Chesapeake’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 Chesapeake.
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 Chesapeake. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Chesapeake neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Chesapeake hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 13 of Chesapeake’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$52,299 median income
$67,890 median income
$79,245 median income
$79,284 median income
$59,873 median income
$87,613 median income
$92,434 median income
$87,766 median income
$102,282 median income
$104,320 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 Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake:
- 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 Chesapeake, 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 Chesapeake.
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 13 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Chesapeake for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Norfolk | 22,479 | $179,964 | $52,299 |
| 3 | Deep Creek North | 17,897 | $203,267 | $67,890 |
| 3 | Deep Creek West-Dismal Swamp | 7,327 | $267,475 | $79,245 |
| 3 | Greenbrier West | 19,480 | $255,523 | $79,284 |
| 5 | Indian River | 23,332 | $186,477 | $59,873 |
| 6 | Western Branch North | 16,846 | $252,450 | $87,613 |
| 7 | Western Branch South | 16,377 | $246,950 | $92,434 |
| 8 | Greenbrier East | 28,467 | $283,492 | $87,766 |
| 9 | Great Bridge | 25,578 | $339,836 | $102,282 |
| 10 | Pleasant Grove West | 12,617 | $390,020 | $104,320 |
| 11 | Butts Station | 6,690 | $386,300 | $120,043 |
| 12 | Great Bridge East | 17,274 | $386,350 | $113,893 |
| 13 | Deep Creek South | 11,774 | $306,550 | $113,917 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 13 Chesapeake neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Chesapeake
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Chesapeake with South Norfolk landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Chesapeake are South Norfolk, Deep Creek North, Deep Creek West-Dismal Swamp, Greenbrier West, Indian River, Western Branch North, Western Branch South, Greenbrier East, Great Bridge, and Pleasant Grove West.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Chesapeake aren’t all bad. Deep Creek South takes the cake as the best place to live in Chesapeake.
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 Chesapeake FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Chesapeake?
South Norfolk ranks as the worst neighborhood in Chesapeake for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Deep Creek North and Deep Creek West-Dismal Swamp are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Chesapeake?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Chesapeake are South Norfolk, Deep Creek North, Deep Creek West-Dismal Swamp, Greenbrier West, Indian River, Western Branch North, Western Branch South, Greenbrier East, Great Bridge, and Pleasant Grove West. We scored all 13 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does South Norfolk rank as the worst?
South Norfolk posts the roughest combined numbers in Chesapeake: a median household income of $52,299 and a median home value of $179,964, 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.
