Des Moines’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 Des Moines.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Iowa thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Des Moines. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Des Moines neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Des Moines hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 49 of Des Moines’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$32,832 median income
$41,255 median income
$42,059 median income
$37,853 median income
$36,169 median income
$35,134 median income
$35,516 median income
$66,094 median income
$29,094 median income
$67,838 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Iowa’s statewide median.
Iowa statewide median: $231,585
Iowa statewide median: $75,059
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Des Moines 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 Des Moines:
- 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 Des Moines, Iowa 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 Des Moines.
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 49 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Des Moines for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Vision | 858 | $61,400 | $32,832 |
| 2 | Cheatom Park | 1,542 | $89,900 | $41,255 |
| 3 | Capitol View South | 421 | $78,300 | $42,059 |
| 4 | East Village | 1,359 | $79,300 | $37,853 |
| 5 | Capitol East | 1,488 | $71,067 | $36,169 |
| 6 | River Bend | 2,522 | $121,000 | $35,134 |
| 7 | Mondamin Presidentia | 2,112 | $75,800 | $35,516 |
| 8 | Garton West | 57 | $93,800 | $66,094 |
| 9 | King-Irving Park | 2,399 | $86,950 | $29,094 |
| 10 | Laurel Hill | 322 | $124,700 | $67,838 |
| 11 | McKinley School | 1,750 | $83,933 | $43,808 |
| 12 | Highland Park | 9,529 | $107,356 | $48,216 |
| 13 | Capitol Park | 2,630 | $84,950 | $39,602 |
| 14 | Drake Park | 850 | $133,900 | $38,315 |
| 15 | Fairground | 4,460 | $78,871 | $38,775 |
| 16 | Martin Luther King Jr Park | 2,802 | $75,800 | $34,053 |
| 17 | Douglas Acres | 2,996 | $133,200 | $56,297 |
| 18 | Oak Park | 4,111 | $114,700 | $54,186 |
| 20 | Fairmont Park | 4,619 | $115,650 | $58,630 |
| 20 | Jordan Park | 2,175 | $116,700 | $26,350 |
| 20 | Indianola Hills | 5,271 | $127,000 | $49,755 |
| 22 | Accent | 3,853 | $103,925 | $56,897 |
| 23 | Valley High Manor | 235 | $134,600 | $74,427 |
| 24 | Union Park | 6,702 | $100,350 | $50,720 |
| 25 | Somerset | 232 | $178,900 | $34,952 |
| 25 | Greater South Side | 8,597 | $127,050 | $52,697 |
| 27 | Magnolia Park | 1,403 | $136,900 | $47,049 |
| 28 | Westwood | 1,556 | $261,550 | $69,514 |
| 29 | South Park | 4,114 | $146,900 | $43,188 |
| 30 | Merle Hay | 9,321 | $148,409 | $60,055 |
| 30 | Chautauqua Park | 461 | $97,100 | $44,750 |
| 32 | Gray’s Woods | 2,370 | $116,450 | $54,532 |
| 33 | Bloomfield-Allen | 9,066 | $149,900 | $70,410 |
| 34 | Southwestern Hills | 5,139 | $193,675 | $85,573 |
| 35 | Downtown Des Moines | 5,358 | $305,300 | $64,784 |
| 36 | Drake | 11,707 | $148,092 | $50,473 |
| 37 | Meredith | 4,719 | $208,000 | $82,472 |
| 38 | Sherman Hill | 1,633 | $276,200 | $48,500 |
| 38 | Waveland Woods | 922 | $166,600 | $65,250 |
| 40 | Woodland Heights | 2,179 | $137,767 | $48,632 |
| 40 | North Of Grand | 2,928 | $150,700 | $50,678 |
| 42 | Lower Beaver | 5,951 | $165,500 | $67,550 |
| 43 | Beaverdale | 9,096 | $175,960 | $72,005 |
| 44 | Waveland Park | 3,156 | $201,533 | $90,268 |
| 45 | Linden Heights | 441 | $357,000 | $82,279 |
| 46 | Greenwood | 1,101 | $276,100 | $70,557 |
| 47 | Salisbury Oaks | 1,209 | $338,750 | $95,572 |
| 48 | Ingersoll Park | 641 | $236,200 | $73,304 |
| 49 | Waterbury | 2,817 | $296,550 | $145,591 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 49 Des Moines neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Des Moines
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Des Moines with New Vision landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Des Moines are New Vision, Cheatom Park, Capitol View South, East Village, Capitol East, River Bend, Mondamin Presidentia, Garton West, King-Irving Park, and Laurel Hill.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Des Moines aren’t all bad. Waterbury takes the cake as the best place to live in Des Moines.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Iowa? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Des Moines FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Des Moines?
New Vision ranks as the worst neighborhood in Des Moines for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Cheatom Park and Capitol View South are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Des Moines?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Des Moines are New Vision, Cheatom Park, Capitol View South, East Village, Capitol East, River Bend, Mondamin Presidentia, Garton West, King-Irving Park, and Laurel Hill. We scored all 49 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does New Vision rank as the worst?
New Vision posts the roughest combined numbers in Des Moines: a median household income of $32,832 and a median home value of $61,400, 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.
