More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Ontario to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Ontario are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Ontario ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Ontario area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Ontario proper, although Sierra Madre certainly tries.
We examined the 75 biggest suburbs of Ontario 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 Ontario in terms of quality of life.
$72,160 median income · $460,687 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
We’ll get the ball rolling with Hesperia, the absolute worst place to live around Ontario according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Hesperia beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 5th worst in the Ontario area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 3rd 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 Hesperia.
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
$71,208 median income · $493,150 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Welcome to Colton. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 16.0 miles to Ontario. Income levels here are the 4th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $71,208 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
$88,911 median income · $543,988 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Ontario suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Perris 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 Ontario suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$67,415 median income · $487,988 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
If you live in San Bernardino, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 2nd lowest Ontario suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 28th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Ontario. Remember, we looked at 75 cities for this study.
San Bernardino is about 19.1 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$72,990 median income · $762,159 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
South El Monte has the distinction of being a Ontario suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, South El Monte has the 24th lowest home values in the metro Ontario area, where the median price is $762,159. The median income is $214,167.
South El Monte has an unemployment rate of 7.4% which ranks 6th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$77,120 median income · $545,940 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Highland has 56,675 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 17.1%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$88,857 median income · $588,566 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Ah, Rialto. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Ontario.
It’s the place with the 4th most out of work residents in the Ontario metro area (7.7%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,479 median income · $690,986 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Pomona is a city about 9.1 miles from Ontario, but Ontario 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. Pomona has the 7th most uninsured people, 10th worst incomes, and has the 17th highest unemployment rate (6.6%) in the entire Ontario metro area.
Homes only cost $690,986 for a reason. That’s cheap for Ontario standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$77,659 median income · $660,566 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
If you absolutely have to live near Ontario, then Montclair might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Ontario suburb.
About 6.8% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$68,030 median income · $765,444 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Rounding out the ten worst Ontario suburbs to call home is El Monte.
Located 24.4 miles outside the city, El Monte is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 23rd highest unemployment rate (6.3%), 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 Ontario suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Ontario for 2026
To figure out how bad a Ontario 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 Ontario.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 75 suburbs to evaluate around Ontario.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 75 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 Ontario.” We’re looking at you, Hesperia.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Ontario.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Ontario Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hesperia | 7.43 | 100,775 | $72,160 | $460,687 |
| 2 | Colton | 11.36 | 53,772 | $71,208 | $493,150 |
| 3 | Perris | 11.64 | 80,511 | $88,911 | $543,988 |
| 4 | San Bernardino | 12.86 | 222,724 | $67,415 | $487,988 |
| 5 | South El Monte | 13.57 | 19,287 | $72,990 | $762,159 |
| 6 | Highland | 16.71 | 56,675 | $77,120 | $545,940 |
| 7 | Rialto | 17.00 | 104,143 | $88,857 | $588,566 |
| 8 | Pomona | 17.64 | 147,943 | $79,479 | $690,986 |
| 9 | Montclair | 17.79 | 37,810 | $77,659 | $660,566 |
| 10 | El Monte | 19.14 | 106,109 | $68,030 | $765,444 |
| 11 | Midway | 20.21 | 3,511 | $63,381 | $248,338 |
| 12 | Moreno Valley | 20.43 | 211,666 | $93,222 | $551,284 |
| 13 | Jurupa Valley | 21.92 | 107,011 | $97,550 | $672,514 |
| 14 | Montebello | 21.93 | 61,045 | $79,971 | $827,435 |
| 15 | Stanton | 23.14 | 39,402 | $84,707 | $793,738 |
| 16 | Baldwin Park | 23.29 | 70,138 | $80,663 | $722,511 |
| 17 | Riverside | 23.43 | 319,069 | $91,045 | $646,784 |
| 18 | La Puente | 24.00 | 37,142 | $86,602 | $723,135 |
| 19 | Azusa | 24.71 | 49,031 | $90,721 | $715,154 |
| 20 | Loma Linda | 25.14 | 25,122 | $82,353 | $640,816 |
| 21 | Lake Elsinore | 26.00 | 72,461 | $101,888 | $586,598 |
| 22 | Fontana | 26.71 | 214,169 | $102,821 | $639,032 |
| 23 | Santa Fe Springs | 28.64 | 18,871 | $88,238 | $783,370 |
| 24 | Rosemead | 29.14 | 50,013 | $73,566 | $913,339 |
| 25 | Grand Terrace | 29.43 | 13,078 | $83,628 | $587,468 |
| 26 | Westminster | 30.36 | 89,860 | $85,541 | $1,097,353 |
| 27 | Anaheim | 30.43 | 344,521 | $95,227 | $950,504 |
| 28 | Chino | 30.71 | 92,652 | $104,682 | $761,426 |
| 29 | Pico Rivera | 31.36 | 60,272 | $88,201 | $753,243 |
| 30 | Temple | 31.57 | 5,901 | $91,180 | $284,500 |
| 31 | Artesia | 32.71 | 15,889 | $101,004 | $878,198 |
| 32 | Garden Grove | 33.50 | 170,964 | $92,174 | $1,013,183 |
| 33 | Santa Ana | 33.71 | 312,534 | $93,999 | $866,066 |
| 34 | Norwalk | 35.86 | 99,789 | $100,085 | $763,283 |
| 35 | La Habra | 36.00 | 61,970 | $100,106 | $911,595 |
| 36 | Covina | 36.14 | 49,888 | $98,671 | $804,341 |
| 37 | Redlands | 36.29 | 73,375 | $105,041 | $636,035 |
| 38 | West Covina | 36.64 | 107,037 | $101,065 | $852,373 |
| 39 | Fullerton | 36.71 | 140,968 | $104,286 | $1,050,945 |
| 40 | Corona | 37.64 | 159,670 | $109,242 | $764,386 |
| 41 | Duarte | 38.64 | 22,184 | $105,483 | $801,444 |
| 42 | Monrovia | 40.29 | 37,571 | $96,021 | $992,558 |
| 43 | Whittier | 40.71 | 86,165 | $97,201 | $821,843 |
| 44 | San Gabriel | 41.57 | 38,392 | $90,488 | $1,121,301 |
| 45 | Chino Hills | 42.00 | 77,927 | $126,334 | $996,262 |
| 46 | Upland | 42.71 | 79,257 | $105,830 | $825,789 |
| 47 | Buena Park | 43.64 | 82,871 | $110,550 | $940,507 |
| 48 | Rancho Cucamonga | 43.79 | 175,411 | $111,895 | $792,765 |
| 49 | San Dimas | 43.93 | 33,789 | $105,321 | $927,055 |
| 50 | La Verne | 44.07 | 30,600 | $103,761 | $951,548 |
| 51 | Norco | 44.93 | 25,054 | $127,566 | $918,950 |
| 52 | Glendora | 45.21 | 50,926 | $113,569 | $893,350 |
| 53 | Tustin | 47.21 | 78,981 | $112,503 | $1,189,731 |
| 54 | Diamond Bar | 48.93 | 53,355 | $108,281 | $1,028,880 |
| 55 | Orange | 49.36 | 138,266 | $117,113 | $1,143,788 |
| 56 | Placentia | 50.86 | 52,826 | $115,929 | $1,117,228 |
| 57 | Irvine | 50.86 | 311,690 | $136,719 | $1,557,982 |
| 58 | Walnut | 53.21 | 27,611 | $129,449 | $1,197,951 |
| 59 | Arcadia | 54.29 | 55,170 | $113,516 | $1,414,451 |
| 60 | Claremont | 54.57 | 36,595 | $125,647 | $1,039,337 |
| 61 | La Mirada | 55.07 | 47,180 | $109,288 | $887,479 |
| 62 | Brea | 55.50 | 47,469 | $131,129 | $1,140,406 |
| 63 | Cypress | 56.00 | 49,498 | $130,215 | $1,085,691 |
| 64 | Lake Forest | 56.79 | 86,281 | $135,175 | $1,208,686 |
| 65 | Rancho Santa Margarita | 57.36 | 46,990 | $152,560 | $1,029,346 |
| 66 | El Cerrito | 57.86 | 25,994 | $127,876 | $1,142,479 |
| 67 | Cerritos | 58.86 | 47,867 | $135,439 | $1,094,901 |
| 68 | La Habra Heights | 59.00 | 5,478 | $179,583 | $1,399,870 |
| 69 | Eastvale | 60.50 | 70,633 | $160,069 | $949,255 |
| 70 | Mission Viejo | 61.93 | 92,151 | $136,123 | $1,229,743 |
| 71 | San Marino | 62.00 | 12,216 | $214,167 | $2,837,216 |
| 72 | Yorba Linda | 62.29 | 67,170 | $157,582 | $1,419,513 |
| 73 | Villa Park | 63.14 | 5,748 | $202,245 | $2,343,977 |
| 74 | La Palma | 64.79 | 15,272 | $117,989 | $1,203,550 |
| 75 | Sierra Madre | 65.71 | 10,940 | $143,547 | $1,437,492 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 75 suburbs within 30 miles of Ontario.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Ontario where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Ontario with Hesperia casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Ontario are Hesperia, Colton, Perris, San Bernardino, South El Monte, Highland, Rialto, Pomona, Montclair, and El Monte.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Ontario aren’t all bad. Sierra Madre takes the cake as the best place to live around Ontario. 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 Ontario FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Ontario?
Hesperia ranks as the worst suburb around Ontario for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Colton and Perris are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Ontario?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Ontario are Hesperia, Colton, Perris, San Bernardino, South El Monte, Highland, Rialto, Pomona, Montclair, and El Monte. We scored all 75 places within 30 miles.
Why does Hesperia rank as the worst suburb?
Hesperia posts the roughest combined numbers of the 75 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $72,160, a median home value of $460,687, and a poverty rate of 16.9%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Ontario?
Sierra Madre lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Ontario by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Ontario 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.
