Baltimore’s neighborhoods conjure up too many stereotypes to count. You’ve got hipster areas, preppy places, neighborhoods where college kids thrive, and of course, ghettos.
It seems as if there’s a neighborhood for everyone in Baltimore.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Maryland thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Baltimore. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Baltimore neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Baltimore hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 54 of Baltimore’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$26,718 median income
$31,725 median income
$28,677 median income
$36,631 median income
$28,740 median income
$32,463 median income
$40,870 median income
$30,643 median income
$28,589 median income
$40,238 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Maryland’s statewide median.
Maryland statewide median: $429,705
Maryland statewide median: $103,678
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Baltimore neighborhoods in 2026
To figure out how bad a place is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what places have the least amount of those things. We plugged the following criteria into Saturday Night Science to get the worst neighborhoods in Baltimore:
- High crime (Estimated)
- High unemployment (Less jobs)
- Low median income (Less pay)
- Low population density (No things to do)
- Low home values (No one’s willing to pay to live here)
Then, we ranked each neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland for each of these criteria from worst to best.
Next, we averaged the individual rankings for each criterion into a “Worst Score.”
The neighborhood with the lowest “Worst Score” ranks as the most dangerous neighborhood of Baltimore.
The article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2026. Skip to the end to see the list of all 54 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Baltimore for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairfield Area | 436 | $93,400 | $26,718 |
| 2 | Dundalk Cityside | 2,359 | $60,120 | $31,725 |
| 3 | Monument Street Area | 3,168 | $14,650 | $28,677 |
| 4 | Pulaski | 475 | $41,800 | $36,631 |
| 5 | Greenmount East | 11,041 | $57,042 | $28,740 |
| 6 | Cherry Hill | 6,850 | $74,400 | $32,463 |
| 7 | Berea Area | 5,628 | $65,593 | $40,870 |
| 8 | Madison-Eastend | 4,383 | $66,250 | $30,643 |
| 9 | West Baltimore | 52,160 | $78,008 | $28,589 |
| 10 | Brooklyn-Curtis Bay | 13,252 | $75,582 | $40,238 |
| 11 | Hopkins-Middle East | 7,746 | $102,281 | $28,594 |
| 12 | Pimlico | 5,819 | $103,993 | $38,938 |
| 13 | Greater Rosemont | 18,664 | $70,600 | $35,059 |
| 14 | Mondawin-Walbrook Area | 11,912 | $91,056 | $37,432 |
| 14 | Morrell Park | 4,180 | $110,433 | $49,083 |
| 16 | Grove Park | 1,684 | $160,800 | $37,438 |
| 17 | Midway-Coldstream | 10,629 | $90,588 | $43,227 |
| 18 | Orangeville | 1,174 | $73,500 | $53,115 |
| 19 | Beechfielf-Irvington Area | 13,570 | $83,969 | $41,675 |
| 20 | Lakeland | 3,582 | $107,533 | $37,668 |
| 21 | Forest Park | 957 | $199,367 | $37,680 |
| 22 | Park Heights | 33,761 | $98,165 | $36,783 |
| 23 | Bayview Area | 8,018 | $97,525 | $41,221 |
| 24 | Glen-Fallstaff Area | 15,750 | $124,662 | $43,823 |
| 25 | Hampden-Woodberry-Remington | 6,867 | $163,077 | $52,030 |
| 26 | Westgate | 2,948 | $243,233 | $46,459 |
| 27 | Winsor Hills | 3,039 | $161,550 | $56,919 |
| 28 | Cedonia | 2,695 | $110,900 | $53,446 |
| 29 | Old Town Area | 7,411 | $50,967 | $15,174 |
| 30 | Belaire-Edison | 20,778 | $100,676 | $47,827 |
| 31 | Patterson Park East | 10,969 | $158,167 | $60,368 |
| 32 | Wakefield | 1,529 | $295,000 | $31,211 |
| 32 | Govans | 13,401 | $113,594 | $46,558 |
| 34 | Reservoir Hill-Bolton Hill Area | 21,594 | $210,163 | $37,368 |
| 35 | Lower Northwood | 13,686 | $159,675 | $59,910 |
| 36 | Hunting Ridge | 1,050 | $225,950 | $70,294 |
| 37 | Howard Park | 7,017 | $204,160 | $69,374 |
| 38 | Upper Northwood | 20,729 | $140,371 | $50,794 |
| 39 | Hamilton Area | 44,527 | $161,706 | $60,103 |
| 40 | Jonestown | 1,079 | $362,900 | $36,438 |
| 40 | Greater Mount Washington | 5,164 | $219,100 | $73,832 |
| 42 | Franklintown | 1,125 | $240,400 | $62,936 |
| 43 | Chinquapin Park-Belvedere | 2,222 | $187,267 | $70,719 |
| 44 | Charles Village | 7,663 | $230,143 | $48,928 |
| 45 | Federal Hill | 2,098 | $393,129 | $115,681 |
| 46 | Canton | 10,589 | $334,486 | $112,407 |
| 47 | Downtown | 4,294 | $327,750 | $53,222 |
| 47 | Locust Point | 298 | $374,150 | $152,420 |
| 49 | Cheswolde Area | 12,433 | $234,920 | $65,849 |
| 50 | Roland Parl-Homewood-Guilford | 16,535 | $314,367 | $84,167 |
| 51 | Highlandtown | 2,936 | $248,514 | $89,525 |
| 52 | Inner Harbor | 3,706 | $366,214 | $92,413 |
| 53 | Riverside | 4,709 | $367,771 | $120,970 |
| 54 | Fells Point | 4,037 | $360,767 | $87,578 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 54 Baltimore neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Baltimore
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Baltimore with Fairfield Area landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Baltimore are Fairfield Area, Dundalk Cityside, Monument Street Area, Pulaski, Greenmount East, Cherry Hill, Berea Area, Madison-Eastend, West Baltimore, and Brooklyn-Curtis Bay.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Baltimore aren’t all bad. Fells Point takes the cake as the best place to live in Baltimore.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Maryland? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Baltimore FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Baltimore?
Fairfield Area ranks as the worst neighborhood in Baltimore for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Dundalk Cityside and Monument Street Area are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Baltimore?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Baltimore are Fairfield Area, Dundalk Cityside, Monument Street Area, Pulaski, Greenmount East, Cherry Hill, Berea Area, Madison-Eastend, West Baltimore, and Brooklyn-Curtis Bay. We scored all 54 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Fairfield Area rank as the worst?
Fairfield Area posts the roughest combined numbers in Baltimore: a median household income of $26,718 and a median home value of $93,400, with crime, unemployment, and density folded into the score.
Are these neighborhoods dangerous everywhere?
No. The scores are neighborhood-wide averages, and conditions change block by block and hour by hour. Plenty of people live in these neighborhoods without incident; the numbers just say the odds run tougher.
How do you rank the worst neighborhoods?
Each neighborhood is scored on crime, unemployment, income, density, and home values, using Census tract and FBI data. The worst combined score tops the list.
