California is known for its warm weather, stunning beaches, and rich cultural heritage. However, not all of its cities are great places to live. Business Insider just released a list of the worst towns in the country, and some of them are in the Golden State.
The list was based on information from the census, which looked at things like population growth, poverty level, typical home value, unemployment rate, commute time, and health insurance coverage. Out of the 1,000 towns that were looked at, 10 were in California. Huntington Park was named the most unhappy city in the state.
What’s Wrong With Huntington Park?
About 58,000 people are living in the city of Huntington Park, which is in Los Angeles County. With over 19,000 people living in every square mile, it is one of the towns with the most people per square mile in the country. There are also a lot of poor people there—28.3%, which is more than twice the national figure of 13.4%.
Only $39,860 is the median family income in Huntington Park. This is less than half of the state norm of $80,440. Even though the median home value in Huntington Park is $424,900, which is less than the median home value in the state of $578,500, many people still can’t afford to live there. The rate of unemployment in Huntington Park is 9.4%, which is higher than the 7.5% rate in the state and the 6.0% rate across the country.
It takes 31.3 minutes on average to get to work in Huntington Park, which is longer than the average for the state (29.8 minutes) and the country (26.9 minutes). In Huntington Park, only 69.4% of people have health insurance. This is less than the state average of 91.5% and the national average of 91.5%.
How Does Huntington Park Stack Up Against Other Deplorable Californian Cities?
The worst city in California was Huntington Park, which came in at number 10 on the list of the worst towns in America. These are the other nine places in California that made the list:
- Bell Gardens (14th)
- Lynwood (21st)
- El Monte (22nd)
- Palmdale (36th)
- Montebello (40th)
- Compton (41st)
- San Bernardino (42nd)
- Lancaster (50th)
Some things that these towns have in common with Huntington Park are high poverty, low income, high unemployment, long commutes, and few people who have health insurance. They also have to deal with problems like a lot of crime, bad schools, bad air quality, and not enough facilities.
How Can the Lives of People in Huntington Park and Other Bad Towns Be Made Better?
There is no easy way to fix the problems that make Huntington Park and other bad towns in California so bad, but here are some things that could be done:
- Putting money into growing the economy and creating jobs, especially in fields that pay more and offer more perks, like education, health care, and technology.
- Providing inexpensive housing and rent help, especially for low-income and homeless families, adults, and soldiers.
- Improving roads and public transportation, especially in areas that aren’t well covered and are far away, will cut down on pollution and traffic and make it easier for people to get to services and opportunities.
- It’s important to improve healthcare access and coverage, especially for people who don’t have insurance or aren’t covered enough, and to deal with the social factors that affect health, like diet, schooling, and surroundings.
- Making the community safer and more involved, especially in areas where crime and violence are common, and encouraging residents, cops, and local leaders to trust each other and work together.
- Supporting education and learning throughout life, especially for kids and teens, and making sure they have good schools, teachers, and tools, as well as things outside of school to improve their skills.
Conclusion
Huntington Park, which has been called the unhappiest city in California, has a lot of social and economic problems, such as a lot of people living in close quarters, high poverty rates, and high unemployment. Other California towns on the list, like Bell Gardens, Lynwood, and Compton, still have the same problems.
To solve these problems, we need a lot of different things, like more economic growth, more cheap housing, better transportation, easier access to health care, more neighborhood safety, and more education. The goal of these activities is to help people in towns that are having trouble by giving them more chances and a better quality of life.