USC is the premiere football team in the second largest city in the country. It has great recruiting, lots of money, and is in the best state and best city in the country. Nobody wants Flawda weather over SoCal weather. Come at me, bros!
If by location you mean recruiting hotbed, then yes. Isn't usc actually in a ghetto, though?
Not really. The area has actually improved dramatically since the 90's, partly because USC keeps buying up the land around the campus. It's not like what you're imagining from 90s movies or the LA riots. It's not as nice an area as ucla's but there are a lot of things to like. For instance, its stadium (the Coliseum) is across the street, with the Rose Garden, California Science Center, museums and so on. Plus, now there's a train that literally drops you off at the midpoint between the campus and the Coliseum. It's awesome.
Meanwhile, ucla has a big drive in store to get to the Rose Bowl. Hell, USC's campus is closer to the Rose Bowl than ucla's.