More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Tempe to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Tempe are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Tempe ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Tempe area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Tempe proper, although Paradise Valley certainly tries.
We examined the 19 biggest suburbs of Tempe to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Arizona lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Tempe in terms of quality of life.
$59,626 median income · $394,929 median home price
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
We’ll get the ball rolling with Tolleson, the absolute worst place to live around Tempe according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Tolleson beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 2nd worst in the Tempe area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 5th 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 Tolleson.
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
$78,050 median income · $342,377 median home price
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Welcome to El Mirage. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 26.7 miles to Tempe. Income levels here are the 5th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $78,050 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
$60,975 median income · $376,628 median home price
Located in
Pinal County, Arizona
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Tempe suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Apache Junction 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 Tempe suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$51,354 median income · $243,844 median home price
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
If you live in Guadalupe, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the lowest Tempe suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 8th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Tempe. Remember, we looked at 19 cities for this study.
Guadalupe is about 2.4 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$81,332 median income · $410,169 median home price
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Phoenix has the distinction of being a Tempe suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Phoenix has the 8th lowest home values in the metro Tempe area, where the median price is $410,169. The median income is $247,159.
Phoenix has an unemployment rate of 5.0% which ranks 6th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$73,530 median income · $407,332 median home price
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Glendale has 252,833 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 15.1%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$96,391 median income · $346,284 median home price
Located in
Pinal County, Arizona
Ah, Maricopa. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Tempe.
It’s the place with the 7th most out of work residents in the Tempe metro area (5.0%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$86,123 median income · $398,568 median home price
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Avondale is a city about 23.5 miles from Tempe, but Tempe 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. Avondale has the 3rd most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 14th highest unemployment rate (3.6%) in the entire Tempe metro area.
Homes only cost $398,568 for a reason. That’s cheap for Tempe standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$82,752 median income · $435,134 median home price
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
If you absolutely have to live near Tempe, then Mesa might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Tempe suburb.
About 4.2% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$103,319 median income · $469,424 median home price
Located in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Rounding out the ten worst Tempe suburbs to call home is Goodyear.
Located 13.6 miles outside the city, Goodyear is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 12th highest unemployment rate (4.2%), 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 Arizona’s statewide median.
Arizona statewide median: $79,964
Arizona statewide median: $423,330
Arizona statewide median: 5.1%
On the map
Where the worst Tempe suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Tempe for 2026
To figure out how bad a Tempe 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 Tempe.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 5,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 19 suburbs to evaluate around Tempe.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 19 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 Tempe.” We’re looking at you, Tolleson.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Tempe.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Tempe Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tolleson | 5.29 | 7,668 | $59,626 | $394,929 |
| 2 | El Mirage | 5.43 | 36,088 | $78,050 | $342,377 |
| 3 | Apache Junction | 5.50 | 41,058 | $60,975 | $376,628 |
| 4 | Guadalupe | 5.57 | 5,272 | $51,354 | $243,844 |
| 5 | Phoenix | 6.29 | 1,642,323 | $81,332 | $410,169 |
| 6 | Glendale | 6.29 | 252,833 | $73,530 | $407,332 |
| 7 | Maricopa | 7.29 | 67,163 | $96,391 | $346,284 |
| 8 | Avondale | 7.93 | 92,477 | $86,123 | $398,568 |
| 9 | Mesa | 9.14 | 511,764 | $82,752 | $435,134 |
| 10 | Goodyear | 10.21 | 107,645 | $103,319 | $469,424 |
| 11 | Goodyear | 10.21 | 107,645 | $103,319 | $469,424 |
| 12 | Chandler | 12.43 | 280,136 | $108,095 | $524,156 |
| 13 | Santa Cruz | 12.43 | 61,607 | $115,475 | $1,344,332 |
| 14 | Fountain Hills | 12.71 | 23,789 | $112,654 | $670,052 |
| 15 | Queen Creek | 13.71 | 71,867 | $141,978 | $632,223 |
| 16 | Scottsdale | 14.36 | 243,821 | $110,886 | $858,022 |
| 17 | Gilbert | 14.43 | 280,262 | $122,551 | $572,507 |
| 18 | Litchfield Park | 14.86 | 6,916 | $126,250 | $525,411 |
| 19 | Paradise Valley | 15.93 | 12,611 | $247,159 | $3,474,597 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 19 suburbs within 30 miles of Tempe.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Tempe where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Tempe with Tolleson casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Tempe are Tolleson, El Mirage, Apache Junction, Guadalupe, Phoenix, Glendale, Maricopa, Avondale, Mesa, and Goodyear.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Tempe aren’t all bad. Paradise Valley takes the cake as the best place to live around Tempe. Not sold on Arizona? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Tempe FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Tempe?
Tolleson ranks as the worst suburb around Tempe for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. El Mirage and Apache Junction are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Tempe?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Tempe are Tolleson, El Mirage, Apache Junction, Guadalupe, Phoenix, Glendale, Maricopa, Avondale, Mesa, and Goodyear. We scored all 19 places within 30 miles.
Why does Tolleson rank as the worst suburb?
Tolleson posts the roughest combined numbers of the 19 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $59,626, a median home value of $394,929, and a poverty rate of 18.0%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Tempe?
Paradise Valley lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Tempe by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Tempe 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.
