17 Reasons Not to Move to Antioch, California (Voted by the locals!)

Antioch of California of United States flag on the fabric texture background

Located Just a few miles to the east of Oakland, Antioch is a town of 115,000 people with a variety of fun activities for those visiting. Being located just along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, Antioch has some beautiful views of water and nature. However, before you decide whether or not to move here, there are some things that you should know about the city. Here are 17 reasons you should not move to this city.

1. Crime is Far Too Commonplace

Unfortunately, the crime rates in Antioch are also quite bad. Antioch currently only has a crime index of 15 out of 100Opens in a new tab., 100 being the safest city in the United States. I don’t know about you, but that is not at all comforting to me.

The first reason for this is that the number of violent crimes that occur in Antioch is nearly twice the national average, and the number of property crimes is about 5 crimes per every 1,000 residents higher than the national average. While the murder rate is the same as the national average, both rape and robbery occurrences are far higher. Just about every form of property crime occurs more often than it does in many other parts of the country.

3. The Residents Don’t Know How To Properly Drive

With such long drives and so many drivers being out at once, encountering poor and dangerous drivers will become an almost commonplace occurrence. This is especially the case in the Antioch and Los Angeles areas, which are often considered the home of the worst drivers, though every city has them.

In fact, when finding where the worst drivers in the nation are, 8 out of the top 10 citiesOpens in a new tab. were located in California, with Los Angeles being rated at number 4. The reason that it doesn’t come in as the home of the worst drivers is that they aren’t the worst at speeding, they are ranked 22nd, which drops them to 4th.

3. You Are Likely Going To Have To Commute

The final car or driving-related problem that you are going to have to deal with is the fact that the vast majority of people are going to have to commute to Oakland or San Fransisco almost every day. So, just about every day no matter what weather you are having to deal with, you are going to have to make the 36-mile drive to Oakland or 45-mile drive to San Fransisco that most often takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes depending on traffic.

This drive can be brutal if you have to drive it every single day and have to pay for the extremely expensive California gas.

4. The Job Market Is All But Dead

Magnifying glass over a newspaper classified section with Job Market text

One of the major reasons that almost everyone in AntiochOpens in a new tab. has to commute to Oakland or San Francisco every day is that the job market in Antioch is almost nonexistent. According to locals, the only jobs that are available are just fast food restaurants or other minimum wage paying jobs.

It was found that nearly 9.6% of people in Antioch are dealing with unemployment, which is higher than the national average. With these rates, it was found that 1 in 17 people are dealing with unemployment, and most can’t find a job due to the poor job market.

5. The Cost of Living Is Going to Hurt Your Wallet

Along with the high and ever-increasing cost of homes within Antioch, many other factors of life cost more than the national average. The national average for the cost of living is 100, and in California, they average just over that at 149.9 However, in Antioch, they have a cost of livingOpens in a new tab. of 140.2.

Housing is one of the main factors in this, though transportation is just as high coming in at 142, which is far higher than the national average. This means that vital aspects of transportation like gas, maintenance, insurance, and mass transit fares are all going to be expensive here.

Along with transportation, the cost of miscellaneous expenses is also above average. This isn’t nearly as bad, coming in at 110.2, but it still means that items like clothes, restaurants, repairs, and forms of entertainment are going to be more expensive than in most of the country. For reference, the housing for Antioch comes in at 189.8.

6. Housing Prices Are Bursting Through the Roof

As previously mentioned, the cost of housing is double the national average. Within the city, the average cost of a home will cost a staggering $780K, which is 16.3% higher than it wasin 2021. In fact, over the past 2 years, the price of homes within the city has gone from $537K to $780K, which is a difference of $243K. This is massive growth, and the change over the past 10 years is just as large.

The worst part is that it looks like the cost of homes will just continue to rise and has shown no signs of slowing down. Renting isn’t a much better option, as the city has some of the highest rent rates within the area at about $2,000 every single month. This is around $600 per month higher than the national average.

7. Sales and Property Taxes

Close-up Of A Businessperson’s Hand Calculating Invoice At Workplace

When it comes to taxesOpens in a new tab., Antioch is above the national average for both sales tax and property tax. The California average already has one of the highest base sales tax rates, however, the Contra Costa County rate adds an additional 2.5%, and the city of Antioch adds another 1% on top of California’s 6%, making the sales tax for Antioch a staggering 9.75%, which is higher than the national average of around 6.5%.

Adding to this fact is the property tax rateOpens in a new tab.. In the city, there is a 0.870% property tax, which is quite a bit higher than the state average of just 0.74%. This means if you have an average-priced home, you will pay around $6,786 in property taxes compared to the $5,772 it would cost if you had the state average.

8. Poverty is A Major Problem

Within the United States of America, it was found that 37.2 million people live in poverty, or in the other words, 11.4% of everyone in the United States lives under the poverty threshold. While this number is already high, according to the 2021 US censusOpens in a new tab. of Antioch, 12.7% of the city’s population living in poverty. This is much higher than the national average and far higher than the world average of 9%.

9. Along With High Rates of Homelessness

Another major problem that Antioch has to experience is homelessness. In a recent studyOpens in a new tab. of homelessness in Contra Costa, it was found that there were about 2,234 homeless residents. While Antioch has a population of 111,000, which means that the city has a homelessness rate of about 2.01%.

This is a very bad percentage, as the national average in the United States for homelessness is 0.2%. Antioch does have a homelessness serviceOpens in a new tab. available to those who need it, however, it is still a major problem for the city.

10. Litter is Everywhere

Litter is another major problem that you are going to have to deal with. According to the locals, you are going to have to put up with lots of litter, so much that it is a constant problem to the point where the whole of the city just has a dirty feel. There are constant attempts of cleaning up the litter, including a wOpens in a new tab.eOpens in a new tab.bOpens in a new tab.siteOpens in a new tab. to help locals remember to clean up, however, it hasn’t had much of an impact.

11. Drug Addictions

Variety of addictive substances, including alcohol, cigarettes and drugs

One of the main problems that you are going to have to worry about if you decide to move to Antioch is the fact that there is a large problem with drug abuse and addiction. It was foundOpens in a new tab. that the amount of drug use of tobacco and alcohol is extremely high compared to the rest of the United States.

It was found that in the most recent year that there were 843.4 hospitalizations due to tobacco abuse per every 100,000 residents. This is far above the national average and has increased by 15.04% over the past year.

12. Diversity but Segregated

When it comes to diversityOpens in a new tab., the city does very well, with 39.7% being white, 20.8% being African American, 34.5% being Latino/Hispanic, and the rest being scattered between Asian, mixed, and American Indian. However, just because the amount of diversity within the city is good, does mean that they all get along.

According to the locals from around the city, there is a very evident split between the different races where each keeps to their own section of the city. This in part helps increase the problem of crime rates within the city, along with the drug abuse problems as well.

13. The School Aren’t Getting a Passing Grade

Any parents who are hoping to move to Antioch may want to think twice because the public schools offered within the city are not the best. Already, California has subpar schooling with just a 45% proficiency in both math and reading. The reading level of the state is slightly better at 51%, however, within the city, the average is worst than the state’s average.

Even just though the state is below average, Antioch’s school district comes in with proficiency in reading and math of just 24%. Again, the reading is better at a 30% proficiency ability, however, the math proficiency is at an abysmal 17%. A major factor in this is the fact that the school districts are spending nearly $2,000 less per student than the state average.

14. California is Extremely Hot

Along with the poor air quality, you are going to get to experience the blistering summer heatOpens in a new tab. of California while living in Antioch. From the months of May until October, you will get to experience the heat, as it will almost always get to at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit, though it will oftentimes get much hotter than this. There is a small benefit to this in that you don’t have to worry about freezing cold winters, as temperatures only drop to the mid-’40s during the winter months.

15. Droughts and Other Natural Disasters

asphalt road cracked and broken texture

Along with the rest of California, Antioch is located right in the hot area of California, so you are going to have to deal with droughts. Just like with the rest of California, you are going to have to deal with water regulations from the shortages that are common throughout the year, especially in the summer.

There is also the worry of earthquakes, especially “The Big OneOpens in a new tab..” This is a large earthquake that can cause lots of devastation to most of the cities in Washington, Oregon, and California. Scientists expect that at any moment the coast could be rocked by an 8.0 to 9.0 earthquake and cause most cities to be destroyed or be hit by a tsunami that the earthquake will cause.

16. Air Quality is Not Good

Because of the large number of factories that have been set up around the nearby area, and from the yearly forest fires, the air qualityOpens in a new tab. has started to suffer. One of the most noticeable things is the sky sometimes will be brownish-grey because of all of the smog and smoke coming from the factories and fires.

The air quality also suffers, as typically, the air quality is rated moderate from 11 pm to 10:30 am, and from 2 pm to 8 pm it is rated as unhealthy. Over the past month, the air quality has reached extremely unhealthy levels 4 separate times. However, during the late fall and winter months, the air quality typically improves and stays within the healthy range.

17. All Your Sports Teams are Leaving, And Quickly

When it comes to sports, you have two options for the city to cheer for: Oakland and San Fransisco. However, when it comes to Oakland sports, you are quickly losing options for teams to follow. Over the past few years, both the Oakland basketball team and the football team have left, with the Golden State WarriorsOpens in a new tab. moving to San Fransisco and the Raiders moving to Las Vegas.

Along with those two teams, the Oakland AthleticsOpens in a new tab. currently has one of the oldest and worst stadiums and is currently looking to get a new stadium or move to a new city. It will be hard to be a sports fan while living in Antioch, California.

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