Knoxville’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 Knoxville.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Tennessee thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Knoxville. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Knoxville neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Knoxville hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 34 of Knoxville’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$21,228 median income
$25,421 median income
$25,421 median income
$26,871 median income
$23,489 median income
$27,681 median income
$39,073 median income
$18,258 median income
$40,770 median income
$28,797 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Tennessee’s statewide median.
Tennessee statewide median: $333,651
Tennessee statewide median: $69,595
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Knoxville 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 Knoxville:
- 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 Knoxville, Tennessee 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 Knoxville.
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 34 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Knoxville for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old North Knoxville | 868 | $77,045 | $21,228 |
| 2 | Old City | 2,887 | $68,199 | $25,421 |
| 3 | Downtown | 3,224 | $68,199 | $25,421 |
| 4 | Old Sevier | 1,075 | $71,158 | $26,871 |
| 5 | Beaumont | 818 | $64,378 | $23,489 |
| 6 | SouthKnoxville | 8,686 | $86,621 | $27,681 |
| 7 | Holston Hills | 4,628 | $90,304 | $39,073 |
| 8 | Mechanicsville | 3,536 | $51,011 | $18,258 |
| 9 | Halls Crossroads | 566 | $121,249 | $40,770 |
| 10 | North Hills | 2,522 | $98,267 | $28,797 |
| 11 | Western Heights | 2,801 | $61,111 | $20,505 |
| 12 | South Knoxville | 28,682 | $118,327 | $32,785 |
| 13 | Norwood | 29,798 | $103,606 | $44,660 |
| 14 | Burlington | 6,187 | $83,786 | $30,139 |
| 15 | Lonsdale | 13,278 | $91,135 | $23,168 |
| 16 | Lake Forest | 5,911 | $158,771 | $35,516 |
| 17 | West Knoxville | 45,979 | $238,722 | $52,085 |
| 18 | North Knoxville | 42,454 | $112,359 | $36,308 |
| 19 | Forest Heights | 957 | $255,731 | $55,661 |
| 20 | East Knoxville | 20,794 | $193,506 | $36,682 |
| 21 | Marble City | 4,216 | $255,731 | $43,193 |
| 22 | Rocky Hill | 2,135 | $187,957 | $78,104 |
| 23 | Deane Hill | 6,908 | $241,037 | $72,576 |
| 24 | Park City | 3,603 | $165,209 | $25,643 |
| 25 | Whittle Springs | 8,833 | $104,175 | $34,082 |
| 26 | Bearden | 4,215 | $255,731 | $87,724 |
| 27 | Colonial Village | 4,814 | $121,779 | $42,783 |
| 28 | Lakemoor Hills | 1,934 | $454,418 | $74,274 |
| 29 | Fountain City | 26,120 | $140,310 | $45,135 |
| 30 | Inskip | 20,491 | $119,126 | $39,540 |
| 31 | Lyons View | 759 | $454,418 | $87,431 |
| 32 | Morningside | 1,560 | $457,125 | $26,608 |
| 33 | Parkridge | 4,131 | $279,807 | $24,933 |
| 34 | Five Points | 2,647 | $307,891 | $25,624 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 34 Knoxville neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Knoxville
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Knoxville with Old North Knoxville landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Knoxville are Old North Knoxville, Old City, Downtown, Old Sevier, Beaumont, SouthKnoxville, Holston Hills, Mechanicsville, Halls Crossroads, and North Hills.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Knoxville aren’t all bad. Five Points takes the cake as the best place to live in Knoxville.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Tennessee? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Knoxville FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Knoxville?
Old North Knoxville ranks as the worst neighborhood in Knoxville for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Old City and Downtown are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Knoxville?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Knoxville are Old North Knoxville, Old City, Downtown, Old Sevier, Beaumont, SouthKnoxville, Holston Hills, Mechanicsville, Halls Crossroads, and North Hills. We scored all 34 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Old North Knoxville rank as the worst?
Old North Knoxville posts the roughest combined numbers in Knoxville: a median household income of $21,228 and a median home value of $77,045, 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.
