More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Santa Ana to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Santa Ana are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Santa Ana ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Santa Ana area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Santa Ana proper, although Palos Verdes Estates certainly tries.
We examined the 100 biggest suburbs of Santa Ana 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 Santa Ana in terms of quality of life.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 worst suburbs around Santa Ana for 2024
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Santa Ana? Huntington Park ranks as the worst suburb of Santa Ana for 2024 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 Santa Ana too.
The 10 Worst Santa Ana Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Population: 54,547
Median Income: $54,073 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (highest)
Median Home Value: $613,597 (8th lowest)
More on Huntington Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
We’ll get the ball rolling with Huntington Park, the absolute worst place to live around Santa Ana according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Huntington Park beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 3rd worst in the Santa Ana area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 8th 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 Huntington Park.
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: 22,657
Median Income: $49,596 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.2% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $624,322 (11th lowest)
More on Cudahy: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Welcome to Cudahy. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 23.3 miles to Santa Ana. Income levels here are the lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $49,596 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: 94,822
Median Income: $69,728 (14th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.9% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $584,418 (5th lowest)
More on Compton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Santa Ana suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Compton 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 Santa Ana suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 66,346
Median Income: $67,350 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.6% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $624,911 (12th lowest)
More on Lynwood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you live in Lynwood, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 12th lowest Santa Ana suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 2nd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Santa Ana. Remember, we looked at 100 cities for this study.
Lynwood is about 22.4 miles to downtown.
/10
Population: 19,694
Median Income: $67,724 (13th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.7% (23rd highest)
Median Home Value: $697,787 (24th lowest)
More on South El Monte: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
South El Monte has the distinction of being a Santa Ana suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, South El Monte has the 24th lowest home values in the metro Santa Ana area, where the median price is $697,787. The median income is $224,766.
South El Monte has an unemployment rate of 6.74% which ranks 23rd worst.
/10
Population: 33,377
Median Income: $56,685 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (26th highest)
Median Home Value: $634,376 (15th lowest)
More on Bell: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Bell has 33,377 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 23.36344474555857%.
/10
Population: 39,263
Median Income: $53,935 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.7% (40th highest)
Median Home Value: $632,331 (14th lowest)
More on Bell Gardens: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Ah, Bell Gardens. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Santa Ana.
It’s the place with the 40th most out of work residents in the Santa Ana metro area (5.75%).
/10
Population: 12,253
Median Income: $66,071 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.9% (75th highest)
Median Home Value: $636,672 (17th lowest)
More on Commerce: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Commerce is a city about 23.5 miles from Santa Ana, but Santa Ana 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. Commerce has the 2most uninsured people, 9th worst incomes, and has the 75th highest unemployment rate (4.9%) in the entire Santa Ana metro area.
Homes only cost $636,672 for a reason. That’s cheap for Santa Ana standards.
/10
Population: 149,831
Median Income: $73,515 (2lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (27th highest)
Median Home Value: $619,187 (10th lowest)
More on Pomona: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you absolutely have to live near Santa Ana, then Pomona might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Santa Ana suburb.
About 6.52% of residents are out of work.
/10
Population: 92,381
Median Income: $67,188 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.9% (10th highest)
Median Home Value: $635,980 (16th lowest)
More on South Gate: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Rounding out the ten worst Santa Ana suburbs to call home is South Gate.
Located 22.8 miles outside the city, South Gates is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 10th highest unemployment rate (7.89%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Santa Ana for 2024
To figure out how bad a Santa Ana 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 2018-2022, 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 Santa Ana.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 100 suburbs to evaluate around Santa Ana.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 100 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 Santa Ana.” We’re looking at you, Huntington Park.
We updated this article for 2024, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Santa Ana.
Summary: The areas around Santa Ana where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2024
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Santa Ana with Huntington Park casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Santa Ana are .
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Santa Ana aren’t all bad. Palos Verdes Estates takes the cake as the best place to live around Santa Ana.
- Palos Verdes Estates
- Redondo Beach
- Villa Park
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 Santa Ana Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Park | 54,547 | $54,073 | $613,597 |
| 2 | Cudahy | 22,657 | $49,596 | $624,322 |
| 3 | Compton | 94,822 | $69,728 | $584,418 |
| 4 | Lynwood | 66,346 | $67,350 | $624,911 |
| 5 | South El Monte | 19,694 | $67,724 | $697,787 |
| 6 | Bell | 33,377 | $56,685 | $634,376 |
| 7 | Bell Gardens | 39,263 | $53,935 | $632,331 |
| 8 | Commerce | 12,253 | $66,071 | $636,672 |
| 9 | Pomona | 149,831 | $73,515 | $619,187 |
| 10 | South Gate | 92,381 | $67,188 | $635,980 |
| 11 | Montclair | 37,842 | $72,789 | $614,701 |
| 12 | El Monte | 108,682 | $59,929 | $705,480 |
| 13 | Maywood | 25,009 | $57,615 | $603,697 |
| 14 | Ontario | 176,326 | $78,070 | $627,446 |
| 15 | Baldwin Park | 71,692 | $76,002 | $653,339 |
| 16 | Montebello | 62,056 | $72,317 | $752,515 |
| 17 | Paramount | 53,255 | $67,197 | $599,020 |
| 18 | Azusa | 49,704 | $81,516 | $657,103 |
| 19 | Bellflower | 78,352 | $75,379 | $736,258 |
| 20 | Stanton | 38,271 | $76,123 | $701,971 |
| 21 | Hawthorne | 86,978 | $72,298 | $845,860 |
| 22 | Hawaiian Gardens | 14,011 | $73,510 | $571,342 |
| 23 | Lawndale | 31,553 | $76,213 | $744,065 |
| 24 | La Puente | 37,835 | $77,702 | $655,653 |
| 25 | Midway | 3,500 | $58,393 | $252,104 |
| 26 | Long Beach | 462,293 | $78,995 | $799,165 |
| 27 | Westminster | 90,638 | $80,271 | $952,142 |
| 28 | Anaheim | 347,111 | $88,538 | $844,174 |
| 29 | Chino | 91,008 | $99,385 | $711,183 |
| 30 | Carson | 94,475 | $103,045 | $750,385 |
| 31 | Pico Rivera | 61,561 | $82,539 | $694,218 |
| 32 | Artesia | 16,237 | $92,702 | $765,251 |
| 33 | Santa Fe Springs | 18,840 | $81,500 | $711,899 |
| 34 | Laguna Woods | 17,452 | $56,928 | $409,471 |
| 35 | La Habra | 62,904 | $93,801 | $802,058 |
| 36 | Duarte | 21,686 | $93,908 | $736,339 |
| 37 | Garden Grove | 171,637 | $86,139 | $867,160 |
| 38 | Temple | 5,395 | $71,917 | $278,708 |
| 39 | Norwalk | 101,893 | $91,259 | $694,399 |
| 40 | Rosemead | 51,043 | $70,073 | $827,126 |
| 41 | Gardena | 60,377 | $75,443 | $752,319 |
| 42 | Downey | 113,052 | $84,236 | $809,809 |
| 43 | West Covina | 108,173 | $96,219 | $785,843 |
| 44 | Fullerton | 142,280 | $99,279 | $936,138 |
| 45 | San Gabriel | 39,211 | $84,056 | $1,017,443 |
| 46 | Monterey Park | 60,386 | $76,892 | $879,700 |
| 47 | Covina | 50,717 | $89,650 | $739,542 |
| 48 | Los Alamitos | 11,728 | $100,987 | $1,427,481 |
| 49 | Upland | 78,847 | $93,994 | $773,135 |
| 50 | Whittier | 86,459 | $89,686 | $756,497 |
| 51 | Corona | 158,346 | $103,727 | $721,686 |
| 52 | Tustin | 79,514 | $102,065 | $1,015,712 |
| 53 | San Dimas | 34,466 | $102,241 | $863,283 |
| 54 | Signal Hill | 11,678 | $96,385 | $695,986 |
| 55 | Alhambra | 82,295 | $80,234 | $883,188 |
| 56 | Buena Park | 83,542 | $101,586 | $834,048 |
| 57 | Chino Hills | 78,223 | $117,548 | $913,774 |
| 58 | Costa Mesa | 111,490 | $104,981 | $1,211,464 |
| 59 | Glendora | 52,095 | $106,718 | $836,144 |
| 60 | San Juan Capistrano | 35,099 | $123,474 | $1,177,462 |
| 61 | La Verne | 31,239 | $103,816 | $888,737 |
| 62 | Lomita | 20,662 | $87,717 | $879,224 |
| 63 | Orange | 138,728 | $109,335 | $991,595 |
| 64 | Diamond Bar | 54,534 | $106,881 | $934,630 |
| 65 | Norco | 25,328 | $120,636 | $821,192 |
| 66 | Seal Beach | 25,046 | $75,507 | $900,528 |
| 67 | Irvine | 304,527 | $122,948 | $1,331,528 |
| 68 | Placentia | 51,797 | $106,155 | $973,725 |
| 69 | Lakewood | 81,499 | $113,030 | $814,339 |
| 70 | Fountain Valley | 56,754 | $108,860 | $1,200,770 |
| 71 | Brea | 47,099 | $120,226 | $1,019,390 |
| 72 | Arcadia | 56,181 | $108,214 | $1,326,864 |
| 73 | La Mirada | 47,644 | $104,130 | $822,102 |
| 74 | Claremont | 36,891 | $115,091 | $926,202 |
| 75 | Cypress | 49,955 | $117,461 | $964,692 |
| 76 | Laguna Hills | 31,170 | $122,902 | $1,076,942 |
| 77 | Lake Forest | 85,583 | $128,358 | $1,056,345 |
| 78 | Huntington Beach | 197,481 | $114,747 | $1,206,669 |
| 79 | Walnut | 28,212 | $130,444 | $1,093,688 |
| 80 | Torrance | 145,454 | $109,554 | $1,140,607 |
| 81 | El Cerrito | 25,869 | $120,414 | $1,162,177 |
| 82 | Laguna Niguel | 64,259 | $135,822 | $1,312,612 |
| 83 | Rolling Hills Estates | 8,214 | $179,917 | $1,986,586 |
| 84 | Laguna Beach | 22,943 | $141,875 | $2,817,490 |
| 85 | La Palma | 15,522 | $113,398 | $1,059,180 |
| 86 | Cerritos | 49,016 | $124,460 | $1,003,485 |
| 87 | San Clemente | 64,232 | $134,730 | $1,564,490 |
| 88 | Dana Point | 33,025 | $119,632 | $1,541,691 |
| 89 | San Marino | 12,442 | $174,253 | $2,524,471 |
| 90 | Eastvale | 69,594 | $151,615 | $884,749 |
| 91 | Rancho Santa Margarita | 47,702 | $150,146 | $938,523 |
| 92 | Aliso Viejo | 51,896 | $131,708 | $915,734 |
| 93 | Yorba Linda | 68,035 | $148,325 | $1,245,181 |
| 94 | La Habra Heights | 5,599 | $179,990 | $1,294,550 |
| 95 | Rancho Palos Verdes | 41,805 | $166,747 | $1,836,118 |
| 96 | Mission Viejo | 93,233 | $136,570 | $1,077,063 |
| 97 | Newport Beach | 85,159 | $149,471 | $3,132,424 |
| 98 | Villa Park | 5,814 | $189,306 | $2,030,498 |
| 99 | Redondo Beach | 70,620 | $134,033 | $1,379,761 |
| 100 | Palos Verdes Estates | 13,219 | $224,766 | $2,717,769 |
