Jersey City’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 Jersey City.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in New Jersey thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Jersey City. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Jersey City neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Jersey City hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 11 of Jersey City’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$46,054 median income
$63,375 median income
$67,422 median income
$66,774 median income
$64,553 median income
$77,231 median income
Located in
Hudson County, New Jersey
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$65,850 median income
$71,342 median income
$182,926 median income
$133,134 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New Jersey’s statewide median.
New Jersey statewide median: $569,411
New Jersey statewide median: $103,556
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Jersey City 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 Jersey City:
- 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 Jersey City, New Jersey 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 Jersey City.
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 11 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Jersey City for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bergen-Lafayette | 22,642 | $366,400 | $46,054 |
| 1 | Greenville | 48,963 | $337,270 | $63,375 |
| 3 | West Side | 23,620 | $326,669 | $67,422 |
| 4 | Hackensack Riverfront | 3,876 | $389,629 | $66,774 |
| 5 | Journal Square | 26,826 | $408,459 | $64,553 |
| 6 | Lincoln Park | 1,019 | $349,550 | $77,231 |
| 7 | McGinley Square | 20,749 | $425,200 | $65,850 |
| 8 | The Heights | 50,701 | $454,812 | $71,342 |
| 9 | Liberty Park | 618 | $601,300 | $182,926 |
| 10 | Downtown | 38,783 | $772,881 | $133,134 |
| 11 | The Waterfront | 14,428 | $793,950 | $172,200 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 11 Jersey City neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Jersey City
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Jersey City with Bergen-Lafayette landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Jersey City are Bergen-Lafayette, Greenville, West Side, Hackensack Riverfront, Journal Square, Lincoln Park, McGinley Square, The Heights, Liberty Park, and Downtown.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Jersey City aren’t all bad. The Waterfront takes the cake as the best place to live in Jersey City.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on New Jersey? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Jersey City FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Jersey City?
Bergen-Lafayette ranks as the worst neighborhood in Jersey City for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Greenville and West Side are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Jersey City?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Jersey City are Bergen-Lafayette, Greenville, West Side, Hackensack Riverfront, Journal Square, Lincoln Park, McGinley Square, The Heights, Liberty Park, and Downtown. We scored all 11 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Bergen-Lafayette rank as the worst?
Bergen-Lafayette posts the roughest combined numbers in Jersey City: a median household income of $46,054 and a median home value of $366,400, 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.
