Raleigh’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 Raleigh.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in North Carolina thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Raleigh. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Raleigh neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Raleigh hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 18 of Raleigh’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$42,477 median income
$38,691 median income
$43,932 median income
$56,500 median income
$34,998 median income
$49,446 median income
$62,387 median income
$69,122 median income
$78,719 median income
$68,103 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is North Carolina’s statewide median.
North Carolina statewide median: $336,408
North Carolina statewide median: $72,388
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Raleigh 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 Raleigh:
- 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 Raleigh, North Carolina 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 Raleigh.
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 18 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Raleigh for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South | 17,197 | $131,456 | $42,477 |
| 2 | Southwest | 22,629 | $132,067 | $38,691 |
| 3 | Southeast | 28,074 | $124,092 | $43,932 |
| 4 | Northeast | 87,424 | $154,814 | $56,500 |
| 5 | South Central | 7,209 | $235,712 | $34,998 |
| 6 | West | 37,998 | $161,100 | $49,446 |
| 7 | East Raleigh | 11,598 | $372,057 | $62,387 |
| 8 | Central | 7,434 | $407,400 | $69,122 |
| 9 | Northwest | 81,974 | $279,428 | $78,719 |
| 10 | Falls Of Neuse | 9,886 | $324,617 | $68,103 |
| 11 | North | 76,649 | $266,389 | $80,005 |
| 12 | North Central | 5,599 | $425,040 | $105,066 |
| 13 | Mordecai | 3,022 | $450,000 | $96,375 |
| 14 | Six Forks | 11,821 | $398,357 | $87,769 |
| 15 | Hillsborough | 16,059 | $494,338 | $66,214 |
| 16 | Five Points | 8,669 | $593,800 | $148,413 |
| 17 | Wade | 9,237 | $672,878 | $125,326 |
| 18 | Glenwood | 8,325 | $665,475 | $165,486 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 18 Raleigh neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Raleigh
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Raleigh with South landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Raleigh are South, Southwest, Southeast, Northeast, South Central, West, East Raleigh, Central, Northwest, and Falls Of Neuse.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Raleigh aren’t all bad. Glenwood takes the cake as the best place to live in Raleigh.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on North Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Raleigh FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Raleigh?
South ranks as the worst neighborhood in Raleigh for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Southwest and Southeast are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Raleigh?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Raleigh are South, Southwest, Southeast, Northeast, South Central, West, East Raleigh, Central, Northwest, and Falls Of Neuse. We scored all 18 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does South rank as the worst?
South posts the roughest combined numbers in Raleigh: a median household income of $42,477 and a median home value of $131,456, 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.
