Las Vegas’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 Las Vegas.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Nevada thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Las Vegas. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Las Vegas neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Las Vegas hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 26 of Las Vegas’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$34,737 median income
$34,789 median income
$32,829 median income
$47,170 median income
$53,788 median income
$54,675 median income
$53,273 median income
$28,524 median income
$40,863 median income
$50,869 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Nevada’s statewide median.
Nevada statewide median: $446,865
Nevada statewide median: $78,260
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Las Vegas 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 Las Vegas:
- 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 Las Vegas, Nevada 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 Las Vegas.
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 26 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Las Vegas for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umc | 3,994 | $70,160 | $34,737 |
| 2 | West Las Vegas | 20,794 | $175,140 | $34,789 |
| 3 | Cultural Corridor | 13,853 | $186,355 | $32,829 |
| 4 | Charleston Heights | 38,504 | $120,190 | $47,170 |
| 5 | Pioneer Park | 14,970 | $142,775 | $53,788 |
| 6 | Rancho Charleston | 37,405 | $203,500 | $54,675 |
| 7 | Angel Park Lindell | 13,653 | $153,210 | $53,273 |
| 8 | Downtown East | 8,135 | $119,050 | $28,524 |
| 9 | Sunrise | 17,856 | $161,646 | $40,863 |
| 10 | Michael Way | 52,421 | $203,972 | $50,869 |
| 10 | Buffalo | 16,522 | $404,673 | $57,905 |
| 12 | Downtown | 11,866 | $234,860 | $26,475 |
| 13 | Meadows Village | 3,624 | $231,867 | $41,786 |
| 13 | Twin Lakes | 11,869 | $242,750 | $61,487 |
| 15 | East Las Vegas | 33,308 | $139,690 | $37,761 |
| 16 | Huntridge | 15,837 | $211,321 | $53,903 |
| 17 | North Cheyenne | 42,143 | $264,984 | $74,903 |
| 18 | Centennial Hills | 64,968 | $307,993 | $88,613 |
| 19 | Sun City Summerlin | 12,542 | $228,717 | $53,685 |
| 20 | Desert Shores | 15,716 | $325,064 | $75,824 |
| 21 | Summerlin North | 56,533 | $366,115 | $99,809 |
| 22 | Tule Springs | 20,467 | $317,367 | $97,984 |
| 23 | Lone Mountain | 57,527 | $300,316 | $89,429 |
| 24 | The Lakes | 31,420 | $392,762 | $76,928 |
| 25 | Kyle Canyon | 26,776 | $359,609 | $93,659 |
| 26 | Sheep Mountain | 23,815 | $369,238 | $103,116 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 26 Las Vegas neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Las Vegas
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Las Vegas with Umc landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Las Vegas are Umc, West Las Vegas, Cultural Corridor, Charleston Heights, Pioneer Park, Rancho Charleston, Angel Park Lindell, Downtown East, Sunrise, and Michael Way.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Las Vegas aren’t all bad. Sheep Mountain takes the cake as the best place to live in Las Vegas.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Nevada? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Las Vegas FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Las Vegas?
Umc ranks as the worst neighborhood in Las Vegas for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. West Las Vegas and Cultural Corridor are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Las Vegas?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Las Vegas are Umc, West Las Vegas, Cultural Corridor, Charleston Heights, Pioneer Park, Rancho Charleston, Angel Park Lindell, Downtown East, Sunrise, and Michael Way. We scored all 26 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Umc rank as the worst?
Umc posts the roughest combined numbers in Las Vegas: a median household income of $34,737 and a median home value of $70,160, 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.
