More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Vancouver to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Vancouver are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Vancouver ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Vancouver area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Vancouver proper, although Lake Oswego certainly tries.
We examined the 34 biggest suburbs of Vancouver to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Washington lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Vancouver in terms of quality of life.
$70,107 median income · $479,771 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Fairview, the absolute worst place to live around Vancouver according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Fairview beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 2nd worst in the Vancouver 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 Fairview.
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.
$77,795 median income · $471,181 median home price
Welcome to Gresham. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 11.8 miles to Vancouver. Income levels here are the 3rd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $77,795 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.
$81,193 median income · $589,005 median home price
Located in
Cowlitz County, Washington
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Vancouver suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Woodland 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 Vancouver suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$91,250 median income · $517,793 median home price
If you live in Gladstone, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 11th lowest Vancouver suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 7th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Vancouver. Remember, we looked at 34 cities for this study.
Gladstone is about 17.2 miles to downtown.
$54,437 median income · $290,830 median home price
Columbia has the distinction of being a Vancouver suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Columbia has the lowest home values in the metro Vancouver area, where the median price is $290,830. The median income is $146,507.
Columbia has an unemployment rate of 3.2% which ranks 29th worst.
$96,273 median income · $485,775 median home price
Cornelius has 14,255 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 9.1%.
$82,865 median income · $425,040 median home price
Ah, St. Helens. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Vancouver.
It’s the place with the 26th most out of work residents in the Vancouver metro area (3.6%).
$87,933 median income · $525,623 median home price
Forest Grove is a city about 26.0 miles from Vancouver, but Vancouver 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. Forest Grove has the 14th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 19th highest unemployment rate (4.3%) in the entire Vancouver metro area.
Homes only cost $525,623 for a reason. That’s cheap for Vancouver standards.
$94,435 median income · $540,538 median home price
If you absolutely have to live near Vancouver, then Estacada might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Vancouver suburb.
About 1.5% of residents are out of work.
$89,337 median income · $492,004 median home price
Rounding out the ten worst Vancouver suburbs to call home is Troutdale.
Located 11.8 miles outside the city, Troutdale is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 12th highest unemployment rate (4.9%), and poverty is far above the area average.
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington’s statewide median.
Washington statewide median: $98,141
Washington statewide median: $601,016
Washington statewide median: 5.1%
Washington statewide median: 9.9%
On the map
Where the worst Vancouver suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Vancouver for 2026
To figure out how bad a Vancouver 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 Vancouver.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 34 suburbs to evaluate around Vancouver.
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 Vancouver.” We’re looking at you, Fairview.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Vancouver.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Vancouver Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairview | 8.00 | 10,735 | $70,107 | $479,771 |
| 2 | Gresham | 8.79 | 112,378 | $77,795 | $471,181 |
| 3 | Woodland | 10.43 | 6,487 | $81,193 | $589,005 |
| 4 | Gladstone | 11.21 | 11,977 | $91,250 | $517,793 |
| 5 | Columbia | 11.57 | 10,278 | $54,437 | $290,830 |
| 6 | Cornelius | 11.71 | 14,255 | $96,273 | $485,775 |
| 7 | St. Helens | 12.07 | 14,258 | $82,865 | $425,040 |
| 8 | Forest Grove | 12.29 | 26,529 | $87,933 | $525,623 |
| 9 | Estacada | 13.43 | 5,152 | $94,435 | $540,538 |
| 10 | Troutdale | 13.50 | 15,923 | $89,337 | $492,004 |
| 11 | Kalama | 14.93 | 3,050 | $102,026 | $536,798 |
| 12 | Hillsboro | 15.21 | 108,231 | $106,409 | $522,557 |
| 13 | Washougal | 15.36 | 17,490 | $106,368 | $640,872 |
| 14 | Portland | 15.71 | 641,165 | $90,919 | $534,638 |
| 15 | Newberg | 16.21 | 26,066 | $93,232 | $530,485 |
| 16 | Wilsonville | 16.64 | 26,974 | $96,236 | $635,208 |
| 17 | Tualatin | 16.64 | 27,763 | $104,043 | $638,736 |
| 18 | Beaverton | 16.71 | 97,812 | $98,622 | $530,795 |
| 19 | Milwaukie | 16.71 | 21,392 | $86,892 | $519,433 |
| 20 | Scappoose | 16.71 | 8,179 | $97,708 | $489,282 |
| 21 | Canby | 18.07 | 18,134 | $100,989 | $590,607 |
| 22 | Sandy | 18.14 | 12,854 | $108,984 | $523,760 |
| 23 | Banks | 18.29 | 2,156 | $86,087 | $636,905 |
| 24 | Ridgefield | 20.57 | 13,408 | $116,389 | $665,864 |
| 25 | Battle Ground | 21.43 | 21,886 | $104,977 | $606,387 |
| 26 | Happy Valley | 21.57 | 26,738 | $122,151 | $681,241 |
| 27 | North Plains | 22.00 | 3,433 | $117,639 | $571,325 |
| 28 | La Center | 22.29 | 3,883 | $101,708 | $660,939 |
| 29 | Oregon | 22.43 | 11,547 | $102,978 | $489,920 |
| 30 | Tigard | 23.29 | 56,011 | $108,823 | $608,407 |
| 31 | Camas | 25.71 | 27,007 | $141,126 | $751,543 |
| 32 | West Linn | 28.43 | 26,935 | $146,507 | $777,229 |
| 33 | Sherwood | 28.50 | 20,307 | $109,966 | $633,005 |
| 34 | Lake Oswego | 30.43 | 40,381 | $141,549 | $882,925 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 34 suburbs within 30 miles of Vancouver.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Vancouver where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Vancouver with Fairview casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Vancouver are Fairview, Gresham, Woodland, Gladstone, Columbia, Cornelius, St. Helens, Forest Grove, Estacada, and Troutdale.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Vancouver aren’t all bad. Lake Oswego takes the cake as the best place to live around Vancouver. Not sold on Washington? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Vancouver FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Vancouver?
Fairview ranks as the worst suburb around Vancouver for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Gresham and Woodland are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Vancouver?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Vancouver are Fairview, Gresham, Woodland, Gladstone, Columbia, Cornelius, St. Helens, Forest Grove, Estacada, and Troutdale. We scored all 34 places within 30 miles.
Why does Fairview rank as the worst suburb?
Fairview posts the roughest combined numbers of the 34 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $70,107, a median home value of $479,771, and a poverty rate of 17.5%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Vancouver?
Lake Oswego lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Vancouver by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Vancouver 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.
