More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround San Jose to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of San Jose are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which San Jose ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the San Jose area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to San Jose proper, although Los Altos certainly tries.
We examined the 30 biggest suburbs of San Jose 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 San Jose in terms of quality of life.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 worst suburbs around San Jose for 2025
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of San Jose? Watsonville ranks as the worst suburb of San Jose for 2025 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 San Jose too.
The 10 Worst San Jose Suburbs To Live For 2025
/10
Population: 51,968
Median Income: $74,785 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.9% (highest)
Median Home Value: $828,495 (lowest)
More on Watsonville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
We’ll get the ball rolling with Watsonville, the absolute worst place to live around San Jose according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Watsonville beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the San Jose area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 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 Watsonville.
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.
/10
Population: 159,201
Median Income: $113,775 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.9% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $832,981 (2nd lowest)
More on Hayward: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Welcome to Hayward. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 27.8 miles to San Jose. Income levels here are the 5th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $113,775 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.
/10
Population: 58,561
Median Income: $131,554 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.1% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $1,054,436 (4th lowest)
More on Gilroy: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Back up the highway we go for the third worst San Jose suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Gilroy 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 San Jose suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 29,143
Median Income: $104,832 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $995,792 (3rd lowest)
More on East Palo Alto: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you live in East Palo Alto, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 3rd lowest San Jose 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 San Jose. Remember, we looked at 30 cities for this study.
East Palo Alto is about 20.9 miles to downtown.
/10
Population: 60,953
Median Income: $111,427 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.3% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $1,303,347 (10th lowest)
More on Santa Cruz: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Santa Cruz has the distinction of being a San Jose suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Santa Cruz has the 10th lowest home values in the metro San Jose area, where the median price is $1,303,347. The median income is $250,001.
Santa Cruz has an unemployment rate of 6.31% which ranks 2nd worst.
/10
Population: 47,145
Median Income: $164,909 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $1,218,602 (6th lowest)
More on Newark: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Newark has 47,145 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 4.188136098454201%.
/10
Population: 9,813
Median Income: $96,412 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 2.5% (28th highest)
Median Home Value: $1,219,945 (7th lowest)
More on Capitola: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Ah, Capitola. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around San Jose.
It’s the place with the 28th most out of work residents in the San Jose metro area (2.51%).
/10
Population: 45,152
Median Income: $159,758 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $1,306,008 (11th lowest)
More on Morgan Hill: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Morgan Hill is a city about 15.0 miles from San Jose, but San Jose 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. Morgan Hill has the 11th most uninsured people, 10th worst incomes, and has the 6th highest unemployment rate (5.0%) in the entire San Jose metro area.
Homes only cost $1,306,008 for a reason. That’s cheap for San Jose standards.
/10
Population: 228,518
Median Income: $176,350 (13th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.3% (12th highest)
Median Home Value: $1,480,796 (13th lowest)
More on Fremont: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you absolutely have to live near San Jose, then Fremont might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst San Jose suburb.
About 4.32% of residents are out of work.
/10
Population: 129,239
Median Income: $173,670 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.4% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $1,666,520 (15th lowest)
More on Santa Clara: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Rounding out the ten worst San Jose suburbs to call home is Santa Clara.
Located 9.4 miles outside the city, Santa Claras is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 11th highest unemployment rate (4.38%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around San Jose for 2025
To figure out how bad a San Jose suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2019-2023, 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 San Jose.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 30 suburbs to evaluate around San Jose.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 30 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 San Jose.” We’re looking at you, Watsonville.
We updated this article for 2025, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around San Jose.
Summary: The areas around San Jose where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2025
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding San Jose with Watsonville casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of San Jose are .
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around San Jose aren’t all bad. Los Altos takes the cake as the best place to live around San Jose.
- Los Altos
- Atherton
- Los Altos Hills
For more California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Most Dangerous Cities In California
- Best Places To Retire In California
- Richest Cities In California
- Safest Places In California
- Worst Places To Live In California
Detailed List Of The Worst San Jose Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Watsonville | 51,968 | $74,785 | $828,495 |
| 2 | Hayward | 159,201 | $113,775 | $832,981 |
| 3 | Gilroy | 58,561 | $131,554 | $1,054,436 |
| 4 | East Palo Alto | 29,143 | $104,832 | $995,792 |
| 5 | Santa Cruz | 60,953 | $111,427 | $1,303,347 |
| 6 | Newark | 47,145 | $164,909 | $1,218,602 |
| 7 | Capitola | 9,813 | $96,412 | $1,219,945 |
| 8 | Morgan Hill | 45,152 | $159,758 | $1,306,008 |
| 9 | Fremont | 228,518 | $176,350 | $1,480,796 |
| 10 | Santa Clara | 129,239 | $173,670 | $1,666,520 |
| 11 | Scotts Valley | 12,138 | $140,887 | $1,234,447 |
| 12 | Milpitas | 78,216 | $176,822 | $1,431,087 |
| 13 | Pleasanton | 77,500 | $186,206 | $1,550,911 |
| 14 | Livermore | 85,870 | $153,602 | $1,095,551 |
| 15 | Campbell | 42,848 | $147,128 | $1,833,684 |
| 16 | Menlo Park | 32,775 | $206,588 | $2,694,649 |
| 17 | Sunnyvale | 153,455 | $181,862 | $1,979,371 |
| 18 | Mountain View | 82,363 | $179,917 | $1,948,838 |
| 19 | Dublin | 70,542 | $205,046 | $1,300,238 |
| 20 | Palo Alto | 67,231 | $220,408 | $3,453,770 |
| 21 | Los Gatos | 32,773 | $207,891 | $2,440,617 |
| 22 | Monte Sereno | 3,459 | $250,001 | $4,084,920 |
| 23 | Saratoga | 30,335 | $241,348 | $3,880,499 |
| 24 | Portola Valley | 4,329 | $250,001 | $4,033,636 |
| 25 | San Carlos | 29,797 | $233,333 | $2,309,778 |
| 26 | Woodside | 5,181 | $250,001 | $3,706,415 |
| 27 | Cupertino | 58,886 | $231,139 | $2,948,793 |
| 28 | Los Altos Hills | 8,367 | $250,001 | $5,764,119 |
| 29 | Atherton | 7,021 | $250,001 | $7,619,338 |
| 30 | Los Altos | 30,736 | $250,001 | $4,332,738 |
This is absolute nonsense. Who on earth would consider Santa Cruz a bad place to live. And I would take Watsonville over goddamn Hayward and Fremont any day of the week.