It’s not all sunshine and movie stars in Los Angeles, the City of Angels has some pretty sketch neighborhoods, too.
Just how bad are these neighborhoods? Well, you’re going to have to take a look below at RoadSnacks’ list of the worst neighborhoods in Los Angeles for 2026 to see where the crime is high and the average income is low. We call this the perfect storm.
But in order to determine Los Angeles’ worst neighborhoods, we had to give each neighborhood an actual concrete score: we 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 83 Los Angeles neighborhoods with over 0 residents. Incidentally, this is our eleventh time ranking Los Angeles’ worst neighborhoods, so trust us when we say that these are the worst of the worst.
Folks, the kind of places that we are talking about are the kind of places that you’ll want to invest in a security system or a guard dog. And in all honesty, if you find that one of Los Angeles’ worst neighborhoods is all that you can afford, you might want to think about renting: save yourself the headache.
And because the glass is always half full here a RoadSnacks, we think that If you do get stuck in one of Los Angeles’ worst neighborhoods, it might not be all bad. Heck, you could be front and center to a real life Cops episode in Watts and/or you could get some practice talking yourself out of sticky situations if you live Downtown.
So, want to know what Los Angeles’ neighborhoods you should avoid if you value your life? Keep reading.
$39,866 median income
Where’s the worst neighborhood in Los Angeles? That would be the Fashion District.
There’s only about 2,466 people packed into this little hood, but all of them are broke. The Fashion District is the most dangerous part of LA, too, where you might just get blown away for wearing the wrong hat.
Homes here cost about $89,350 for a reason. Think about that. It’s 4 times more expensive to live in Watts than in the Fashion District neighborhood. Can we interest anyone in a $89,350 house in the Fashion District? No? Okay then.
The Fashion District kinda resembles a third world country in some blocks. You’d better be careful walking through this neighborhood in the day, and maybe reconsider at night.
$29,771 median income
Believe it or not, there’s actually a couple of LA neighborhoods that are actually worse than South Central, Skid Row and Watts. Take for instance the Wholesale District. Most people call it Skid Row.
You’ve probably been here before at one point or another if you’re from the LA area. It’s where the city of LA has basically allowed anyone and everyone to camp out and squat along several major streets, including San Pedro and South Los Angeles Streets.
It’s essentially one big permanent homeless encampment with poop everywhere. Not good. Not fun.
Some people come here to gawk at the area. Others accidentally make a wrong turn and wind up here. No matter what – lock your doors.
Now, the only real difference between Skid Row and the Wholesale District is a line on a map. However, the Wholesale District is technically even more dangerous and poor than Skid Row.
$51,933 median income
$48,922 median income
$81,139 median income
$55,760 median income
$43,878 median income
$36,669 median income
Watts is a notoriously horrible place you can live in the greater LA area.
Wanna play a joke on your friends? Tell them you’re going to a party in Watts tonight and watch their reaction.
This neighborhood, located just north of the 105 on Compton Boulevard, is basically a one big housing project. Things are so bad in Watts that this neighborhood has a Wikipedia entry. And a very lengthy one at that.
Believe it or not, but an average home in Watts actually costs $354,525. In most places in America, $354,525 gets you a really nice home in a pretty decent neighborhood. In Watts, that gets you a single story, 1200 square foot dump with bullet hole patches on it. This is one of many LA areas made famous by mid 90’s hip hop gangster rappers like TuPac, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre, who featured Watts in songs like California Love.
They’ve tried to make Watts better. Every year there’s a “Toys for Watts” toy drive, a “Watts Summer Games” event, and even a Watts Christmas parade.
$56,607 median income
$58,239 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is California’s statewide median.
California statewide median: $774,582
California statewide median: $99,122
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles:
- 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 Los Angeles, California 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 Los Angeles.
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 83 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Los Angeles for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fashion District | 2,466 | $89,350 | $39,866 |
| 2 | Wholesale District-Skid Row | 7,245 | $218,186 | $29,771 |
| 3 | Leiment Park | 10,458 | $460,217 | $51,933 |
| 4 | South Park | 7,021 | $209,983 | $48,922 |
| 5 | Montecito Heights | 8,572 | $647,575 | $81,139 |
| 6 | Civic Center-Little Tokyo | 3,457 | $306,133 | $55,760 |
| 7 | Central City | 57,489 | $440,243 | $43,878 |
| 8 | Watts | 40,431 | $354,525 | $36,669 |
| 9 | Wilmington | 50,695 | $437,323 | $56,607 |
| 10 | Cypress Park | 10,713 | $578,810 | $58,239 |
| 11 | Southeast Los Angeles | 194,788 | $410,964 | $45,171 |
| 12 | Hyde Park | 31,100 | $567,417 | $58,128 |
| 13 | Downtown | 45,198 | $704,691 | $50,463 |
| 13 | Chinatown | 9,144 | $488,417 | $53,225 |
| 15 | Harbor City | 22,398 | $456,657 | $63,462 |
| 16 | Glendale | 29 | $1,053,600 | $53,438 |
| 17 | South Los Angeles | 207,640 | $469,672 | $50,087 |
| 18 | New Downtown | 6,396 | $282,200 | $49,413 |
| 19 | Crenshaw | 25,072 | $642,111 | $51,584 |
| 20 | North Hollywood | 71,248 | $623,486 | $57,555 |
| 21 | Tujunga | 26,088 | $546,061 | $77,320 |
| 22 | Van Nuys | 109,844 | $545,731 | $58,231 |
| 23 | Lincoln Heights | 33,525 | $547,919 | $51,775 |
| 23 | Harbor Gateway | 42,327 | $554,804 | $67,380 |
| 25 | Canoga Park | 55,504 | $444,276 | $65,037 |
| 26 | Glassell Park | 23,038 | $711,482 | $76,170 |
| 27 | Boyle Heights | 77,778 | $472,252 | $49,528 |
| 28 | El Sereno | 44,421 | $556,110 | $66,447 |
| 29 | Winnetka | 50,815 | $542,476 | $75,166 |
| 30 | Central City East | 23,663 | $630,142 | $58,266 |
| 31 | Panorama City | 62,980 | $420,144 | $55,198 |
| 32 | Sunland | 16,555 | $551,050 | $91,974 |
| 32 | North Hills | 59,369 | $515,014 | $72,890 |
| 34 | Echo Park | 23,799 | $848,314 | $72,527 |
| 35 | Lakeview Terrace | 13,477 | $459,025 | $82,779 |
| 36 | Hollywood | 143,022 | $803,580 | $53,967 |
| 37 | Westlake | 98,864 | $755,085 | $46,523 |
| 37 | West Adams | 25,628 | $609,010 | $52,313 |
| 39 | Hollywood Hills | 31,163 | $1,232,129 | $113,863 |
| 40 | Valley Village | 28,134 | $837,730 | $84,571 |
| 41 | Pacoima | 71,405 | $431,452 | $62,298 |
| 41 | Sun Valley | 79,154 | $526,454 | $63,454 |
| 43 | Mission Hills | 21,378 | $497,623 | $84,609 |
| 44 | Studio City | 40,742 | $1,041,634 | $117,445 |
| 45 | Westchester | 36,173 | $1,001,476 | $129,931 |
| 46 | Sylmar | 78,715 | $471,372 | $78,184 |
| 47 | San Pedro | 77,099 | $609,528 | $77,474 |
| 48 | Toluca Lake | 9,150 | $890,544 | $83,615 |
| 49 | Chatsworth | 41,206 | $592,150 | $101,676 |
| 50 | Beverly Glen | 12,053 | $1,705,700 | $193,885 |
| 50 | Arleta | 39,928 | $500,739 | $84,270 |
| 52 | Mid City | 82,665 | $994,947 | $73,044 |
| 53 | Northridge | 82,432 | $622,194 | $94,583 |
| 54 | Reseda | 70,313 | $528,697 | $74,808 |
| 55 | Playa Del Ray | 16,056 | $873,850 | $104,607 |
| 56 | Woodland Hills | 77,392 | $762,283 | $109,058 |
| 57 | Silver Lake | 38,829 | $943,164 | $91,137 |
| 58 | Encino | 51,628 | $881,117 | $117,836 |
| 59 | Tarzana | 39,168 | $696,533 | $89,012 |
| 60 | Mount Washington | 18,109 | $739,788 | $89,732 |
| 60 | Shadow Hills | 4,677 | $719,933 | $100,458 |
| 62 | Highland Park | 45,611 | $685,910 | $73,793 |
| 63 | Granada Hills | 53,139 | $633,692 | $107,829 |
| 64 | Los Feliz | 28,163 | $1,174,050 | $101,089 |
| 64 | West Hills | 40,760 | $666,650 | $123,412 |
| 66 | Mid City West | 44,687 | $1,457,400 | $98,680 |
| 67 | Eagle Rock | 31,016 | $820,187 | $95,550 |
| 68 | Jefferson Park | 31,402 | $729,400 | $57,065 |
| 69 | Venice | 32,030 | $1,713,615 | $122,750 |
| 70 | West Los Angeles | 13,682 | $1,069,617 | $116,735 |
| 71 | Sawtelle | 34,435 | $807,986 | $92,728 |
| 72 | Atwater Village | 10,765 | $789,870 | $91,126 |
| 73 | Portar Ranch | 22,688 | $681,550 | $122,141 |
| 74 | Pico-Robertson | 18,291 | $1,296,346 | $103,804 |
| 75 | Westwood | 57,287 | $1,266,754 | $78,789 |
| 76 | Century City | 5,810 | $1,267,517 | $111,840 |
| 77 | Playa Vista | 8,485 | $1,225,967 | $151,877 |
| 78 | Mid Wilshire | 39,181 | $1,204,131 | $99,711 |
| 79 | Bel Air | 6,984 | $1,880,401 | $198,758 |
| 80 | Palms | 37,859 | $987,476 | $83,954 |
| 80 | Pacific Palisades | 21,864 | $2,000,001 | $205,646 |
| 82 | Brentwood | 31,709 | $1,392,827 | $163,253 |
| 83 | Mar Vista | 36,353 | $1,249,943 | $102,786 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 83 Los Angeles neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Los Angeles
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Los Angeles with Fashion District landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Los Angeles are Fashion District, Wholesale District-Skid Row, Leiment Park, South Park, Montecito Heights, Civic Center-Little Tokyo, Central City, Watts, Wilmington, and Cypress Park.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Los Angeles aren’t all bad. Mar Vista takes the cake as the best place to live in Los Angeles.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on California? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Los Angeles FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Los Angeles?
Fashion District ranks as the worst neighborhood in Los Angeles for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Wholesale District-Skid Row and Leiment Park are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Los Angeles?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Los Angeles are Fashion District, Wholesale District-Skid Row, Leiment Park, South Park, Montecito Heights, Civic Center-Little Tokyo, Central City, Watts, Wilmington, and Cypress Park. We scored all 83 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Fashion District rank as the worst?
Fashion District posts the roughest combined numbers in Los Angeles: a median household income of $39,866 and a median home value of $89,350, 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.
