More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Irvine to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Irvine are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Irvine ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Irvine area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Irvine proper, although Newport Beach certainly tries.
We examined the 73 biggest suburbs of Irvine 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 Irvine in terms of quality of life.
$74,844 median income · $688,936 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
We’ll get the ball rolling with Lynwood, the absolute worst place to live around Irvine according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Lynwood beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 5th worst in the Irvine area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 12th 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 Lynwood.
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
$77,659 median income · $660,566 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Welcome to Montclair. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 27.5 miles to Irvine. Income levels here are the 8th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $77,659 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
$79,479 median income · $690,986 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Irvine suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Pomona 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 Irvine suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$103,506 median income · $655,219 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
If you live in Wildomar, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 33rd lowest Irvine 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 Irvine. Remember, we looked at 73 cities for this study.
Wildomar is about 29.8 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$62,298 median income · $690,424 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Bell Gardens has the distinction of being a Irvine suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Bell Gardens has the 13th lowest home values in the metro Irvine area, where the median price is $690,424. The median income is $202,245.
Bell Gardens has an unemployment rate of 5.9% which ranks 26th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$88,941 median income · $672,742 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Ontario has 180,547 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 12.4%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$97,550 median income · $672,514 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
Ah, Jurupa Valley. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Irvine.
It’s the place with the 32nd most out of work residents in the Irvine metro area (5.7%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,381 median income · $248,338 median home price
Midway is a city about 13.1 miles from Irvine, but Irvine 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. Midway has the 27th most uninsured people, 3rd worst incomes, and has the 63rd highest unemployment rate (4.3%) in the entire Irvine metro area.
Homes only cost $248,338 for a reason. That’s cheap for Irvine standards.
$91,045 median income · $646,784 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
If you absolutely have to live near Irvine, then Riverside might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Irvine suburb.
About 6.3% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$75,250 median income · $648,287 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Rounding out the ten worst Irvine suburbs to call home is Paramount.
Located 27.3 miles outside the city, Paramount is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 3highest unemployment rate (5.7%), 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 Irvine suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Irvine for 2026
To figure out how bad a Irvine 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 Irvine.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 73 suburbs to evaluate around Irvine.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 73 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 Irvine.” We’re looking at you, Lynwood.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Irvine.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Irvine Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lynwood | 13.71 | 64,578 | $74,844 | $688,936 |
| 2 | Montclair | 14.79 | 37,810 | $77,659 | $660,566 |
| 3 | Pomona | 15.29 | 147,943 | $79,479 | $690,986 |
| 4 | Wildomar | 16.36 | 37,277 | $103,506 | $655,219 |
| 5 | Bell Gardens | 16.43 | 38,229 | $62,298 | $690,424 |
| 6 | Ontario | 16.71 | 180,547 | $88,941 | $672,742 |
| 7 | Jurupa Valley | 17.33 | 107,011 | $97,550 | $672,514 |
| 8 | Midway | 18.36 | 3,511 | $63,381 | $248,338 |
| 9 | Riverside | 18.43 | 319,069 | $91,045 | $646,784 |
| 10 | Paramount | 18.50 | 52,050 | $75,250 | $648,287 |
| 11 | Lakeland | 19.00 | 119,961 | $64,185 | $311,156 |
| 12 | Stanton | 20.14 | 39,402 | $84,707 | $793,738 |
| 13 | Hawaiian Gardens | 21.07 | 13,691 | $76,341 | $647,289 |
| 14 | Lake Elsinore | 21.43 | 72,461 | $101,888 | $586,598 |
| 15 | La Puente | 21.57 | 37,142 | $86,602 | $723,135 |
| 16 | Bellflower | 22.43 | 76,819 | $78,722 | $801,999 |
| 17 | Long Beach | 24.29 | 455,548 | $87,430 | $857,861 |
| 18 | Anaheim | 25.29 | 344,521 | $95,227 | $950,504 |
| 19 | Santa Fe Springs | 25.36 | 18,871 | $88,238 | $783,370 |
| 20 | Chino | 26.36 | 92,652 | $104,682 | $761,426 |
| 21 | Westminster | 26.50 | 89,860 | $85,541 | $1,097,353 |
| 22 | Pico Rivera | 27.00 | 60,272 | $88,201 | $753,243 |
| 23 | Laguna Woods | 27.36 | 17,289 | $59,269 | $471,410 |
| 24 | Carson | 27.79 | 92,871 | $108,703 | $799,422 |
| 25 | Artesia | 28.14 | 15,889 | $101,004 | $878,198 |
| 26 | Santa Ana | 28.86 | 312,534 | $93,999 | $866,066 |
| 27 | Garden Grove | 29.21 | 170,964 | $92,174 | $1,013,183 |
| 28 | Norwalk | 29.71 | 99,789 | $100,085 | $763,283 |
| 29 | Corona | 30.93 | 159,670 | $109,242 | $764,386 |
| 30 | West Covina | 31.21 | 107,037 | $101,065 | $852,373 |
| 31 | Covina | 31.29 | 49,888 | $98,671 | $804,341 |
| 32 | La Habra | 31.43 | 61,970 | $100,106 | $911,595 |
| 33 | Fullerton | 31.86 | 140,968 | $104,286 | $1,050,945 |
| 34 | Los Alamitos | 31.86 | 11,794 | $97,155 | $1,583,957 |
| 35 | Downey | 32.57 | 110,939 | $90,699 | $888,710 |
| 36 | Whittier | 33.86 | 86,165 | $97,201 | $821,843 |
| 37 | Chino Hills | 37.00 | 77,927 | $126,334 | $996,262 |
| 38 | Buena Park | 37.36 | 82,871 | $110,550 | $940,507 |
| 39 | Signal Hill | 38.14 | 11,468 | $113,298 | $708,079 |
| 40 | San Dimas | 38.29 | 33,789 | $105,321 | $927,055 |
| 41 | Tustin | 39.93 | 78,981 | $112,503 | $1,189,731 |
| 42 | Norco | 40.07 | 25,054 | $127,566 | $918,950 |
| 43 | Orange | 41.64 | 138,266 | $117,113 | $1,143,788 |
| 44 | Seal Beach | 41.79 | 24,722 | $85,964 | $848,899 |
| 45 | Diamond Bar | 41.86 | 53,355 | $108,281 | $1,028,880 |
| 46 | Costa Mesa | 42.14 | 110,330 | $111,505 | $1,413,322 |
| 47 | Placentia | 44.00 | 52,826 | $115,929 | $1,117,228 |
| 48 | Canyon Lake | 45.43 | 11,119 | $126,926 | $704,581 |
| 49 | San Juan Capistrano | 46.57 | 35,095 | $129,457 | $1,342,011 |
| 50 | Lakewood | 47.57 | 79,850 | $119,177 | $882,502 |
| 51 | Fountain Valley | 47.71 | 56,258 | $115,237 | $1,394,237 |
| 52 | Walnut | 47.79 | 27,611 | $129,449 | $1,197,951 |
| 53 | Laguna Hills | 48.57 | 30,740 | $128,851 | $1,243,180 |
| 54 | Brea | 49.14 | 47,469 | $131,129 | $1,140,406 |
| 55 | Lake Forest | 49.43 | 86,281 | $135,175 | $1,208,686 |
| 56 | Huntington Beach | 49.57 | 195,240 | $120,919 | $1,366,658 |
| 57 | La Mirada | 49.64 | 47,180 | $109,288 | $887,479 |
| 58 | Cypress | 49.86 | 49,498 | $130,215 | $1,085,691 |
| 59 | Laguna Niguel | 50.57 | 64,139 | $140,452 | $1,499,546 |
| 60 | El Cerrito | 51.29 | 25,994 | $127,876 | $1,142,479 |
| 61 | Cerritos | 52.57 | 47,867 | $135,439 | $1,094,901 |
| 62 | Rancho Santa Margarita | 53.00 | 46,990 | $152,560 | $1,029,346 |
| 63 | San Clemente | 55.29 | 63,273 | $140,062 | $1,721,005 |
| 64 | Mission Viejo | 55.64 | 92,151 | $136,123 | $1,229,743 |
| 65 | La Habra Heights | 56.21 | 5,478 | $179,583 | $1,399,870 |
| 66 | Eastvale | 56.67 | 70,633 | $160,069 | $949,255 |
| 67 | Laguna Beach | 57.00 | 22,710 | $143,843 | $2,949,835 |
| 68 | Yorba Linda | 57.71 | 67,170 | $157,582 | $1,419,513 |
| 69 | Aliso Viejo | 57.93 | 51,113 | $142,439 | $1,012,225 |
| 70 | La Palma | 59.50 | 15,272 | $117,989 | $1,203,550 |
| 71 | Dana Point | 60.00 | 32,790 | $141,520 | $1,736,393 |
| 72 | Villa Park | 60.71 | 5,748 | $202,245 | $2,343,977 |
| 73 | Newport Beach | 60.86 | 83,845 | $156,867 | $3,625,146 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 73 suburbs within 30 miles of Irvine.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Irvine where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Irvine with Lynwood casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Irvine are Lynwood, Montclair, Pomona, Wildomar, Bell Gardens, Ontario, Jurupa Valley, Midway, Riverside, and Paramount.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Irvine aren’t all bad. Newport Beach takes the cake as the best place to live around Irvine. 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 Irvine FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Irvine?
Lynwood ranks as the worst suburb around Irvine for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Montclair and Pomona are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Irvine?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Irvine are Lynwood, Montclair, Pomona, Wildomar, Bell Gardens, Ontario, Jurupa Valley, Midway, Riverside, and Paramount. We scored all 73 places within 30 miles.
Why does Lynwood rank as the worst suburb?
Lynwood posts the roughest combined numbers of the 73 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $74,844, a median home value of $688,936, and a poverty rate of 18.0%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Irvine?
Newport Beach lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Irvine by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Irvine 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.
