Portland’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 Portland.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Oregon thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Portland. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Portland neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Portland hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 63 of Portland’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$60,428 median income
$40,114 median income
$60,522 median income
$46,666 median income
$58,037 median income
$51,060 median income
$68,454 median income
$67,280 median income
$66,078 median income
$54,018 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Oregon’s statewide median.
Oregon statewide median: $499,004
Oregon statewide median: $83,011
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Portland 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 Portland:
- 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 Portland, Oregon 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 Portland.
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 63 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Portland for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saintjohns | 7,933 | $227,860 | $60,428 |
| 2 | Powellhurst | 25,760 | $186,475 | $40,114 |
| 3 | Haden Island | 565 | $149,050 | $60,522 |
| 4 | Portsmith | 10,654 | $250,000 | $46,666 |
| 5 | Parkrose | 5,614 | $329,625 | $58,037 |
| 6 | Centennial | 22,726 | $279,580 | $51,060 |
| 7 | Cully | 13,078 | $371,260 | $68,454 |
| 8 | Government Island | 418 | $281,500 | $67,280 |
| 9 | Madison South | 7,738 | $352,820 | $66,078 |
| 10 | Foster Powell | 7,801 | $250,786 | $54,018 |
| 11 | Argay | 5,466 | $364,000 | $75,251 |
| 12 | Cathedral Park | 3,556 | $352,350 | $76,628 |
| 13 | Montavilla | 16,478 | $372,617 | $65,253 |
| 14 | Old Town-Chinatown | 2,845 | $418,750 | $20,650 |
| 15 | Hazelwood | 25,397 | $308,732 | $53,042 |
| 16 | Wilkes | 8,465 | $339,243 | $73,738 |
| 17 | Brentwood-Darlington | 13,753 | $319,340 | $67,974 |
| 18 | Lents | 20,735 | $349,793 | $70,070 |
| 19 | Maplewood-Ashcreek | 17,712 | $361,243 | $79,174 |
| 20 | Hosford | 8,107 | $417,230 | $71,902 |
| 21 | Mill Park | 9,784 | $265,186 | $58,057 |
| 22 | Kenton | 7,526 | $407,683 | $76,704 |
| 23 | Pleasant Valley | 12,150 | $367,575 | $89,568 |
| 23 | Bridgeton | 682 | $289,400 | $73,450 |
| 25 | Lloyd | 3,181 | $433,520 | $62,631 |
| 26 | Creston-Kenilworth | 9,530 | $432,967 | $68,844 |
| 27 | Brooklyn | 5,248 | $489,033 | $78,382 |
| 28 | Kerns | 6,087 | $561,086 | $50,693 |
| 29 | Sunderland | 492 | $391,450 | $111,891 |
| 30 | Woodlawn | 5,292 | $453,567 | $86,659 |
| 31 | Center | 9,781 | $436,970 | $78,398 |
| 32 | Downtown | 13,640 | $462,350 | $49,632 |
| 33 | Mount Scott | 8,205 | $383,973 | $77,163 |
| 34 | South Tabor | 7,365 | $416,957 | $77,546 |
| 35 | University Park | 5,848 | $479,075 | $88,197 |
| 36 | Northwest | 15,790 | $608,590 | $76,223 |
| 37 | Far Southwest | 1,911 | $449,300 | $67,612 |
| 38 | Buckman | 10,359 | $492,950 | $65,544 |
| 39 | Roseway | 7,276 | $414,960 | $92,378 |
| 40 | Boise | 4,881 | $449,040 | $78,122 |
| 41 | Overlook | 7,116 | $500,544 | $94,750 |
| 42 | King | 7,657 | $528,200 | $80,066 |
| 42 | Eliot | 4,990 | $552,300 | $66,836 |
| 44 | Sellwood-Moreland | 11,437 | $509,817 | $82,661 |
| 44 | Ross Island | 154 | $450,000 | $100,139 |
| 46 | Woodstock | 10,148 | $469,742 | $91,722 |
| 47 | Concordia | 12,215 | $528,145 | $98,964 |
| 48 | Arbor Lodge | 7,552 | $451,278 | $101,657 |
| 49 | Linnton | 736 | $554,700 | $115,628 |
| 50 | Reed | 4,972 | $587,867 | $82,106 |
| 51 | Richmond | 13,863 | $570,560 | $97,974 |
| 52 | Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill | 9,745 | $595,773 | $93,468 |
| 53 | Mount Tabor | 11,071 | $531,473 | $86,375 |
| 54 | Hayhurst | 5,685 | $548,625 | $100,939 |
| 55 | Hillsdale | 8,217 | $639,744 | $126,414 |
| 56 | Irvington | 6,888 | $655,710 | $117,538 |
| 57 | Forest Park | 10,184 | $664,927 | $138,185 |
| 58 | Homestead | 2,497 | $661,400 | $103,449 |
| 59 | Bridlemile | 4,543 | $631,700 | $117,312 |
| 60 | Southwest Hills | 5,516 | $831,817 | $172,903 |
| 61 | Eastmoreland | 4,897 | $729,150 | $157,265 |
| 62 | Alameda | 5,173 | $711,033 | $165,672 |
| 63 | Pearl District | 9,159 | $630,200 | $102,361 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 63 Portland neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Portland
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Portland with Saintjohns landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Portland are Saintjohns, Powellhurst, Haden Island, Portsmith, Parkrose, Centennial, Cully, Government Island, Madison South, and Foster Powell.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Portland aren’t all bad. Pearl District takes the cake as the best place to live in Portland.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Oregon? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Portland FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Portland?
Saintjohns ranks as the worst neighborhood in Portland for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Powellhurst and Haden Island are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Portland?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Portland are Saintjohns, Powellhurst, Haden Island, Portsmith, Parkrose, Centennial, Cully, Government Island, Madison South, and Foster Powell. We scored all 63 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Saintjohns rank as the worst?
Saintjohns posts the roughest combined numbers in Portland: a median household income of $60,428 and a median home value of $227,860, 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.
