College Town Isla Vista named Worst Small Town in America
WalletHub, the personal finance website, recently compared more than 1,300 U.S. towns based on overall quality of life in America to find the best small town. Isla Vista, California was declared the worst of them all.
The beloved community of Isla Vista that neighbors the University of California, Santa Barbara may be popular amongst local college students and alumni, but the small town ranked lowest in affordability and economic health.
WalletHub determined the rankings based on scores in Affordability, Economic Health, Education, Health, Quality of Life, and Safety.
The sample of cities were grouped by percentile. The 99th percentile represents the top 1% of small cities in America.
Ultimately, Isla Vista received an final score of 37.83 (out of 100) making it the worst small town in America by the site followed by Wasco, California, and Bessemer, Alabama based on affordability and poverty. However, the town did score relatively high in terms of quality of life.
Based on a Census report, Isla Vista's median gross rent between 2018-2022 was approximately $1,851, and about 72% of residents are in poverty.
The best small towns in America according to the site are Carmel, IN (70.99), Brookfield, WI (70.4), and Lexington, MA (70.23). They scored high in safety, quality of life, and affordability.
