Houston’s homicide rate is on the rise, so you should take a look at RoadSnacks’ list of the worst neighborhoods in Houston for 2026 so that you don’t become a statistic.
But first, this is how we created our list. In order to determine Houston’s worst neighborhoods, we had to give each neighborhood an actual concrete score: we’ll call this a neighborhood’s overall ‘Snackability’. To get this score, we looked at the latest census data on income levels, unemployment rates, crime, and home prices for 26 Houston neighborhoods with over 11,000 residents.
As you can imagine, Houston’s worst neighborhoods did not disappoint. Folks, the kind of neighborhoods we’re talking about have carjackings happening in broad daylight, daily robberies, and a bunch of nothing good happens after dark crimes. There are currently 3,500 police officers that patrol Houston, but the city houses 2.3 million residents. Law enforcement is doing their best to clean up the city’s worst neighborhoods, but they can’t be everywhere. Sadly, Houston is one of the only major U.S. cities where crime is on the rise.
We’re not saying that the Space City is all bad. Matter of fact, there’s actually a lot of safe fun to be had in a lot of pretty awesome neighborhoods. For instance, Montrose really brings their A-game with their Montrose Morning Market every Sunday and you definitely shouldn’t miss Greater Height’s Crawfish Festival. But, we’re here to talk about Houston’s worst.
So, want to know what Houston neighborhoods you should avoid if you value your life? Keep reading.
$32,777 median income
$30,316 median income
$41,297 median income
$37,480 median income
$48,850 median income
$34,255 median income
$42,634 median income
$48,919 median income
$48,160 median income
$64,381 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Texas’s statewide median.
Texas statewide median: $300,957
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Houston 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 Houston:
- 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 Houston, Texas 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 Houston.
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 26 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Houston for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northeast | 129,659 | $66,156 | $32,777 |
| 2 | Far North | 59,742 | $52,586 | $30,316 |
| 3 | Southeast | 261,757 | $97,556 | $41,297 |
| 4 | East End | 87,359 | $102,414 | $37,480 |
| 5 | Southwest | 108,921 | $102,760 | $48,850 |
| 6 | North | 119,685 | $88,419 | $34,255 |
| 7 | Sugarland | 125,992 | $83,472 | $42,634 |
| 8 | Northwest | 138,832 | $132,124 | $48,919 |
| 9 | Westchase | 34,167 | $221,930 | $48,160 |
| 10 | Pasadina | 143,203 | $121,525 | $64,381 |
| 11 | Medical | 44,356 | $216,310 | $71,233 |
| 12 | Spring Branch | 143,332 | $215,498 | $59,660 |
| 13 | Far Northeast | 90,207 | $191,832 | $90,179 |
| 14 | West Houston | 139,738 | $223,615 | $79,271 |
| 15 | Meyerland | 69,368 | $194,318 | $73,349 |
| 16 | Bellaire | 186,971 | $153,867 | $55,830 |
| 17 | Montrose | 35,723 | $378,377 | $85,791 |
| 18 | River Oaks | 31,337 | $623,948 | $130,337 |
| 19 | Galleria-Uptown | 67,996 | $406,118 | $90,760 |
| 19 | Greater Heights | 46,415 | $504,650 | $133,690 |
| 21 | Rice Military | 23,452 | $382,779 | $118,360 |
| 22 | Rice | 16,664 | $600,800 | $131,929 |
| 23 | Midtown | 11,040 | $354,550 | $83,013 |
| 24 | Downtown | 16,798 | $320,117 | $105,007 |
| 25 | Greater Memorial | 35,799 | $850,504 | $143,470 |
| 26 | West University | 34,360 | $759,119 | $165,516 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 26 Houston neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Houston
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Houston with Northeast landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Houston are Northeast, Far North, Southeast, East End, Southwest, North, Sugarland, Northwest, Westchase, and Pasadina.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Houston aren’t all bad. West University takes the cake as the best place to live in Houston.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Texas? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Houston FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Houston?
Northeast ranks as the worst neighborhood in Houston for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Far North and Southeast are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Houston?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Houston are Northeast, Far North, Southeast, East End, Southwest, North, Sugarland, Northwest, Westchase, and Pasadina. We scored all 26 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Northeast rank as the worst?
Northeast posts the roughest combined numbers in Houston: a median household income of $32,777 and a median home value of $66,156, 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.
