The suburbs of Stockton call to all types of people looking to escape city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Stockton to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
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 Saturday Night Science to determine which Stockton ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Stockton area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Stockton proper, although Brentwood certainly tries.
Of course, not all suburbs of Stockton are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones.
We examined the 16 biggest suburbs of Stockton 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 Stockton in terms of quality of life.
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Stockton? Lodi ranks as the worst suburb of Stockton for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Stockton 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 Stockton too.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
For more California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Most Dangerous Cities In California
The 10 Worst Stockton Suburbs To Live For 2023
/10
Population: 66,107
Median Income: $70,302 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.5% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $368,500 (5th lowest)
More on Lodi:
We’ll get the ball rolling with Lodi, the absolute worst place to live around Stockton according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Lodi beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 4th worst in the Stockton area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 5th 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 Lodi.
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: 217,728
Median Income: $67,011 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.0% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $330,000 (2nd lowest)
More on Modesto:
Welcome to Modesto. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 28.9 miles to Stockton. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $67,011 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: 28,078
Median Income: $99,632 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.5% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $430,800 (9th lowest)
More on Lathrop:
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Stockton suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Lathrop 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 Stockton suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 23,016
Median Income: $72,479 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.4% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $354,400 (4th lowest)
More on Oakdale:
If you live in Oakdale, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 5th lowest Stockton suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 4th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Stockton. Remember, we looked at 16 cities for this study.
Oakdale is about 29.4 miles to downtown.
/10
Population: 24,714
Median Income: $75,216 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.9% (9th highest)
Median Home Value: $343,300 (3rd lowest)
More on Riverbank:
Riverbank has the distinction of being a Stockton suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Riverbank has the 3rd lowest home values in the metro Stockton area, where the median price is $343,300. The median income is $125,152.
Riverbank has an unemployment rate of 6.9% which ranks 9th worst.
/10
Population: 114,750
Median Income: $82,244 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.8% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $467,500 (11th lowest)
More on Antioch:
Antioch has 114,750 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 12.870835635298553%.
/10
Population: 9,850
Median Income: $76,423 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 14.8% (highest)
Median Home Value: $400,000 (7th lowest)
More on Rio Vista:
Ah, Rio Vista. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Stockton.
It’s the place with the most out of work residents in the Stockton metro area (14.77%).
/10
Population: 7,458
Median Income: $67,176 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.8% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $418,500 (8th lowest)
More on Escalon:
Escalon is a city about 21.3 miles from Stockton, but Stockton 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. Escalon has the 13th most uninsured people, 3rd worst incomes, and has the 7th highest unemployment rate (7.76%) in the entire Stockton metro area.
Homes only cost $418,500 for a reason. That’s cheap for Stockton standards.
/10
Population: 25,385
Median Income: $77,669 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $382,000 (6th lowest)
More on Galt:
If you absolutely have to live near Stockton, then Galt might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Stockton suburb.
About 7.56% of residents are out of work.
10. Camanche
/10
Population: 4,545
Median Income: $56,000 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.2% (15th highest)
Median Home Value: $147,100 (lowest)
More on Camanche:
Rounding out the ten worst Stockton suburbs to call home is Camanche.
Located 26.8 miles outside the city, Camanches is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 15th highest unemployment rate (3.19%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Stockton for 2023
To figure out how bad a Stockton 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 Stockton.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 4,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 16 suburbs to evaluate around Stockton.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 16 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 Stockton.” We’re looking at you, Lodi.
We updated this article for 2023, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Stockton.
Summary: The areas around Stockton where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Stockton with Lodi casting itself ahead of the pack.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Stockton aren’t all bad. Brentwood takes the cake as the best place to live around Stockton.
- Brentwood
- Ripon
- Lincoln
For more California reading, check out:
- 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 Stockton Suburbs
Rank | City | Population |
---|---|---|
1 | Lodi | 66,107 |
2 | Modesto | 217,728 |
3 | Lathrop | 28,078 |
4 | Oakdale | 23,016 |
5 | Riverbank | 24,714 |
6 | Antioch | 114,750 |
7 | Rio Vista | 9,850 |
8 | Escalon | 7,458 |
9 | Galt | 25,385 |
10 | Camanche | 4,545 |
11 | Manteca | 82,408 |
12 | Tracy | 92,792 |
13 | Oakley | 42,996 |
14 | Lincoln | 49,203 |
15 | Ripon | 15,961 |
16 | Brentwood | 63,618 |
These cities are not the suburbs of Stockton. They are cities in their own right. Everyone knows Stockton is the number one hole. Put it there.