Dallas’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 Dallas.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Texas thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Dallas. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Dallas neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Dallas hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 33 of Dallas’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$30,213 median income
$45,819 median income
$33,974 median income
$33,363 median income
$35,903 median income
$86,907 median income
$42,243 median income
Data | Movers
$80,218 median income
$85,179 median income
$44,328 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
Texas statewide median: $78,476
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Dallas 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 Dallas:
- 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 Dallas, 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 Dallas.
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 33 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Dallas for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Boulevard-Park Row | 26,359 | $64,083 | $30,213 |
| 2 | Northwest Dallas | 3,961 | $127,100 | $45,819 |
| 3 | Urbandale-Parkdale | 25,716 | $78,462 | $33,974 |
| 4 | Cedar Crest | 67,875 | $83,769 | $33,363 |
| 5 | South Dallas | 31,153 | $92,479 | $35,903 |
| 6 | Government District | 1,020 | $470,667 | $86,907 |
| 7 | Cockrell Hill | 4,240 | $83,650 | $42,243 |
| 8 | Farmers Market District | 2,272 | $465,100 | $80,218 |
| 9 | Convention Center District | 1,178 | $557,200 | $85,179 |
| 10 | Love Field Area | 12,066 | $258,800 | $44,328 |
| 11 | Five Mile Creek | 6,958 | $163,380 | $40,307 |
| 12 | Southwest Dallas | 104,394 | $157,393 | $55,405 |
| 13 | Eagle Ford | 28,708 | $193,400 | $52,788 |
| 14 | Southeast Dallas | 140,736 | $100,293 | $45,220 |
| 15 | City Center District | 2,636 | $581,167 | $89,039 |
| 16 | Wolf Creek | 39,134 | $122,264 | $44,602 |
| 17 | Oak Cliff | 32,008 | $324,779 | $66,666 |
| 18 | Lake Highlands | 56,536 | $221,715 | $60,724 |
| 19 | Winnetka Heights | 62,164 | $139,384 | $51,829 |
| 20 | Reunion District | 1,195 | $423,700 | $92,419 |
| 21 | Arts District | 1,278 | $801,300 | $96,459 |
| 22 | Near East | 10,551 | $1,384,150 | $99,147 |
| 23 | Main Street District | 1,106 | $427,400 | $87,772 |
| 24 | Preston Hollow | 80,473 | $307,948 | $102,440 |
| 25 | Northeast Dallas | 236,985 | $309,550 | $78,164 |
| 26 | West End Historic District | 1,277 | $978,450 | $90,862 |
| 27 | Far North | 160,928 | $326,434 | $78,733 |
| 28 | Oak Lawn | 55,334 | $374,958 | $85,394 |
| 29 | North Dallas | 40,580 | $493,756 | $118,668 |
| 29 | m Streets | 34,205 | $470,647 | $106,301 |
| 31 | Bluffview | 13,662 | $559,310 | $106,446 |
| 32 | Highland Park | 8,797 | $1,383,288 | $197,247 |
| 33 | University Park | 24,259 | $1,176,311 | $198,578 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 33 Dallas neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Dallas
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Dallas with South Boulevard-Park Row landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Dallas are South Boulevard-Park Row, Northwest Dallas, Urbandale-Parkdale, Cedar Crest, South Dallas, Government District, Cockrell Hill, Farmers Market District, Convention Center District, and Love Field Area.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Dallas aren’t all bad. University Park takes the cake as the best place to live in Dallas.
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 Dallas FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Dallas?
South Boulevard-Park Row ranks as the worst neighborhood in Dallas for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Northwest Dallas and Urbandale-Parkdale are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Dallas?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Dallas are South Boulevard-Park Row, Northwest Dallas, Urbandale-Parkdale, Cedar Crest, South Dallas, Government District, Cockrell Hill, Farmers Market District, Convention Center District, and Love Field Area. We scored all 33 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does South Boulevard-Park Row rank as the worst?
South Boulevard-Park Row posts the roughest combined numbers in Dallas: a median household income of $30,213 and a median home value of $64,083, 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.
