Grand Rapids’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 Grand Rapids.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Michigan thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Grand Rapids. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Grand Rapids neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Grand Rapids hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 32 of Grand Rapids’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$49,188 median income
$36,130 median income
$40,341 median income
Data | Movers
$44,480 median income
$51,944 median income
$46,842 median income
$53,517 median income
$37,390 median income
$50,192 median income
$35,821 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Michigan’s statewide median.
Michigan statewide median: $259,857
Michigan statewide median: $72,875
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids:
- 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 Grand Rapids, Michigan 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 Grand Rapids.
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 32 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Grand Rapids for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Hills | 590 | $65,100 | $49,188 |
| 2 | South East Community | 4,161 | $121,911 | $36,130 |
| 3 | Roosevelt Park | 6,380 | $90,740 | $40,341 |
| 4 | Oakdale | 2,354 | $112,833 | $44,480 |
| 5 | John Ball Park | 3,599 | $121,400 | $51,944 |
| 6 | West Grand | 16,637 | $137,400 | $46,842 |
| 7 | Fuller Avenue | 2,019 | $108,150 | $53,517 |
| 8 | Madison Area | 3,424 | $98,940 | $37,390 |
| 9 | Garfield Park | 17,372 | $94,325 | $50,192 |
| 10 | Auburn Hill | 213 | $158,400 | $35,821 |
| 11 | South East End | 4,401 | $142,933 | $51,873 |
| 12 | Swan | 5,037 | $173,950 | $49,516 |
| 13 | South Hill | 899 | $207,300 | $46,503 |
| 14 | Alger Heights | 4,344 | $136,233 | $57,904 |
| 15 | Belknap Lookout | 4,731 | $217,267 | $54,761 |
| 16 | Heartside | 3,513 | $256,700 | $41,543 |
| 17 | Heritage Hill | 3,739 | $238,709 | $50,454 |
| 18 | Baxter | 2,872 | $134,267 | $57,251 |
| 19 | Norteast Citizens Action | 11,383 | $213,238 | $72,959 |
| 20 | Highland Park | 3,324 | $131,500 | $56,041 |
| 21 | Fulton Heights | 1,034 | $180,800 | $88,668 |
| 22 | Midtown | 3,870 | $186,875 | $52,263 |
| 23 | Creston | 26,114 | $150,367 | $59,171 |
| 24 | Eastgate | 701 | $179,400 | $69,995 |
| 25 | Cherry Run | 739 | $163,000 | $76,768 |
| 26 | Ridgemoor | 2,640 | $237,600 | $68,114 |
| 27 | Michgan Oaks | 1,776 | $178,800 | $67,069 |
| 28 | Westside Connection | 11,928 | $169,860 | $67,886 |
| 29 | East Hills | 3,683 | $175,650 | $58,922 |
| 30 | Eastown | 4,843 | $248,925 | $78,280 |
| 31 | Millbrook | 6,637 | $188,000 | $70,289 |
| 32 | Ottawa Hills | 800 | $333,700 | $70,679 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 32 Grand Rapids neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Grand Rapids
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Grand Rapids with Black Hills landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Grand Rapids are Black Hills, South East Community, Roosevelt Park, Oakdale, John Ball Park, West Grand, Fuller Avenue, Madison Area, Garfield Park, and Auburn Hill.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Grand Rapids aren’t all bad. Ottawa Hills takes the cake as the best place to live in Grand Rapids.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Michigan? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Grand Rapids FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Grand Rapids?
Black Hills ranks as the worst neighborhood in Grand Rapids for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. South East Community and Roosevelt Park are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Grand Rapids?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Grand Rapids are Black Hills, South East Community, Roosevelt Park, Oakdale, John Ball Park, West Grand, Fuller Avenue, Madison Area, Garfield Park, and Auburn Hill. We scored all 32 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Black Hills rank as the worst?
Black Hills posts the roughest combined numbers in Grand Rapids: a median household income of $49,188 and a median home value of $65,100, 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.
