Eugene’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 Eugene.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Oregon thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Eugene. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Eugene neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Eugene hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 21 of Eugene’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$51,736 median income
$50,854 median income
$46,446 median income
$34,549 median income
$26,884 median income
$41,432 median income
$63,726 median income
$20,050 median income
$35,544 median income
$56,380 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Oregon’s statewide median.
Oregon statewide median: $499,004
Oregon statewide median: $83,011
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Eugene 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 Eugene:
- 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 Eugene, Oregon 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 Eugene.
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 21 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Eugene for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Eugene | 4,394 | $245,286 | $51,736 |
| 2 | Trainsong | 1,299 | $219,000 | $50,854 |
| 3 | Active Bethel | 26,225 | $147,138 | $46,446 |
| 4 | Whiteaker | 3,610 | $266,267 | $34,549 |
| 5 | Downtown | 4,437 | $322,367 | $26,884 |
| 5 | Far West | 4,506 | $222,560 | $41,432 |
| 7 | Churchill Area | 9,308 | $281,330 | $63,726 |
| 8 | U Of O Campus | 3,022 | $468,100 | $20,050 |
| 9 | Jefferson Westside | 6,822 | $292,462 | $35,544 |
| 10 | River Road | 14,597 | $241,664 | $56,380 |
| 11 | Industrial Corridor | 3,315 | $323,640 | $70,946 |
| 12 | Fairmount | 4,368 | $492,350 | $58,236 |
| 13 | Harlow | 15,338 | $347,686 | $62,403 |
| 14 | Southeast | 11,883 | $315,722 | $77,774 |
| 14 | Santa Clara | 17,963 | $302,240 | $78,920 |
| 16 | South University | 3,884 | $518,750 | $34,684 |
| 17 | Laurel Hill Valley | 591 | $444,600 | $103,576 |
| 18 | Amazon | 1,618 | $369,000 | $76,480 |
| 19 | Friendly Area | 8,033 | $355,644 | $66,030 |
| 20 | Cal Young | 23,306 | $387,740 | $69,982 |
| 20 | Crest Drive | 5,545 | $415,775 | $87,860 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 21 Eugene neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Eugene
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Eugene with West Eugene landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Eugene are West Eugene, Trainsong, Active Bethel, Whiteaker, Downtown, Far West, Churchill Area, U Of O Campus, Jefferson Westside, and River Road.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Eugene aren’t all bad. Crest Drive takes the cake as the best place to live in Eugene.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Oregon? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Eugene FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Eugene?
West Eugene ranks as the worst neighborhood in Eugene for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Trainsong and Active Bethel are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Eugene?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Eugene are West Eugene, Trainsong, Active Bethel, Whiteaker, Downtown, Far West, Churchill Area, U Of O Campus, Jefferson Westside, and River Road. We scored all 21 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does West Eugene rank as the worst?
West Eugene posts the roughest combined numbers in Eugene: a median household income of $51,736 and a median home value of $245,286, 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.
