park 72,813 $72,554 $464,800
25 Montebello 62,828 $66,584 $557,400
26 La Puente 38,447 $73,827 $467,200
27 Fontana 208,087 $83,468 $423,100
28 Bellflower 79,070 $70,236 $535,300
29 Grand Terrace 13,079 $76,791 $378,100
30 Westminster 91,267 $71,108 $651,200
31 Long Beach 466,565 $71,150 $614,900
32 Midway 3,402 $55,947 $164,900
33 Santa Ana 313,818 $77,283 $556,300
34 Santa Fe Springs 18,817 $75,086 $490,200
35 Anaheim 348,204 $81,806 $623,300
36 Garden Grove 172,708 $78,046 $601,000
37 Rosemead 51,698 $64,224 $610,000
38 Temple 5,093 $77,509 $129,100
39 Chino 90,279 $91,107 $503,800
40 Pico Rivera 62,383 $78,056 $490,300
41 Duarte 21,723 $86,903 $575,500
42 Glendale 196,512 $74,488 $865,400
43 La Habra 63,287 $88,002 $600,400
44 Covina 51,061 $81,570 $575,500
45 Downey 114,293 $77,972 $608,600
46 Signal Hill 11,780 $79,309 $551,000
47 Los Alamitos 11,780 $91,051 $822,100
48 Norwalk 103,330 $83,217 $487,800
49 Artesia 16,390 $83,321 $635,000
50 Monterey Park 61,153 $68,497 $667,300
51 Upland 78,624 $82,259 $571,600
52 Fullerton 142,964 $92,718 $698,600
53 San Gabriel 39,673 $76,918 $768,500
54 West Covina 109,396 $89,834 $602,400
55 Corona 157,844 $95,268 $530,100
56 Monrovia 37,999 $87,077 $723,000
57 Whittier 87,184 $80,306 $630,200
58 Pasadena 138,771 $89,661 $863,100
59 Alhambra 83,174 $73,035 $654,000
60 Costa Mesa 112,148 $96,391 $841,700
61 Buena Park 83,974 $90,503 $627,200
62 La Verne 31,423 $95,957 $625,000
63 Tustin 79,895 $93,901 $735,400
64 Orange 139,195 $102,125 $712,500
65 Glendora 52,458 $103,159 $662,400
66 Seal Beach 25,216 $75,821 $451,900
67 Chino Hills 78,229 $109,285 $677,000
68 Rancho Cucamonga 173,946 $97,046 $551,700
69 San Dimas 34,775 $101,144 $626,000
70 Norco 26,176 $115,619 $594,800
71 Irvine 297,868 $114,027 $900,700
72 Brea 46,912 $108,721 $727,500
73 Fountain Valley 57,139 $92,765 $816,900
74 Claremont 36,312 $111,937 $711,800
75 Diamond Bar 55,339 $100,776 $702,600
76 Lake Forest 85,516 $117,374 $719,700
77 Placentia 51,951 $103,041 $697,900
78 La Mirada 47,957 $97,672 $629,900
79 Lakewood 82,419 $102,163 $620,100
80 Arcadia 56,697 $99,588 $1,152,200
81 Huntington Beach 198,735 $104,728 $845,500
82 Walnut 28,641 $121,882 $827,700
83 Cypress 50,279 $109,180 $702,000
84 Cerritos 49,630 $115,600 $764,200
85 La Habra Heights 5,651 $181,591 $945,800
86 El Cerrito 25,898 $116,875 $894,600
87 Eastvale 68,539 $141,827 $615,300
88 Villa Park 5,864 $172,375 $1,287,100
89 La Palma 15,650 $106,473 $733,600
90 Sierra Madre 11,253 $116,884 $1,048,300
91 Yorba Linda 68,319 $137,011 $884,900
92 South Pasadena 26,837 $115,088 $1,174,400
93 San Marino 12,620 $174,722 $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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