Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and dig into the data to determine which neighborhoods in the United States are the worst.
If you’re in one of the places we’re about to highlight, odds are you know you’ve got yourself a problem area.
Turns out the worst neighborhood in the United States is Shelby Forest-Frayser, based on Saturday Night Science. The best? Battery Park, NY.
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is the United States’s statewide median.
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the worst neighborhoods in the US
To rank the worst neighborhoods in America, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place to live. Most people like low crime, things to do, and a stable economy.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to research FBI crime and Census data. The following are the criteria we used:
- Lower Population Density
- Highest Unemployment Rates
- Low Median Income
- Low Home Prices
- High Crime
The chart at the bottom lists the 100 worst neighborhoods in the United States based on these criteria.
We updated this report for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the worst neighborhoods in America. This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment — don’t freak out.
The full list
Worst Neighborhoods To Live In The United States
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income | Crime Per 100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34,345 | $63,796 | $30,093 | ||
| 2 | 38,591 | $74,096 | $37,738 | ||
| 3 | 87,467 | $78,449 | $39,603 | ||
| 4 | 23,547 | $53,753 | $27,867 | ||
| 5 | 48,022 | $112,443 | $30,027 | ||
| 6 | 26,331 | $113,358 | $33,773 | ||
| 7 | 129,659 | $66,156 | $32,777 | ||
| 8 | 17,093 | $64,674 | $33,765 | ||
| 9 | 32,392 | $86,670 | $30,863 | ||
| 10 | 18,002 | $41,953 | $34,153 | ||
| 11 | 59,742 | $52,586 | $30,316 | ||
| 12 | 17,382 | $58,569 | $24,935 | ||
| 13 | 26,359 | $64,083 | $30,213 | ||
| 14 | 17,708 | $121,809 | $39,713 | ||
| 15 | 20,647 | $32,118 | $26,435 | ||
| 16 | 58,688 | $81,134 | $41,580 | ||
| 17 | 17,197 | $131,456 | $42,477 | ||
| 18 | 21,142 | $39,404 | $35,424 | ||
| 19 | 61,886 | $128,531 | $40,518 | ||
| 20 | 23,773 | $165,716 | $32,395 | ||
| 21 | 20,571 | $107,861 | $32,258 | ||
| 22 | 18,676 | $48,477 | $25,196 | ||
| 23 | 59,810 | $53,724 | $31,691 | ||
| 24 | 66,172 | $105,147 | $49,911 | ||
| 25 | 52,160 | $78,008 | $28,589 | ||
| 26 | 38,197 | $73,740 | $40,654 | ||
| 27 | 20,794 | $175,140 | $34,789 | ||
| 28 | 261,757 | $97,556 | $41,297 | ||
| 29 | 17,642 | $65,918 | $28,438 | ||
| 30 | 56,759 | $127,194 | $35,850 | ||
| 31 | 20,573 | $67,982 | $45,285 | ||
| 32 | 18,664 | $70,600 | $35,059 | ||
| 33 | 31,273 | $104,526 | $42,904 | ||
| 34 | 44,600 | $145,654 | $42,679 | ||
| 35 | 15,911 | $75,423 | $38,185 | ||
| 36 | 27,957 | $65,332 | $34,400 | ||
| 37 | 22,629 | $132,067 | $38,691 | ||
| 38 | 27,612 | $171,165 | $46,128 | ||
| 39 | 25,023 | $94,396 | $24,443 | ||
| 40 | 35,068 | $68,396 | $28,706 | ||
| 41 | 17,820 | $86,100 | $44,469 | ||
| 42 | 87,359 | $102,414 | $37,480 | ||
| 43 | 25,760 | $186,475 | $40,114 | ||
| 44 | 25,716 | $78,462 | $33,974 | ||
| 45 | 66,915 | $99,031 | $29,642 | ||
| 46 | 36,917 | $113,739 | $26,828 | ||
| 47 | 15,688 | $103,192 | $36,392 | ||
| 48 | 32,541 | $88,530 | $43,059 | ||
| 49 | 56,682 | $83,117 | $37,624 | ||
| 50 | 18,509 | $79,484 | $43,778 | ||
| 51 | 24,869 | $142,231 | $42,035 | ||
| 52 | 35,417 | $126,400 | $26,510 | ||
| 53 | 108,921 | $102,760 | $48,850 | ||
| 54 | 38,504 | $120,190 | $47,170 | ||
| 55 | 23,989 | $93,217 | $33,299 | ||
| 56 | 18,384 | $76,412 | $43,339 | ||
| 57 | 15,909 | $66,290 | $40,829 | ||
| 58 | 18,665 | $222,929 | $28,558 | ||
| 59 | 15,361 | $83,686 | $33,584 | ||
| 60 | 67,875 | $83,769 | $33,363 | ||
| 61 | 16,896 | $91,173 | $42,574 | ||
| 62 | 32,735 | $61,048 | $32,973 | ||
| 63 | 21,443 | $149,050 | $34,862 | ||
| 64 | 119,685 | $88,419 | $34,255 | ||
| 65 | 44,752 | $68,951 | $37,189 | ||
| 66 | 17,375 | $123,400 | $46,846 | ||
| 67 | 45,607 | $115,671 | $32,470 | ||
| 68 | 125,992 | $83,472 | $42,634 | ||
| 69 | 28,074 | $124,092 | $43,932 | ||
| 70 | 95,072 | $108,565 | $49,038 | ||
| 71 | 15,325 | $146,725 | $34,465 | ||
| 72 | 23,813 | $80,772 | $30,568 | ||
| 73 | 15,636 | $146,417 | $37,465 | ||
| 74 | 40,126 | $85,861 | $44,497 | ||
| 75 | 16,747 | $185,550 | $63,519 | ||
| 76 | 36,077 | $150,024 | $45,891 | ||
| 77 | 16,098 | $87,075 | $29,043 | ||
| 78 | 29,798 | $221,083 | $41,869 | ||
| 79 | 104,210 | $147,292 | $60,304 | ||
| 80 | 32,545 | $181,728 | $45,375 | ||
| 81 | 15,750 | $124,662 | $43,823 | ||
| 82 | 33,761 | $98,165 | $36,783 | ||
| 83 | 18,683 | $172,638 | $49,214 | ||
| 84 | 138,832 | $132,124 | $48,919 | ||
| 85 | 41,153 | $110,614 | $32,588 | ||
| 86 | 40,415 | $163,136 | $38,548 | ||
| 87 | 18,226 | $77,712 | $44,569 | ||
| 88 | 18,907 | $184,789 | $35,486 | ||
| 89 | 34,014 | $78,023 | $31,888 | ||
| 90 | 20,205 | $90,838 | $23,203 | ||
| 91 | 19,116 | $81,181 | $47,842 | ||
| 92 | 28,988 | $143,288 | $44,876 | ||
| 93 | 24,745 | $257,758 | $49,900 | ||
| 94 | 26,366 | $103,967 | $46,956 | ||
| 95 | 22,603 | $158,817 | $36,187 | ||
| 96 | 19,514 | $145,570 | $39,212 | ||
| 97 | 26,225 | $147,138 | $46,446 | ||
| 98 | 15,013 | $145,444 | $53,937 | ||
| 99 | 24,962 | $128,731 | $41,113 | ||
| 100 | 61,951 | $115,836 | $38,678 |
Source: FBI crime data and U.S. Census ACS. US neighborhoods with populations over 15,000.
Summary
There You Have It — The Worst Neighborhoods In The US
If you’re looking at neighborhoods in the U.S. where crime is high, people are broke, and the public schools are lousy, this is an accurate list.
The worst neighborhoods in the United States are Shelby Forest-Frayser, TN, Parkway Village-Oakhaven, TN, White Haven-Coro Lake, TN, Lakewood Heights-Southeastern Atlanta, GA, Downtown, TN, Park, CA, Northeast, TX, Puritas Longmead, OH, Seaport, CA, and South Side, OH.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In America FAQs
What is the worst neighborhood in America?
Shelby Forest-Frayser, TN ranks as the worst neighborhood in America for 2026, based on Saturday Night Science. Parkway Village-Oakhaven and White Haven-Coro Lake are next.
What are the worst neighborhoods in the US?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in America are Shelby Forest-Frayser, TN, Parkway Village-Oakhaven, TN, White Haven-Coro Lake, TN, Lakewood Heights-Southeastern Atlanta, GA, Downtown, TN, Park, CA, Northeast, TX, Puritas Longmead, OH, Seaport, CA, and South Side, OH. We ranked US neighborhoods with more than 15,000 people on crime, unemployment, income, density, and home values.
How do you rank the worst neighborhoods?
Each neighborhood is scored on violent and property crime per 100,000 residents, plus income, home values, and unemployment from Census tract data. The worst combined score tops the list.
Are these neighborhoods dangerous everywhere?
No. The scores are neighborhood-wide averages, and conditions change block by block and hour by hour. The numbers say where the odds run tougher, not that any street is doomed.
What is the best neighborhood on this list?
Battery Park, NY lands at the opposite end of this ranking. Our separate best neighborhoods in America list covers the top of the market properly.
