More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Modesto to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Modesto are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Modesto ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Modesto area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Modesto proper, although Ripon certainly tries.
We examined the 17 biggest suburbs of Modesto 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 Modesto in terms of quality of life.
$64,472 median income · $422,471 median home price
Located in
Merced County, California
We’ll get the ball rolling with Atwater, the absolute worst place to live around Modesto according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Atwater beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 2nd worst in the Modesto area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 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 Atwater.
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
$74,494 median income · $426,446 median home price
Located in
Merced County, California
Welcome to Livingston. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 23.0 miles to Modesto. Income levels here are the 4th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $74,494 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
$74,343 median income · $429,372 median home price
Located in
Stanislaus County, California
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Modesto suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Waterford 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 Modesto suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,025 median income · $454,823 median home price
Located in
Stanislaus County, California
If you live in Ceres, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 6th lowest Modesto suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 6th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Modesto. Remember, we looked at 17 cities for this study.
Ceres is about 3.7 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$78,906 median income · $438,320 median home price
Located in
Stanislaus County, California
Newman has the distinction of being a Modesto suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Newman has the 6th lowest home values in the metro Modesto area, where the median price is $438,320. The median income is $133,380.
Newman has an unemployment rate of 11.0% which ranks 4th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,907 median income · $431,328 median home price
Located in
San Joaquin County, California
Stockton has 322,326 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 15.5%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$59,532 median income · $423,282 median home price
Located in
Merced County, California
Ah, Gustine. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Modesto.
It’s the place with the 3rd most out of work residents in the Modesto metro area (11.3%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$83,091 median income · $557,020 median home price
Located in
Stanislaus County, California
Oakdale is a city about 12.1 miles from Modesto, but Modesto 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. Oakdale has the 9th most uninsured people, 10th worst incomes, and has the 5th highest unemployment rate (10.2%) in the entire Modesto metro area.
Homes only cost $557,020 for a reason. That’s cheap for Modesto standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$91,557 median income · $551,115 median home price
Located in
Stanislaus County, California
If you absolutely have to live near Modesto, then Hughson might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Modesto suburb.
About 5.5% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$82,995 median income · $483,265 median home price
Located in
Stanislaus County, California
Rounding out the ten worst Modesto suburbs to call home is Turlock.
Located 12.1 miles outside the city, Turlock is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 10th highest unemployment rate (8.4%), 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%
On the map
Where the worst Modesto suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Modesto for 2026
To figure out how bad a Modesto 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 Modesto.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 6,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 17 suburbs to evaluate around Modesto.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 17 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 Modesto.” We’re looking at you, Atwater.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Modesto.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Modesto Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atwater | 3.29 | 32,162 | $64,472 | $422,471 |
| 2 | Livingston | 4.43 | 14,606 | $74,494 | $426,446 |
| 3 | Waterford | 5.86 | 9,204 | $74,343 | $429,372 |
| 4 | Ceres | 6.43 | 49,342 | $79,025 | $454,823 |
| 5 | Newman | 6.86 | 12,316 | $78,906 | $438,320 |
| 6 | Stockton | 7.14 | 322,326 | $79,907 | $431,328 |
| 7 | Gustine | 7.57 | 6,133 | $59,532 | $423,282 |
| 8 | Oakdale | 8.50 | 23,194 | $83,091 | $557,020 |
| 9 | Hughson | 9.71 | 7,648 | $91,557 | $551,115 |
| 10 | Turlock | 10.29 | 72,502 | $82,995 | $483,265 |
| 11 | Escalon | 10.29 | 7,451 | $81,467 | $601,490 |
| 12 | Riverbank | 10.43 | 25,166 | $87,966 | $487,072 |
| 13 | Patterson | 10.57 | 24,693 | $93,650 | $509,809 |
| 14 | Lathrop | 11.14 | 35,052 | $126,421 | $646,012 |
| 15 | Manteca | 12.93 | 89,043 | $97,055 | $587,965 |
| 16 | Tracy | 13.14 | 96,966 | $121,119 | $696,047 |
| 17 | Ripon | 14.43 | 16,201 | $133,380 | $682,800 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 17 suburbs within 30 miles of Modesto.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Modesto where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Modesto with Atwater casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Modesto are Atwater, Livingston, Waterford, Ceres, Newman, Stockton, Gustine, Oakdale, Hughson, and Turlock.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Modesto aren’t all bad. Ripon takes the cake as the best place to live around Modesto. 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 Modesto FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Modesto?
Atwater ranks as the worst suburb around Modesto for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Livingston and Waterford are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Modesto?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Modesto are Atwater, Livingston, Waterford, Ceres, Newman, Stockton, Gustine, Oakdale, Hughson, and Turlock. We scored all 17 places within 30 miles.
Why does Atwater rank as the worst suburb?
Atwater posts the roughest combined numbers of the 17 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $64,472, a median home value of $422,471, and a poverty rate of 21.0%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Modesto?
Ripon lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Modesto by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Modesto 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.
