Pittsburgh’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 Pittsburgh.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Pennsylvania thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Pittsburgh. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Pittsburgh neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Pittsburgh hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 84 of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$34,861 median income
$33,083 median income
$33,083 median income
$21,408 median income
$27,250 median income
$33,083 median income
$16,417 median income
$16,551 median income
$41,920 median income
$27,178 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Pennsylvania’s statewide median.
Pennsylvania statewide median: $282,736
Pennsylvania statewide median: $77,971
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh:
- 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 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 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 Pittsburgh.
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 84 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Pittsburgh for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Clair | 317 | $53,600 | $34,861 |
| 2 | Mt Oliver | 291 | $57,200 | $33,083 |
| 3 | Arlington Heights | 315 | $57,200 | $33,083 |
| 4 | Larimer | 1,557 | $34,200 | $21,408 |
| 5 | Esplen | 380 | $43,800 | $27,250 |
| 6 | Arlington | 1,368 | $57,200 | $33,083 |
| 7 | East Hills | 2,589 | $61,850 | $16,417 |
| 8 | Bedford Dwellings | 1,262 | $49,500 | $16,551 |
| 10 | Marshall-Shadeland | 4,396 | $49,920 | $41,920 |
| 10 | Spring Hill-City View | 2,537 | $69,100 | $27,178 |
| 10 | Elliott | 1,911 | $61,500 | $35,972 |
| 12 | Homewood West | 747 | $52,400 | $22,470 |
| 13 | East Carnegie | 434 | $78,000 | $41,250 |
| 14 | Sheraden | 4,604 | $63,071 | $42,337 |
| 15 | Homewood North | 2,558 | $46,625 | $29,694 |
| 16 | Mount Oliver | 3,289 | $54,075 | $33,437 |
| 17 | Fine View | 1,052 | $84,500 | $37,880 |
| 18 | Knoxville | 3,836 | $52,600 | $40,874 |
| 19 | Beltzhoover | 1,927 | $59,500 | $37,215 |
| 20 | West Oakland | 1,403 | $119,150 | $18,391 |
| 21 | Upper Hill | 2,129 | $69,750 | $34,954 |
| 22 | Hazelwood | 3,168 | $130,000 | $32,709 |
| 23 | Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar | 4,433 | $50,100 | $33,697 |
| 24 | Terrace Village | 2,631 | $129,500 | $16,417 |
| 25 | California-Kirkbride | 763 | $71,500 | $28,125 |
| 26 | Carrick | 10,678 | $80,838 | $39,096 |
| 27 | Bon Air | 861 | $84,200 | $53,375 |
| 28 | Homewood South | 1,947 | $79,700 | $19,679 |
| 29 | Wind Gap | 1,356 | $98,100 | $56,729 |
| 30 | Lincoln Place | 3,046 | $83,700 | $64,835 |
| 31 | Crawford Roberts | 1,833 | $148,400 | $17,822 |
| 32 | Chateau | 69 | $226,500 | $39,583 |
| 33 | Perry South | 4,142 | $90,625 | $40,444 |
| 34 | Oakland | 9,164 | $141,840 | $19,301 |
| 35 | Perry North | 3,971 | $108,260 | $64,892 |
| 36 | Ridgemont | 636 | $103,700 | $59,514 |
| 37 | Chartiers City | 518 | $98,100 | $66,583 |
| 38 | Crafton Heights | 3,791 | $88,625 | $44,836 |
| 39 | Allentown | 1,815 | $31,000 | $51,792 |
| 40 | Overbrook | 3,530 | $108,083 | $53,252 |
| 41 | Hays | 962 | $130,867 | $59,992 |
| 42 | Beechview | 7,905 | $102,027 | $57,488 |
| 43 | Garfield | 3,717 | $121,700 | $48,547 |
| 44 | Summer Hill | 805 | $117,400 | $75,280 |
| 45 | Spring Garden | 776 | $125,300 | $61,280 |
| 45 | Troy Hill | 1,592 | $88,650 | $58,158 |
| 47 | Westwood | 2,859 | $115,800 | $60,366 |
| 48 | Mount Washington | 8,239 | $117,788 | $56,416 |
| 49 | Herrs Island | 412 | $79,100 | $75,298 |
| 50 | East Allegheny | 1,791 | $205,450 | $32,871 |
| 51 | Manchester | 2,025 | $202,550 | $45,255 |
| 51 | Oakwood | 990 | $144,050 | $62,938 |
| 53 | Bluff | 5,906 | $147,700 | $39,531 |
| 54 | Swisshelm Park | 1,206 | $155,450 | $69,838 |
| 55 | Brookline | 12,956 | $128,560 | $62,725 |
| 56 | Brighton Heights | 6,937 | $119,617 | $66,175 |
| 57 | Banksville | 4,020 | $137,467 | $70,330 |
| 58 | Strip District | 1,265 | $422,100 | $120,764 |
| 59 | Southside Slopes | 4,265 | $169,083 | $54,903 |
| 60 | Allegheny West | 314 | $328,100 | $82,500 |
| 61 | Point Breeze North | 1,953 | $163,800 | $68,691 |
| 62 | Stanton Heights | 4,387 | $163,800 | $67,287 |
| 63 | Allegheny Center | 1,508 | $328,100 | $62,943 |
| 64 | Upper Lawrenceville | 2,561 | $138,867 | $63,034 |
| 65 | North Shore | 259 | $328,100 | $82,049 |
| 66 | Greenfield | 8,032 | $172,400 | $62,590 |
| 67 | Polish Hill | 1,382 | $183,300 | $63,316 |
| 67 | North Oakland | 9,017 | $343,400 | $32,413 |
| 69 | Central Lawrenceville | 4,659 | $226,300 | $62,966 |
| 70 | Central Northside | 2,667 | $314,800 | $52,454 |
| 71 | Bloomfield | 9,417 | $236,680 | $53,420 |
| 72 | Duquesne Heights | 2,341 | $148,100 | $70,178 |
| 73 | Regent Square | 879 | $282,250 | $85,507 |
| 74 | Friendship | 1,911 | $283,800 | $41,534 |
| 75 | East Liberty | 5,708 | $290,525 | $49,623 |
| 76 | Morningside | 2,856 | $186,567 | $66,919 |
| 77 | Southside Flats | 6,588 | $252,086 | $58,211 |
| 78 | Point Breeze | 5,572 | $327,714 | $117,544 |
| 79 | Squirrel Hill South | 14,208 | $318,800 | $75,200 |
| 79 | Lower Lawrenceville | 2,012 | $242,867 | $79,766 |
| 81 | Shadyside | 14,174 | $352,892 | $62,193 |
| 82 | Central Business District | 4,487 | $505,780 | $90,768 |
| 83 | Squirrel Hill North | 11,540 | $497,262 | $117,062 |
| 84 | Highland Park | 6,556 | $410,917 | $93,654 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 84 Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Pittsburgh
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Pittsburgh with Saint Clair landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Pittsburgh are Saint Clair, Mt Oliver, Arlington Heights, Larimer, Esplen, Arlington, East Hills, Bedford Dwellings, Marshall-Shadeland, and Spring Hill-City View.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Pittsburgh aren’t all bad. Highland Park takes the cake as the best place to live in Pittsburgh.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Pennsylvania? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Pittsburgh FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Pittsburgh?
Saint Clair ranks as the worst neighborhood in Pittsburgh for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Mt Oliver and Arlington Heights are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Pittsburgh?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Pittsburgh are Saint Clair, Mt Oliver, Arlington Heights, Larimer, Esplen, Arlington, East Hills, Bedford Dwellings, Marshall-Shadeland, and Spring Hill-City View. We scored all 84 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Saint Clair rank as the worst?
Saint Clair posts the roughest combined numbers in Pittsburgh: a median household income of $34,861 and a median home value of $53,600, 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.
