Why This Walmart Is Often Called The Worst In America

Even on the best days to shop at Walmart, it can be an experience — especially if you happen to live in Cleveland. It's the birthplace of Rock n' Roll. Its river has caught on fire at least 13 times. According to U.S. News, it's currently the No. 7 most dangerous city in America. It is also the destination of what is widely regarded as the worst (or one of the worst) Walmart locations in the United States.

Take it from this reporter, a proud and dog-bitten Cleveland native. Pop into any dive in the city (I recommend the Happy Dog, Little Rose Tavern, and Parkview Nite Club) and ask a fellow barfly about "the Steelyard Walmart." It's a surefire way to strike up a conversation; every Cleveland resident has something to say about this place. Or, take it from a May 2025 report by Solitaired, which studied 3,000 grocery stores across 100 cities.

Per the data, Walmarts in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, slightly beat out Cleveland's Steelyard store as worst-ever, based on customer reviews. But, this Ohio location's infamy precedes it by decades. In short, it's been bad for a long, long time, and isn't likely to get better any time soon. Local Cleveland-based news outlet Scene magazine has been calling Steelyard Walmart "the worst Walmart in America" since 2015. To ask, "Why doesn't somebody do something about it?" would be to fundamentally misunderstand Cleveland's omnipotent post-industrial dogma (fellow rustbelt babies, rise up).

Google Maps reviews of the Walmart Supercenter at 3400 Steelyard Drive swap customer testimonials so egregiously bad as to border comedy. Common features include exceptionally rude, hostile, and inebriated staff, as well as extreme product disorganization, opened packages, general disarray, incorrect pricing, and more. Quoth the folks, "This place is ridiculous," "I was horrified," "It was not a pleasant experience," "By far the WORST Walmart in NE Ohio," "This place is disgusting," and "The worst Walmart I have ever been to!" If all of that seems pretty harsh, it isn't. The picture painted here may evoke Hieronymous Bosch, but really, it about sums up an average day at the Steelyard Walmart.

Meanwhile, according to the same Solitaired study, Cleveland's West Side Market ranks highly on the opposite end, widely heralded as the No. 6 best grocery store in the entire country. This artisanal grocery market resides in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland, just a nine-minute drive west of Steelyard Walmart. However, the two neighborhoods couldn't be more different. As for the Supercenter — which exists on the fringes of downtown, and on the fringes of patrons' nerves — it's America's largest grocery chain, and a decent place to save a little money on a grocery run. But, your reporter was once physically kicked out of the store for trying to rent "Space Jam 2" from the lobby Redbox 30 minutes before closing. Enter at your own risk.