10 Least Livable Towns Where Your Single-Income Paycheck Doesn’t Go Far
Written by
Nicole Spector
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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When choosing where to buy a home or rent, you may be looking for a place that offers “the good life.” What does that mean? For most it means low crime rates, peaceful community spaces, great schools and accessible transportation. These are all factors that go into a city’s livability score. But, strangely, many very expensive places have middling to low livability scores. So, essentially, you’re paying a ton to dwell somewhere that lacks in those “good life” traits.
In a new study, GOBankingRates analyzed cities with low livability indexes to find the places where a single person will have trouble affording the cost of living. These are the 10 places where you’ll struggle the most — without the perks associated with a high livability score.
Key Findings
- All 10 of the cities are in California.
- The most livable city on this list is Norco, with a livability score of 54/100.
- The annual cost of living in Malibu is $283,696, yet the city has a livability score of 53/100.
10. Castaic, California
- Household median income: $92,374
- Average single-family home value: $830,547
- Total cost of living annually: $75,856
- Livability score: 52
9. Whittier, California
- Household median income: $88,354
- Average single-family home value: $906,430
- Total cost of living annually: $79,910
- Livability score: 52
8. Santa Ana, California
- Household median income: $88,354
- Average single-family home value: $906,430
- Total cost of living annually: $79,910
- Livability score: 51
7. Fallbrook, California
- Household median income: $87,293
- Average single-family home value: $895,612
- Total cost of living annually: $80,048
- Livability score: 42
6. Norco, California
- Household median income: $125,117
- Average single-family home value: $896,950
- Total cost of living annually: $80,521
- Livability score: 54
5. Valley Center, California
- Household median income: $116,620
- Average single-family home value: $945,731
- Total cost of living annually: $83,919
- Livability score: 51
4. Rowland Heights, California
- Household median income: $85,202
- Average single-family home value: $987,931
- Total cost of living annually: $86,696
- Livability score: 48
3. Monrovia, California
- Household median income: $97,083
- Average single-family home value: $1,013,359
- Total cost of living annually: $88,811
- Livability score: 53
2. Rancho Mirage, California
- Household median income: $109,943
- Average single-family home value: $1,069,931
- Total cost of living annually: $91,915
- Livability score: 49
1. Malibu, California
- Household median income: $192,159
- Average single-family home value: $3,741,445
- Total cost of living annually: $283,696
- Livability score: 53
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed cities with low livability indexes to find the places where a single person will have trouble affording the cost of living. Using the livability indexes sourced from AreaVibes, cities with a livability index of 55 or below were selected for this study, representing cities with a low quality of life. Cities had to have at least 10,000 people in order to qualify for this study. For each location a number of factors were found including total population, population ages 65 and over, total households and household median income all sourced from the U. .Census American Community Survey. The cost of living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and include the grocery, healthcare, housing, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous cost of living indexes. Using the cost of living indexes and the national average expenditure costs for a household with a single person, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey for consumer units with one person, the average expenditure cost for each location can be calculated. The average single-family home value was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index for April 2025. Using the average single-family home value, assuming a 10% down payment, and using the most recent national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average mortgage can be calculated. Using the average mortgage and average expenditure costs, the average total monthly and annual cost of living can be calculated. The cities were sorted to show the highest cost of living for a single person. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 2, 2025.
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