Miami’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 Miami.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Florida thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Miami. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Miami neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Miami hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 13 of Miami’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$24,443 median income
$53,417 median income
$30,292 median income
$30,979 median income
$36,525 median income
$31,236 median income
$83,666 median income
$52,071 median income
$88,620 median income
$99,136 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Florida’s statewide median.
Florida statewide median: $375,662
Florida statewide median: $74,568
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Miami 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 Miami:
- 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 Miami, Florida 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 Miami.
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 13 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Miami for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Model City | 25,023 | $94,396 | $24,443 |
| 2 | Wynwood | 17,923 | $156,805 | $53,417 |
| 3 | Allapattah | 47,224 | $220,761 | $30,292 |
| 4 | Overtown | 12,917 | $242,980 | $30,979 |
| 5 | Little Haiti | 32,894 | $302,636 | $36,525 |
| 6 | West Flagler | 49,734 | $229,267 | $31,236 |
| 7 | South Coconut Grove | 7,956 | $538,740 | $83,666 |
| 7 | Upper Eastside | 9,247 | $605,173 | $52,071 |
| 9 | Downtown | 19,627 | $474,762 | $88,620 |
| 10 | North Coconut Grove | 10,440 | $592,500 | $99,136 |
| 11 | Little Havana | 58,188 | $292,680 | $31,589 |
| 12 | Coral Way | 42,946 | $404,100 | $64,787 |
| 13 | Flagami | 59,848 | $287,165 | $43,130 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 13 Miami neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Miami
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Miami with Model City landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Miami are Model City, Wynwood, Allapattah, Overtown, Little Haiti, West Flagler, South Coconut Grove, Upper Eastside, Downtown, and North Coconut Grove.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Miami aren’t all bad. Flagami takes the cake as the best place to live in Miami.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Florida? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Miami FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Miami?
Model City ranks as the worst neighborhood in Miami for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Wynwood and Allapattah are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Miami?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Miami are Model City, Wynwood, Allapattah, Overtown, Little Haiti, West Flagler, South Coconut Grove, Upper Eastside, Downtown, and North Coconut Grove. We scored all 13 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Model City rank as the worst?
Model City posts the roughest combined numbers in Miami: a median household income of $24,443 and a median home value of $94,396, 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.
