Sacramento’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 Sacramento.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in California thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Sacramento. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Sacramento neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Sacramento hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 107 of Sacramento’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$30,224 median income
$38,229 median income
$40,065 median income
$42,618 median income
$36,250 median income
$36,794 median income
$42,723 median income
$39,793 median income
$45,838 median income
$49,427 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is California’s statewide median.
California statewide median: $774,582
California statewide median: $99,122
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Sacramento 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 Sacramento:
- 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 Sacramento, California 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 Sacramento.
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 107 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Sacramento for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Granite Regional Park | 180 | $58,000 | $30,224 |
| 2 | Packard Bell | 157 | $47,900 | $38,229 |
| 3 | Cannon Industrial Park | 1,173 | $240,200 | $40,065 |
| 4 | Parker Homes | 223 | $133,500 | $42,618 |
| 5 | Richardson Village | 966 | $181,100 | $36,250 |
| 6 | South City Farms | 1,317 | $223,500 | $36,794 |
| 7 | Swanston Estates | 1,812 | $224,967 | $42,723 |
| 8 | Old North Sacramento | 4,560 | $221,083 | $39,793 |
| 8 | South Hagginwood | 5,189 | $227,300 | $45,838 |
| 10 | East Del Paso Heights | 4,086 | $184,560 | $49,427 |
| 11 | Woodlake | 1,049 | $319,700 | $64,220 |
| 12 | Noralto | 2,604 | $215,425 | $43,025 |
| 13 | Hagginwood | 5,582 | $260,280 | $43,114 |
| 14 | Johnson Heights | 984 | $166,600 | $40,176 |
| 15 | Norwood I-80 | 400 | $255,700 | $50,076 |
| 16 | Erikson Industrial Park | 597 | $305,500 | $56,050 |
| 17 | Pell-Main Industrial Park | 1,514 | $278,100 | $48,911 |
| 18 | Village Green | 227 | $155,700 | $61,900 |
| 19 | Ben Ali | 1,723 | $220,000 | $36,874 |
| 20 | Del Paso Heights | 4,018 | $165,600 | $24,632 |
| 21 | Gardenland | 3,165 | $235,175 | $52,675 |
| 22 | Glen Elder | 2,141 | $272,400 | $43,928 |
| 23 | Midtown | 6,443 | $288,880 | $36,227 |
| 24 | River Gardens | 1,352 | $281,600 | $55,692 |
| 25 | North City Farms | 3,995 | $265,671 | $51,205 |
| 26 | Village 5 | 1,258 | $473,100 | $46,308 |
| 27 | Arden Fair | 570 | $251,500 | $53,750 |
| 28 | South Oak Park | 3,592 | $210,425 | $48,258 |
| 29 | Avondale | 4,048 | $249,533 | $39,260 |
| 29 | Strawberry Manor | 3,000 | $209,967 | $42,165 |
| 31 | Del Paso Park | 1,433 | $321,525 | $60,082 |
| 32 | North Pointe | 305 | $311,800 | $57,212 |
| 32 | Natomas Crossing | 3,525 | $383,860 | $55,539 |
| 34 | Southside Park | 1,465 | $321,633 | $54,908 |
| 35 | Wills Acres | 2,509 | $208,000 | $52,898 |
| 36 | Raley Industrial Park | 2,962 | $236,800 | $61,591 |
| 36 | West Del Paso Heights | 2,733 | $276,150 | $60,634 |
| 38 | American River Parkway | 1,658 | $299,900 | $64,426 |
| 39 | Lawrence Park | 1,335 | $273,400 | $48,812 |
| 40 | Airport | 2,939 | $285,825 | $60,607 |
| 41 | Gateway Center | 2,309 | $347,800 | $74,306 |
| 42 | Brentwood | 1,544 | $300,400 | $59,803 |
| 43 | Fruitridge Manor | 4,588 | $242,300 | $50,099 |
| 44 | Robla | 7,544 | $273,514 | $67,362 |
| 45 | Golf Course Terrace | 2,995 | $289,850 | $64,192 |
| 46 | Mangan Park | 840 | $279,550 | $60,893 |
| 46 | Old Sacramento | 1,858 | $412,900 | $47,932 |
| 48 | Meadowview | 29,164 | $283,200 | $58,322 |
| 49 | Central Oak Park | 5,809 | $272,071 | $56,160 |
| 50 | Poverty Ridge | 1,662 | $346,750 | $50,354 |
| 50 | Glenwood Meadows | 4,377 | $284,767 | $62,338 |
| 52 | Tahoe Park East | 888 | $381,200 | $76,333 |
| 53 | Little Pocket | 1,545 | $527,300 | $57,429 |
| 54 | Colonial Manor | 3,426 | $288,800 | $50,973 |
| 54 | College Glen | 6,580 | $287,250 | $69,089 |
| 56 | Woodbine | 3,708 | $234,500 | $47,180 |
| 57 | Parkway | 53,872 | $216,234 | $48,336 |
| 58 | Johnson Business Park | 150 | $422,100 | $75,054 |
| 58 | Downtown | 6,445 | $464,550 | $37,010 |
| 60 | Alkali Flat | 1,110 | $503,000 | $29,640 |
| 60 | South Natomas | 26,515 | $300,020 | $66,417 |
| 62 | South East | 5,004 | $166,400 | $43,022 |
| 63 | Valley High-North Laguna | 46,825 | $303,817 | $64,537 |
| 64 | Tallac Village | 2,119 | $273,633 | $65,447 |
| 65 | Tahoe Park | 3,452 | $387,050 | $82,429 |
| 66 | Metro Center | 769 | $390,400 | $71,250 |
| 67 | Csus | 2,629 | $574,700 | $56,447 |
| 68 | Colonial Heights | 1,813 | $316,567 | $67,585 |
| 69 | Mansion Flats | 2,168 | $482,400 | $42,340 |
| 70 | Rp Sports Complex | 3,248 | $421,700 | $73,257 |
| 71 | Richmond Grove | 1,625 | $548,267 | $73,687 |
| 72 | North Oak Park | 4,301 | $374,257 | $60,625 |
| 73 | Scc | 377 | $475,600 | $86,985 |
| 74 | Upper Land Park | 4,759 | $523,067 | $63,010 |
| 75 | Newton Booth | 3,070 | $562,620 | $61,512 |
| 76 | Carelton Tract | 925 | $396,833 | $70,156 |
| 77 | Medical Center | 1,680 | $408,425 | $66,649 |
| 78 | Sierra Oaks | 1,939 | $519,740 | $95,207 |
| 79 | Gateway West | 5,807 | $378,371 | $76,003 |
| 80 | Tahoe Park South | 2,115 | $310,350 | $65,892 |
| 81 | Marshall School | 2,076 | $707,050 | $62,030 |
| 82 | Boulevard Park | 2,627 | $659,967 | $71,548 |
| 83 | West Tahoe Park | 1,587 | $332,900 | $59,014 |
| 84 | Campus Commons | 2,530 | $403,550 | $61,793 |
| 85 | Colonial Village | 3,258 | $258,800 | $56,574 |
| 86 | South Land Park | 13,326 | $459,850 | $77,488 |
| 87 | Freeport Manor | 1,398 | $300,900 | $71,324 |
| 88 | Creekside | 5,024 | $379,775 | $112,105 |
| 89 | Elmhurst | 1,951 | $429,700 | $71,240 |
| 90 | Land Park | 8,374 | $537,573 | $104,444 |
| 91 | Willowcreek | 4,780 | $405,950 | $101,765 |
| 92 | Natomas Creek | 2,343 | $363,350 | $118,909 |
| 93 | Westlake | 2,360 | $425,700 | $116,366 |
| 94 | Hollywood Park | 2,339 | $378,833 | $74,549 |
| 95 | Village 11 | 4,767 | $394,050 | $81,328 |
| 96 | Curtis Park | 5,814 | $548,817 | $95,487 |
| 97 | Village 12 | 2,896 | $394,833 | $96,020 |
| 98 | Village 2 | 5,760 | $446,150 | $106,574 |
| 99 | Northgate | 4,519 | $269,700 | $80,872 |
| 100 | Natomas Park | 9,282 | $438,200 | $110,784 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 107 Sacramento neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Sacramento
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Sacramento with Granite Regional Park landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Sacramento are Granite Regional Park, Packard Bell, Cannon Industrial Park, Parker Homes, Richardson Village, South City Farms, Swanston Estates, Old North Sacramento, South Hagginwood, and East Del Paso Heights.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Sacramento aren’t all bad. River Park takes the cake as the best place to live in Sacramento.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on California? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Sacramento FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Sacramento?
Granite Regional Park ranks as the worst neighborhood in Sacramento for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Packard Bell and Cannon Industrial Park are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Sacramento?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Sacramento are Granite Regional Park, Packard Bell, Cannon Industrial Park, Parker Homes, Richardson Village, South City Farms, Swanston Estates, Old North Sacramento, South Hagginwood, and East Del Paso Heights. We scored all 107 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Granite Regional Park rank as the worst?
Granite Regional Park posts the roughest combined numbers in Sacramento: a median household income of $30,224 and a median home value of $58,000, 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.
