More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround San Bernardino to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of San Bernardino are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which San Bernardino ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the San Bernardino area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to San Bernardino proper, although El Cerrito certainly tries.
We examined the 34 biggest suburbs of San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino 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 4th worst in the San Bernardino area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 4th 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
$74,410 median income · $436,009 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Welcome to Victorville. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 26.9 miles to San Bernardino. Income levels here are the 5th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $74,410 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
$61,764 median income · $414,128 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
Back up the highway we go for the third worst San Bernardino suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Banning 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 San Bernardino suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$80,647 median income · $482,811 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
If you live in San Jacinto, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 10th lowest San Bernardino suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 3rd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near San Bernardino. Remember, we looked at 34 cities for this study.
San Jacinto is about 29.5 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$88,911 median income · $543,988 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
Perris has the distinction of being a San Bernardino suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Perris has the 8th lowest home values in the metro San Bernardino area, where the median price is $543,988. The median income is $160,069.
Perris has an unemployment rate of 7.9% which ranks 5th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$71,208 median income · $493,150 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Colton has 53,772 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 13.7%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$69,882 median income · $432,343 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Ah, Apple Valley. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around San Bernardino.
It’s the place with the 7th most out of work residents in the San Bernardino metro area (7.5%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$88,857 median income · $588,566 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Rialto is a city about 5.8 miles from San Bernardino, but San Bernardino 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. Rialto has the 10th most uninsured people, 14th worst incomes, and has the 6th highest unemployment rate (7.7%) in the entire San Bernardino metro area.
Homes only cost $588,566 for a reason. That’s cheap for San Bernardino standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$77,120 median income · $545,940 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
If you absolutely have to live near San Bernardino, then Highland might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst San Bernardino suburb.
About 6.2% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$77,659 median income · $660,566 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
Rounding out the ten worst San Bernardino suburbs to call home is Montclair.
Located 23.6 miles outside the city, Montclair is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 13th highest unemployment rate (6.8%), 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 San Bernardino suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around San Bernardino for 2026
To figure out how bad a San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 5,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 34 suburbs to evaluate around San Bernardino.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 34 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 San Bernardino.” We’re looking at you, Hesperia.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around San Bernardino.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst San Bernardino Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hesperia | 4.57 | 100,775 | $72,160 | $460,687 |
| 2 | Victorville | 6.21 | 137,627 | $74,410 | $436,009 |
| 3 | Banning | 6.43 | 31,093 | $61,764 | $414,128 |
| 4 | San Jacinto | 8.14 | 55,180 | $80,647 | $482,811 |
| 5 | Perris | 8.43 | 80,511 | $88,911 | $543,988 |
| 6 | Colton | 8.50 | 53,772 | $71,208 | $493,150 |
| 7 | Apple Valley | 8.71 | 75,473 | $69,882 | $432,343 |
| 8 | Rialto | 12.14 | 104,143 | $88,857 | $588,566 |
| 9 | Highland | 12.14 | 56,675 | $77,120 | $545,940 |
| 10 | Montclair | 12.57 | 37,810 | $77,659 | $660,566 |
| 11 | Pomona | 13.36 | 147,943 | $79,479 | $690,986 |
| 12 | Moreno Valley | 13.43 | 211,666 | $93,222 | $551,284 |
| 13 | Jurupa Valley | 14.00 | 107,011 | $97,550 | $672,514 |
| 14 | Ontario | 14.57 | 180,547 | $88,941 | $672,742 |
| 15 | Big Bear Lake | 16.57 | 5,041 | $76,250 | $551,706 |
| 16 | Yucaipa | 16.71 | 54,421 | $90,794 | $570,222 |
| 17 | Riverside | 16.86 | 319,069 | $91,045 | $646,784 |
| 18 | Fontana | 16.93 | 214,169 | $102,821 | $639,032 |
| 19 | Loma Linda | 17.71 | 25,122 | $82,353 | $640,816 |
| 20 | Grand Terrace | 18.86 | 13,078 | $83,628 | $587,468 |
| 21 | Beaumont | 19.64 | 56,266 | $107,118 | $537,095 |
| 22 | Chino | 19.71 | 92,652 | $104,682 | $761,426 |
| 23 | Calimesa | 21.29 | 10,902 | $87,181 | $566,185 |
| 24 | Redlands | 21.86 | 73,375 | $105,041 | $636,035 |
| 25 | Corona | 22.57 | 159,670 | $109,242 | $764,386 |
| 26 | Chino Hills | 24.00 | 77,927 | $126,334 | $996,262 |
| 27 | Upland | 24.71 | 79,257 | $105,830 | $825,789 |
| 28 | Norco | 24.71 | 25,054 | $127,566 | $918,950 |
| 29 | La Verne | 24.79 | 30,600 | $103,761 | $951,548 |
| 30 | San Dimas | 25.21 | 33,789 | $105,321 | $927,055 |
| 31 | Rancho Cucamonga | 26.14 | 175,411 | $111,895 | $792,765 |
| 32 | Claremont | 29.00 | 36,595 | $125,647 | $1,039,337 |
| 33 | Eastvale | 30.58 | 70,633 | $160,069 | $949,255 |
| 34 | El Cerrito | 30.71 | 25,994 | $127,876 | $1,142,479 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 34 suburbs within 30 miles of San Bernardino.
Summary
Summary: The areas around San Bernardino where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding San Bernardino with Hesperia casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of San Bernardino are Hesperia, Victorville, Banning, San Jacinto, Perris, Colton, Apple Valley, Rialto, Highland, and Montclair.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around San Bernardino aren’t all bad. El Cerrito takes the cake as the best place to live around San Bernardino. 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 San Bernardino FAQs
What is the worst suburb of San Bernardino?
Hesperia ranks as the worst suburb around San Bernardino for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Victorville and Banning are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of San Bernardino?
The worst-ranked suburbs around San Bernardino are Hesperia, Victorville, Banning, San Jacinto, Perris, Colton, Apple Valley, Rialto, Highland, and Montclair. We scored all 34 places within 30 miles.
Why does Hesperia rank as the worst suburb?
Hesperia posts the roughest combined numbers of the 34 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 San Bernardino?
El Cerrito lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near San Bernardino by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of San Bernardino 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.
