These Are The 10 Worst Yonkers Suburbs For 2018

Not everyone is cut out for city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Yonkers.

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 science and data to determine which Yonkers ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Yonkers area if you will. Realistically, you can’t expect all the suburbs to live up to Yonkers proper, although Scarsdale certainly tries.

Of course, not all suburbs of Yonkers are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado…

We examined the 154 biggest suburbs of Yonkers to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in New York lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Yonkers in terms of quality of life.

Here are the 10 worst suburbs around Yonkers for 2018:

1. Newark (Photos)
2. Greenville
3. Elizabeth (Photos)
4. Spring Valley (Photos)
5. Roselle (Photos)
6. Paterson (Photos)
7. Haverstraw (Photos)
8. East Orange (Photos)
9. Passaic (Photos)
10. Linden (Photos)

Read on to see how we determined the places around Yonkers that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don’t blame the messenger.

Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in New York check out the best places in New York overall or the worst.

And remember, there are some good places to live around Yonkers too.

Editor’s Note: If you see a slight difference between the worst in state rankings and this suburb ranking, it’s because of the methodology. We needed a way to include more places, so we eliminated crime and commute times as criteria for this analysis.

For more New York reading, check out:

• 10 Best Places To Live In New York
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In New York
• 10 Most Dangerous Places In New York

Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Yonkers for 2018

To figure out how bad a place is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what cities have the least amount of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data, 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 drop outs
• High poverty
• High rate of uninsured families

FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Yonkers.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 5,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 154 suburbs to evaluate around Yonkers.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 154 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 Yonkers.” We’re lookin’ at you, Newark.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the worst of the worst. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from worst to best.

1. Newark

Population: 280,139
Unemployment Rate: 17.2%
Median Home Price: $222,100
Median Income: $33,025
More on Newark: Data | Jobs

We’ll get the ball rolling with Newark, the absolute worst place to live around Yonkers according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, Newark beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 3rd worst in the Yonkers 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 Newark.

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.

2. Greenville

Population: 12,979
Unemployment Rate: 10.2%
Median Home Price: $87,600
Median Income: $35,471
More on Greenville: Data | Jobs

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

This city is 4.4 miles to Yonkers. Income levels here are the 6th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $35,471 a year, which doesn’t go a long ways even on a shoestring budget.

But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.

3. Elizabeth

Population: 128,042
Unemployment Rate: 10.2%
Median Home Price: $262,300
Median Income: $43,831
More on Elizabeth: Data | Jobs

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Yonkers suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Elizabeth 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 drop out rate is poor compared to other Yonkers suburbs.

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

4. Spring Valley

Population: 32,415
Unemployment Rate: 11.8%
Median Home Price: $255,300
Median Income: $45,355
More on Spring Valley: Data | Jobs

If you live in Spring Valley, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 9th lowest Yonkers suburb when it comes to residents making money.

Not only that, but this is the 5th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Yonkers. Remember, we looked at 154 cities for this study.

Spring Valley is about 15.0 miles to downtown.

5. Roselle

Population: 21,507
Unemployment Rate: 13.8%
Median Home Price: $204,800
Median Income: $46,118
More on Roselle: Data | Jobs

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

All snarkiness aside, Roselle has the 3rd lowest home values in the metro Yonkers area, where the median price is $204,800. To put that into perspective, in Scarsdale, the median income is $250,000, which is the best in the area.

Roselle has an unemployment rate of 13.8% which ranks 3rd worst.

6. Paterson

Population: 146,894
Unemployment Rate: 8.1%
Median Home Price: $236,000
Median Income: $34,042
More on Paterson: Data | Jobs

Paterson has 146,894 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 29.1%.

7. Haverstraw

Population: 12,120
Unemployment Rate: 9.4%
Median Home Price: $257,900
Median Income: $58,750
More on Haverstraw: Data | Jobs

Ah, Haverstraw. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Yonkers.

It’s the place with the 17th most out of work residents in the Yonkers metro area (9.4%).

8. East Orange

Population: 64,621
Unemployment Rate: 16.9%
Median Home Price: $209,500
Median Income: $38,403
More on East Orange: Data | Jobs

East Orange is a city about 21.9 miles from Yonkers, but Yonkers 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. East Orange has the 22nd most uninsured people, 7th worst incomes, and has the 2nd highest unemployment rate (16.9%) in the entire Yonkers metro area.

Homes only cost $209,500 for a reason. That’s cheap for Yonkers standards.

9. Passaic

Population: 70,536
Unemployment Rate: 7.7%
Median Home Price: $303,600
Median Income: $33,859
More on Passaic: Data | Jobs

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

About 7.7% of residents are out of work.

10. Linden

Population: 41,595
Unemployment Rate: 9.7%
Median Home Price: $264,900
Median Income: $64,471
More on Linden: Data | Jobs

Rounding out the ten worst Yonkers suburbs to call home is Linden.

Located 29.4 miles outside the city, Lindens is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 13th highest unemployment rate (9.7%), and poverty is far above the area average.

The areas around Yonkers where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2018

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

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

For more New York reading, check out:

• 10 Most Ghetto Places In New York
• These Are The 10 Richest Cities In New York
• 10 Safest Places In New York According To Science
• 10 Worst Places To Live In New York State

Detailed List Of The Worst Yonkers Suburbs

Rank	City	Population	Unemployment Rate	Median Home Price	Median Income
1	Newark	280,139	17.2%	$222,100	$33,025
2	Greenville	12,979	10.2%	$87,600	$35,471
3	Elizabeth	128,042	10.2%	$262,300	$43,831
4	Spring Valley	32,415	11.8%	$255,300	$45,355
5	Roselle	21,507	13.8%	$204,800	$46,118
6	Paterson	146,894	8.1%	$236,000	$34,042
7	Haverstraw	12,120	9.4%	$257,900	$58,750
8	East Orange	64,621	16.9%	$209,500	$38,403
9	Passaic	70,536	7.7%	$303,600	$33,859
10	Linden	41,595	9.7%	$264,900	$64,471
11	West New York	52,407	10.1%	$324,000	$50,334
12	Peekskill	23,977	8.2%	$289,100	$55,453
13	Kearny	42,029	9.1%	$314,000	$61,558
14	Guttenberg	11,628	9.4%	$279,600	$54,368
15	Harrison	15,007	10.1%	$318,600	$58,047
16	Fairview	14,314	9.0%	$352,800	$54,177
17	Haledon	8,399	12.5%	$259,100	$67,872
18	Hempstead	55,454	7.1%	$306,900	$56,239
19	Little Ferry	10,868	9.6%	$325,700	$62,543
20	Prospect Park	5,919	7.4%	$249,800	$54,009
21	Bloomingdale	7,995	8.8%	$306,800	$77,049
22	Garfield	31,456	7.6%	$329,900	$48,254
23	Sleepy Hollow	10,117	7.9%	$595,800	$52,738
24	West Haverstraw	10,334	7.1%	$264,600	$66,076
25	Lodi	24,654	8.1%	$353,000	$53,807
26	Ossining	25,299	7.4%	$371,300	$62,917
27	Mount Vernon	68,217	10.8%	$357,800	$51,886
28	Mount Kisco	11,062	6.1%	$405,000	$66,265
29	Port Chester	29,417	7.5%	$435,100	$56,524
30	Bayonne	65,772	6.9%	$312,900	$54,862
31	Freeport	43,217	6.7%	$311,100	$68,963
32	Norwalk	87,930	7.9%	$416,800	$80,896
33	New Square	7,804	11.7%	$339,000	$21,773
34	Hackensack	44,271	5.0%	$291,500	$56,222
35	New York	8,461,961	8.6%	$508,900	$55,191
36	Bogota	8,348	7.8%	$313,400	$78,059
37	Stamford	127,410	8.0%	$504,200	$81,634
38	Ridgefield	11,294	7.3%	$457,200	$70,461
39	Woodland Park	12,358	7.2%	$371,000	$70,473
40	Roselle Park	13,560	10.0%	$269,300	$66,168
41	Wanaque	11,636	6.7%	$295,900	$81,267
42	Carlstadt	6,238	7.7%	$386,200	$84,268
43	East Rutherford	9,236	5.6%	$383,300	$76,771
44	White Plains	57,925	6.7%	$513,300	$82,460
45	Union	6,569	5.6%	$91,400	$64,608
46	Clifton	85,578	5.4%	$330,300	$71,830
47	New Rochelle	79,299	7.5%	$545,700	$73,178
48	Glen Cove	27,246	4.7%	$479,800	$73,673
49	Cliffside Park	24,661	5.9%	$415,800	$60,616
50	Totowa	10,900	7.4%	$369,600	$96,573
51	Ridgefield Park	12,976	5.3%	$324,300	$64,980
52	North Arlington	15,788	6.5%	$348,500	$76,698
53	Englewood	28,184	5.3%	$379,900	$77,272
54	Wallington	11,618	4.8%	$359,700	$57,813
55	Pompton Lakes	11,163	6.5%	$294,800	$91,604
56	Mamaroneck	19,263	6.8%	$591,700	$80,099
57	Valley Stream	37,626	9.5%	$371,500	$94,681
58	Suffern	10,936	5.9%	$309,200	$85,395
59	Palisades Park	20,499	4.6%	$506,000	$63,266
60	Elmwood Park	20,135	4.8%	$346,500	$73,837
61	New Milford	16,682	7.1%	$394,200	$80,709
62	Nyack	6,788	4.9%	$444,800	$63,596
63	Secaucus	18,737	5.0%	$399,300	$94,160
64	New Hempstead	5,311	8.9%	$471,200	$110,156
65	Bergenfield	27,513	5.7%	$332,700	$81,042
66	Leonia	9,137	5.7%	$473,200	$88,401
67	Butler	7,773	5.5%	$345,100	$96,647
68	Kaser	5,082	5.7%	$568,200	$18,538
69	North Haledon	8,490	9.3%	$436,000	$100,724
70	Fort Lee	36,607	5.6%	$326,500	$75,449
71	Chestnut Ridge	8,096	5.7%	$433,200	$96,146
72	Hawthorne	18,950	6.6%	$368,300	$89,472
73	Emerson	7,621	8.6%	$465,000	$109,613
74	Boonton	8,405	5.3%	$367,900	$90,082
75	Westbury	15,319	4.0%	$416,800	$89,385
76	Rye Brook	9,513	9.4%	$737,100	$120,758
77	Kenilworth	8,129	4.6%	$346,100	$101,250
78	Hasbrouck Heights	12,124	6.6%	$400,700	$82,870
79	Lincoln Park	10,488	3.9%	$334,100	$83,750
80	Harrison	28,082	7.4%	$803,200	$107,344
81	Maywood	9,726	6.7%	$373,500	$86,155
82	Airmont	8,833	4.1%	$460,100	$89,743
83	Long Beach	33,670	7.0%	$455,800	$84,256
84	Rutherford	18,480	6.1%	$435,100	$87,587
85	Great Neck Plaza	6,924	6.8%	$331,500	$66,384
86	Caldwell	7,967	6.6%	$423,100	$75,583
87	Montvale	8,285	7.2%	$600,500	$111,436
88	Wood-Ridge	8,109	7.2%	$383,600	$100,169
89	Ringwood	12,398	5.7%	$348,900	$114,458
90	Lynbrook	19,584	6.7%	$423,600	$81,077
91	Manorhaven	6,601	6.8%	$561,500	$89,144
92	Croton-On-Hudson	8,209	6.7%	$519,400	$117,656
93	Westwood	11,170	4.9%	$437,800	$89,817
94	Old Tappan	5,942	8.5%	$740,400	$133,750
95	Farmingdale	8,532	4.4%	$369,700	$79,291
96	New Hyde Park	9,854	6.9%	$483,100	$108,313
97	Roseland	5,875	5.5%	$477,200	$96,250
98	Dumont	17,788	5.1%	$358,300	$96,395
99	Paramus	26,795	5.4%	$565,300	$101,793
100	Fair Lawn	33,205	5.3%	$396,800	$102,716