Alexandria’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 Alexandria.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Virginia thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Alexandria. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Alexandria neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Alexandria hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 15 of Alexandria’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$124,989 median income
$115,101 median income
$100,175 median income
$142,768 median income
$69,390 median income
$130,067 median income
$115,295 median income
$114,215 median income
$123,686 median income
$130,212 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Virginia’s statewide median.
Virginia statewide median: $412,467
Virginia statewide median: $93,170
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Alexandria 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 Alexandria:
- 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 Alexandria, Virginia 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 Alexandria.
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 15 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Alexandria for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King St Metro | 679 | $521,200 | $124,989 |
| 2 | Seminary Hill | 22,510 | $452,642 | $115,101 |
| 3 | Landmark-Van Dom | 28,354 | $319,643 | $100,175 |
| 4 | Fairlington-Bradlee | 617 | $463,550 | $142,768 |
| 5 | Alexandria Wrest | 30,816 | $215,805 | $69,390 |
| 6 | Taylor Run | 6,734 | $625,840 | $130,067 |
| 7 | Eisenhower East | 4,855 | $497,433 | $115,295 |
| 8 | Old Town North | 2,909 | $547,400 | $114,215 |
| 9 | Southwest Wuadrant | 3,148 | $690,080 | $123,686 |
| 10 | Northeast | 2,163 | $717,400 | $130,212 |
| 10 | Old Town | 7,734 | $926,364 | $165,319 |
| 12 | Braddock Road Metro | 6,798 | $734,611 | $160,862 |
| 13 | Potomac West | 24,852 | $666,145 | $128,834 |
| 14 | Potomac Yard-Potomac Greens | 3,687 | $701,780 | $151,798 |
| 15 | North Ridge-Rosemont | 12,405 | $551,750 | $158,414 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 15 Alexandria neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Alexandria
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Alexandria with King St Metro landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Alexandria are King St Metro, Seminary Hill, Landmark-Van Dom, Fairlington-Bradlee, Alexandria Wrest, Taylor Run, Eisenhower East, Old Town North, Southwest Wuadrant, and Northeast.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Alexandria aren’t all bad. North Ridge-Rosemont takes the cake as the best place to live in Alexandria.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Virginia? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Alexandria FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Alexandria?
King St Metro ranks as the worst neighborhood in Alexandria for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Seminary Hill and Landmark-Van Dom are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Alexandria?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Alexandria are King St Metro, Seminary Hill, Landmark-Van Dom, Fairlington-Bradlee, Alexandria Wrest, Taylor Run, Eisenhower East, Old Town North, Southwest Wuadrant, and Northeast. We scored all 15 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does King St Metro rank as the worst?
King St Metro posts the roughest combined numbers in Alexandria: a median household income of $124,989 and a median home value of $521,200, 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.
