More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Huntington Beach to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Huntington Beach are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Huntington Beach ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Huntington Beach area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Huntington Beach proper, although Manhattan Beach certainly tries.
We examined the 91 biggest suburbs of Huntington Beach 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 places are a little too far downwind of Huntington Beach in terms of quality of life.
$72,990 median income · $762,159 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
We’ll get the ball rolling with South El Monte, the absolute worst place to live around Huntington Beach according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, South El Monte beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 10th worst in the Huntington Beach area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2worst 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 South El Monte.
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$56,615 median income · $680,366 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Welcome to Cudahy. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 21.3 miles to Huntington Beach. Income levels here are the lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $56,615 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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$59,996 median income · $675,536 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Huntington Beach suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Huntington Park 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 Huntington Beach suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$60,943 median income · $652,495 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
If you live in Maywood, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 4th lowest Huntington Beach suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 11th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Huntington Beach. Remember, we looked at 91 cities for this study.
Maywood is about 23.0 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$78,465 median income · $637,961 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Compton has the distinction of being a Huntington Beach suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Compton has the 4th lowest home values in the metro Huntington Beach area, where the median price is $637,961. The median income is $242,014.
Compton has an unemployment rate of 8.0% which ranks 8th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$74,844 median income · $688,936 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Lynwood has 64,578 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 18.0%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$61,020 median income · $688,070 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Ah, Bell. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Huntington Beach.
It’s the place with the 23rd most out of work residents in the Huntington Beach metro area (6.9%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$62,298 median income · $690,424 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Bell Gardens is a city about 20.7 miles from Huntington Beach, but Huntington Beach probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Bell Gardens has the 3rd most uninsured people, 6th worst incomes, and has the 39th highest unemployment rate (5.9%) in the entire Huntington Beach metro area.
Homes only cost $690,424 for a reason. That’s cheap for Huntington Beach standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,479 median income · $690,986 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
If you absolutely have to live near Huntington Beach, then Pomona might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Huntington Beach suburb.
About 6.6% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$74,571 median income · $700,783 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Rounding out the ten worst Huntington Beach suburbs to call home is South Gate.
Located 20.4 miles outside the city, South Gate is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 14th highest unemployment rate (7.4%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is California’s statewide median.
California statewide median: $99,122
California statewide median: $774,582
California statewide median: 6.6%
California statewide median: 12.0%
On the map
Where the worst Huntington Beach suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Huntington Beach for 2026
To figure out how bad a Huntington Beach 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 2020-2024, 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 Huntington Beach.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 91 suburbs to evaluate around Huntington Beach.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 91 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 Huntington Beach.” We’re looking at you, South El Monte.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Huntington Beach.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Huntington Beach Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South El Monte | 16.00 | 19,287 | $72,990 | $762,159 |
| 2 | Cudahy | 16.14 | 22,087 | $56,615 | $680,366 |
| 3 | Huntington Park | 16.57 | 53,108 | $59,996 | $675,536 |
| 4 | Maywood | 17.14 | 24,317 | $60,943 | $652,495 |
| 5 | Compton | 18.43 | 92,698 | $78,465 | $637,961 |
| 6 | Lynwood | 19.29 | 64,578 | $74,844 | $688,936 |
| 7 | Bell | 19.86 | 32,476 | $61,020 | $688,070 |
| 8 | Bell Gardens | 22.00 | 38,229 | $62,298 | $690,424 |
| 9 | Pomona | 22.14 | 147,943 | $79,479 | $690,986 |
| 10 | South Gate | 23.86 | 91,483 | $74,571 | $700,783 |
| 11 | Commerce | 24.14 | 11,993 | $77,064 | $696,480 |
| 12 | El Monte | 24.43 | 106,109 | $68,030 | $765,444 |
| 13 | Midway | 25.36 | 3,511 | $63,381 | $248,338 |
| 14 | Inglewood | 26.14 | 104,569 | $72,750 | $763,568 |
| 15 | Paramount | 26.86 | 52,050 | $75,250 | $648,287 |
| 16 | Montebello | 28.14 | 61,045 | $79,971 | $827,435 |
| 17 | Lawndale | 28.57 | 30,781 | $85,441 | $777,393 |
| 18 | Baldwin Park | 29.29 | 70,138 | $80,663 | $722,511 |
| 19 | Hawthorne | 29.86 | 85,191 | $75,848 | $883,585 |
| 20 | Hawaiian Gardens | 30.00 | 13,691 | $76,341 | $647,289 |
| 21 | Stanton | 30.57 | 39,402 | $84,707 | $793,738 |
| 22 | La Puente | 31.14 | 37,142 | $86,602 | $723,135 |
| 23 | Bellflower | 31.86 | 76,819 | $78,722 | $801,999 |
| 24 | Long Beach | 33.57 | 455,548 | $87,430 | $857,861 |
| 25 | Laguna Woods | 33.93 | 17,289 | $59,269 | $471,410 |
| 26 | Santa Fe Springs | 34.64 | 18,871 | $88,238 | $783,370 |
| 27 | Rosemead | 34.86 | 50,013 | $73,566 | $913,339 |
| 28 | Chino | 35.07 | 92,652 | $104,682 | $761,426 |
| 29 | Westminster | 35.64 | 89,860 | $85,541 | $1,097,353 |
| 30 | Anaheim | 35.86 | 344,521 | $95,227 | $950,504 |
| 31 | Gardena | 36.29 | 59,422 | $84,803 | $792,922 |
| 32 | Carson | 36.64 | 92,871 | $108,703 | $799,422 |
| 33 | Artesia | 37.14 | 15,889 | $101,004 | $878,198 |
| 34 | Pico Rivera | 37.14 | 60,272 | $88,201 | $753,243 |
| 35 | Temple | 39.21 | 5,901 | $91,180 | $284,500 |
| 36 | Garden Grove | 40.00 | 170,964 | $92,174 | $1,013,183 |
| 37 | Monterey Park | 40.14 | 59,132 | $81,855 | $934,098 |
| 38 | Corona | 40.36 | 159,670 | $109,242 | $764,386 |
| 39 | Norwalk | 40.57 | 99,789 | $100,085 | $763,283 |
| 40 | Covina | 40.71 | 49,888 | $98,671 | $804,341 |
| 41 | West Covina | 41.07 | 107,037 | $101,065 | $852,373 |
| 42 | Los Alamitos | 41.29 | 11,794 | $97,155 | $1,583,957 |
| 43 | Santa Ana | 41.43 | 312,534 | $93,999 | $866,066 |
| 44 | Fullerton | 41.64 | 140,968 | $104,286 | $1,050,945 |
| 45 | La Habra | 41.64 | 61,970 | $100,106 | $911,595 |
| 46 | Downey | 43.86 | 110,939 | $90,699 | $888,710 |
| 47 | Whittier | 44.50 | 86,165 | $97,201 | $821,843 |
| 48 | Chino Hills | 46.14 | 77,927 | $126,334 | $996,262 |
| 49 | San Gabriel | 47.00 | 38,392 | $90,488 | $1,121,301 |
| 50 | Signal Hill | 47.50 | 11,468 | $113,298 | $708,079 |
| 51 | Alhambra | 47.71 | 81,022 | $88,024 | $937,892 |
| 52 | Buena Park | 47.79 | 82,871 | $110,550 | $940,507 |
| 53 | Lomita | 47.79 | 20,225 | $93,810 | $921,951 |
| 54 | Tustin | 51.21 | 78,981 | $112,503 | $1,189,731 |
| 55 | Seal Beach | 52.79 | 24,722 | $85,964 | $848,899 |
| 56 | Diamond Bar | 53.00 | 53,355 | $108,281 | $1,028,880 |
| 57 | Orange | 53.07 | 138,266 | $117,113 | $1,143,788 |
| 58 | Costa Mesa | 53.43 | 110,330 | $111,505 | $1,413,322 |
| 59 | Placentia | 54.71 | 52,826 | $115,929 | $1,117,228 |
| 60 | Irvine | 56.57 | 311,690 | $136,719 | $1,557,982 |
| 61 | San Juan Capistrano | 56.86 | 35,095 | $129,457 | $1,342,011 |
| 62 | Torrance | 57.43 | 142,130 | $116,217 | $1,124,932 |
| 63 | Laguna Hills | 58.00 | 30,740 | $128,851 | $1,243,180 |
| 64 | Lakewood | 58.14 | 79,850 | $119,177 | $882,502 |
| 65 | Fountain Valley | 58.43 | 56,258 | $115,237 | $1,394,237 |
| 66 | Walnut | 58.79 | 27,611 | $129,449 | $1,197,951 |
| 67 | La Mirada | 59.21 | 47,180 | $109,288 | $887,479 |
| 68 | Cypress | 59.43 | 49,498 | $130,215 | $1,085,691 |
| 69 | Brea | 59.93 | 47,469 | $131,129 | $1,140,406 |
| 70 | Lake Forest | 59.93 | 86,281 | $135,175 | $1,208,686 |
| 71 | Laguna Niguel | 60.14 | 64,139 | $140,452 | $1,499,546 |
| 72 | El Cerrito | 61.43 | 25,994 | $127,876 | $1,142,479 |
| 73 | Rancho Santa Margarita | 62.79 | 46,990 | $152,560 | $1,029,346 |
| 74 | Cerritos | 63.14 | 47,867 | $135,439 | $1,094,901 |
| 75 | Rolling Hills Estates | 64.43 | 8,131 | $191,895 | $1,901,413 |
| 76 | San Clemente | 65.93 | 63,273 | $140,062 | $1,721,005 |
| 77 | Mission Viejo | 66.14 | 92,151 | $136,123 | $1,229,743 |
| 78 | El Segundo | 66.43 | 16,769 | $150,737 | $1,759,408 |
| 79 | La Habra Heights | 67.07 | 5,478 | $179,583 | $1,399,870 |
| 80 | Aliso Viejo | 68.07 | 51,113 | $142,439 | $1,012,225 |
| 81 | Yorba Linda | 68.57 | 67,170 | $157,582 | $1,419,513 |
| 82 | Laguna Beach | 69.14 | 22,710 | $143,843 | $2,949,835 |
| 83 | Dana Point | 70.43 | 32,790 | $141,520 | $1,736,393 |
| 84 | La Palma | 70.71 | 15,272 | $117,989 | $1,203,550 |
| 85 | Rancho Palos Verdes | 71.14 | 40,864 | $179,623 | $1,824,948 |
| 86 | Redondo Beach | 72.86 | 69,291 | $150,245 | $1,500,192 |
| 87 | Newport Beach | 74.00 | 83,845 | $156,867 | $3,625,146 |
| 88 | Villa Park | 74.14 | 5,748 | $202,245 | $2,343,977 |
| 89 | Palos Verdes Estates | 75.86 | 12,925 | $242,014 | $2,763,820 |
| 90 | Hermosa Beach | 79.71 | 19,063 | $166,442 | $2,245,351 |
| 91 | Manhattan Beach | 84.00 | 34,210 | $204,306 | $3,227,202 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 91 suburbs within 30 miles of Huntington Beach.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Huntington Beach where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Huntington Beach with South El Monte casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Huntington Beach are South El Monte, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, Compton, Lynwood, Bell, Bell Gardens, Pomona, and South Gate.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Huntington Beach aren’t all bad. Manhattan Beach takes the cake as the best place to live around Huntington Beach. Not sold on California? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Huntington Beach FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Huntington Beach?
South El Monte ranks as the worst suburb around Huntington Beach for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Cudahy and Huntington Park are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Huntington Beach?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Huntington Beach are South El Monte, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, Compton, Lynwood, Bell, Bell Gardens, Pomona, and South Gate. We scored all 91 places within 30 miles.
Why does South El Monte rank as the worst suburb?
South El Monte posts the roughest combined numbers of the 91 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $72,990, a median home value of $762,159, and a poverty rate of 20.9%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Huntington Beach?
Manhattan Beach lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Huntington Beach by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Huntington Beach list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
