17 Reasons Not to Move to Mendota, California (Voted by the Locals!)

Considering moving to Mendota, California? Before you make that mistake, read on to discover all the problems with this city.

Mendota California is an unattractive living environment because of its high levels of crime, overall bad job market, and low-quality schools. Living in this town should be avoided if at all possible.

17. Below Average Income Levels

The income levels here are incredibly low.

To give a sense of perspective, I will compare the per capita income and household income to the rest of the country, in hopes of drawing an accurate comparison. In the United States, the national average for per capita income is thirty-four thousand, one hundred three dollars. In Mendota, it is a mere ten thousand, nine hundred and sixty; nearly one-third of the national average. For average household income, the national average is sixty-two thousand, eight hundred and forty-three dollars.

In Mendota, it is thirty-one thousand, two hundred and thirty-seven; nearly half the national rate. In other words, the average resident of this city does not do well financially, and it is a tough job market.

16. Ineffective Local Government

Mendota has had an incompetent economy for a long time, and a large reason behind it is because of an incompetent government that has failed its residents in providing them a strong and stable economy and attracting business.

In the year two thousand and eighteen, Mendota provided a mere 3.2 million in city expenditures, almost half of the state average in similar communities from a per capita basis. The local government’s history of being unable to grow the city of increased funding is a large reason behind the economic failure that it has become today.

15. Prevalent Crime

Mendota California is not the type of place you’d want to be walking home alone at night in.

To give an idea, the odds of being a victim of a violent or property crime in Mendota are nearly three percent, meaning nearly one in twenty residents of Mendota have been victimized. The rate of violent crime as a whole in Mendota is higher than fifty-four percent of the state’s cities, and this is in a state with comparably high crime relative to others. The levels of crime are certainly high enough to make any resident feel uncomfortable and anxious at night.

14. Significant Economic Inequality

Another significant problem facing Mendota is the economic equality there. As was stated earlier, the average per capita income in Mendota is a mere thirty-eight thousand, which makes sense why the average home value is roughly one hundred fifty thousand, as it caters to the average income level.

The main reason behind these low numbers is a result of a large share of the population working in agriculture, with many of the laborers calling Mendota home. Those who control the means of production, the business owners, have a significantly higher standard of living, making Mendota a very unequal place to reside.

One of the easiest ways to see this is by looking at the wide range of property values. A quick search on Realtor.com reveals homes worth half a million dollars and up, which is over triple what the average resident pays for their home. In a place as economically divided as Mendota, it can be hard to achieve social mobility.

13. Not a Great Place to Raise a Family

If you’re looking to raise a family, this is not the greatest place to do it. The website Niche takes several factors affecting the desirability of a given place, including the crime levels, school system, and job market, and then gives it a rating based off the culmination of these factors. Mendota received a score of a D, meaning it was considered a very undesirable residence.

One can quickly observe from these factors that this is an objectively undesirable place to live. The high-crime rate, like we already discussed, is a big one.

12. Limited Amenities

There’s frankly not a lot to do in Mendota.

The place is small, and the amenities are frankly disappointing. A quick search of things to do in Mendota reveals a couple of restaurants to eat at in addition to a small museum. Outside of those activities, you are out of luck.

Any other additional amenities will require a decent drive, as the nearest city is several miles away.

11. Bad Schools

The schools in Mendota, quite frankly, are awful. The local elementary school, Junior High, and High school all received “C” ratings from Niche.

To give a clearer perspective on how dire the situation truly is, here are some stats from the local high school, Mendota High. From the state assessment tests, a mere thirteen percent of students received a score regarded as proficient, and only forty-four percent scored proficient in reading. But that is only just the beginning.

Less than three-quarters of the students actually graduate high school, and the average ACT and SAT scores are both below the national average. The academic situation here in Mendota can’t get worse than it already is.

10. Unhealthy Resident Population

The county that Mendota is located in has the eleventh highest rate of childhood obesity in the entire state of California.

This problem is only increased by the lack of amenities and ways to exercise in the community, in addition to all the nearby fast food options. If you have a goal of losing weight or even just trying to be healthier in general, this is not the place to do so.

9. Tax Rates

The taxes in California, the state where Mendota is located, are ridiculous and have been among the highest in the country for a number of years. This does not help the already dire economic situation of many of Mendota’s residents.

California has no mercy in its income tax system, beginning taxation soon after you make your first dollar. Meaning that even you are barely making ends meet, as in a couple of thousand dollars a year, you are still forced to pay your state income tax.

California ranks ninth in the country in terms of its overall tax burden on the population as a whole in addition to the percentage of personal income that it takes away. There is truly no rest for the weary in terms of California’s tax policies.

8. Overpriced Real Estate

If you do want to move here, you’ll find some challenges. First of all is finding a reasonable place to live.

The real estate prices in Mendota are frankly too high for many of the residents to afford. With a per household income of under forty thousand dollars annually, the one hundred fifty thousand dollars required for a home is simply too high.

In comparison to the income levels, that means the price of a home is roughly four times the average annual income of a family, forcing them into paying high interest and taking out risky loans.

7. Limited Employment Opportunities

Unless you are working in the agricultural sector, you are going to have a real tough time finding a job here. With the rare exception of a couple of local businesses, agriculture-related activities are the backbone of the economy here.

If you have a college degree, which helps you in almost every other city in the country, you shouldn’t have too tough of a time finding a job. Mendota is different, with less than five percent of residents having a bachelor’s degree, among the lowest rates in the country. Unless your job falls in line with this town’s niche, best of luck finding a stable job.

6. Large Correctional Facility

Of all the places that California could choose to build a massive prison and correctional institution, guessed where they picked? Yep, you guessed it: Mendota California.

This was likely an easy decision to make, as the number of residents that will get sent there is likely high, in addition to the fact that the town is growing so slowly that they don’t need to worry about scaring off any of the towns residents; frankly, many of them can’t afford to move out even if they desired to.

5. Limited Social Mobility

Mendota, California is one of the toughest places to achieve the American Dream of social mobility, regardless of the circumstances that you are born into. Although still possible, the odds are definitely stacked against you.

The local economy is largely composed of low-income agricultural laborers and local business workers, so the ability to attain good financial standings with these options is less than ideal. Additionally, with such low-funded and low-quality schools, it is much more difficult to encounter an environment that persuades you to excel in your studies, especially when, statistically speaking, almost nobody in your graduating class will attend college.

With all of these factors, it is very difficult to achieve financial independence given these dire circumstances.

4. Unwelcoming Social Environment

The inherently homogenous environment along with the lack of diversity makes Mendota a rather unwelcoming environment. Given that roughly ninety-seven percent of the population is Hispanic or Latino unless you do not fall into that category, you will be a significant racial minority in your area.

Additionally, because of this high concentration, Spanish is used regularly, which the vast majority of Americans do not know how to speak. If you are moving down expect to either assimilate to the large homogenous culture of the town or strive to do your best with the couple percent. While these options aren’t terrible, it can be difficult.

3. Lagging Technologically

Because of the stifled growth and lack of innovation in Mendota, the whole town lags technologically.

In the United States as a whole, ninety percent of people have access to a computer, with eighty-two percent having access to the internet. In Mendota, however, these figures are vastly different. The percentage of people with access to a computer is a measly seventy-seven percent or only about three-quarters of the population.

The share of the population with access to the internet stands at fifty-four percent. To put that figure into perspective, the Philippines, a developing third-world country, has forty-five percent of their residents with access to the internet, meaning there is a nine percent difference in terms of internet access between a third-world country and Mendota California.

2. Lacks Diversity

If you, like most people, like to live in a new and diverse environment, then this is the last place you’d want to live. Th city has an astronomically high and homogenous population, with 96.9% of all residents identifying as either hispanic or latino.

This means that every other group residing in this area combined constitutes a mere 3.1% of the population. This is among the least diverse places you could live in the entire country.

1. Partisan Political Situation

If you desire to live in a politically tolerant community, this is not your place. Let me provide some background to give a clearer perspective. Residents of Mendota have voted for a democratic candidate every single presidential election since 2004, when George Bush was running for a second term.

The political climate is so polarized, that it can even be seen in political donations. Over the last four years, only three hundred and forty dollars have been donated to the Republican Party. Yes, you read that correctly, average donations from the whole town averaged eighty-seven dollars and fifty cents, a donation that would be on the smaller side for a single political donor in many places.

In contrast, over the last four years, one thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars we donated to the Democratic Party. Although this is still a relatively small amount, when contrasted to the amount donated to Republicans, it is a significant difference.

In terms of the ratio, that means five times as much money was donated to Democrats compared to Republicans, among the largest ratios nationwide. In terms of voter registration, sixty-nine percent of the residents are registered as Democrats, whereas a mere seventeen percent are registered as Republicans, a different ratio of four registered Democrats to every registered Republican.

To top it all off, the Mayor, state senator, and state assemblyman are all members of the Democratic party, meaning there is complete partisan control of the local government. I am not saying that a strong democratic voter base is bad, but I am simply saying there is a lack of tolerance for people with differing political viewpoints, something unattractive to most new residents.