San Diego’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 San Diego.
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 San Diego. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which San Diego neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which San Diego hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 84 of San Diego’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$37,060 median income
$74,473 median income
$65,404 median income
$53,556 median income
$59,826 median income
$69,026 median income
$30,176 median income
$48,414 median income
$47,064 median income
$32,300 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 San Diego 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 San Diego:
- 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 San Diego, 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 San Diego.
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 San Diego for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Hope | 8,997 | $288,200 | $37,060 |
| 1 | Mission Valley | 7,490 | $279,720 | $74,473 |
| 3 | San Ysidro | 27,974 | $378,173 | $65,404 |
| 4 | Midtown District | 10,962 | $274,430 | $53,556 |
| 5 | Emerald Hills | 5,006 | $412,950 | $59,826 |
| 6 | Palm City | 6,059 | $193,100 | $69,026 |
| 7 | Memorial | 14,637 | $299,864 | $30,176 |
| 8 | Chollas View | 5,172 | $313,075 | $48,414 |
| 9 | Grant Hill | 4,767 | $491,800 | $47,064 |
| 10 | City Heights East | 38,743 | $156,600 | $32,300 |
| 10 | Southcrest | 6,539 | $353,200 | $48,597 |
| 12 | Kearny Mesa | 5,042 | $501,450 | $103,189 |
| 13 | City Heights West | 31,588 | $256,556 | $36,560 |
| 14 | Mission Bay | 62,292 | $383,500 | $65,071 |
| 15 | Torrey Pines | 951 | $563,333 | $106,868 |
| 16 | El Cerritos | 6,157 | $313,775 | $54,388 |
| 17 | Bario Logan | 10,422 | $194,600 | $30,625 |
| 18 | Webster | 10,383 | $309,071 | $57,071 |
| 18 | Moreno Mission | 9,691 | $362,560 | $58,425 |
| 20 | Rolando | 8,058 | $573,843 | $46,339 |
| 21 | Alta Vista | 2,337 | $453,600 | $88,864 |
| 22 | Sky Line | 10,572 | $301,957 | $58,462 |
| 23 | College Area | 21,712 | $432,218 | $58,577 |
| 23 | Core | 3,770 | $96,950 | $33,240 |
| 25 | Mountain View | 16,306 | $374,325 | $43,571 |
| 26 | East Village | 10,954 | $498,650 | $62,824 |
| 27 | Cortez Hill | 2,891 | $542,725 | $71,568 |
| 28 | Gateway | 2,657 | $345,800 | $66,000 |
| 29 | Columbia | 1,641 | $440,800 | $82,797 |
| 30 | North Hills | 43,221 | $440,667 | $63,468 |
| 31 | Bird Land | 4,703 | $516,125 | $77,436 |
| 32 | West University Heights | 9,608 | $469,970 | $66,574 |
| 33 | Encanto | 16,614 | $448,042 | $76,754 |
| 35 | Grantville | 9,910 | $431,500 | $75,187 |
| 35 | Serra Mesa | 26,135 | $567,185 | $84,829 |
| 35 | Oak Park | 16,342 | $382,290 | $64,099 |
| 37 | Nestor | 16,535 | $321,086 | $56,666 |
| 38 | Lincoln Park | 10,187 | $311,660 | $39,992 |
| 39 | Darnall | 9,347 | $312,383 | $61,064 |
| 40 | Normal Heights | 9,939 | $489,589 | $69,726 |
| 41 | Egger Highlands | 9,453 | $409,200 | $62,691 |
| 42 | Bay Terrace | 22,838 | $310,253 | $73,018 |
| 43 | Clairemont Mesa | 38,765 | $447,570 | $70,301 |
| 44 | Valencia Park | 11,708 | $337,850 | $57,624 |
| 45 | Old Town | 1,127 | $913,900 | $99,922 |
| 46 | Linda Vista | 26,535 | $560,400 | $68,425 |
| 47 | Kensington | 5,994 | $703,300 | $115,804 |
| 48 | Little Italy | 2,942 | $626,017 | $90,835 |
| 49 | Balboa Park | 1,538 | $586,175 | $86,502 |
| 50 | La Jolla Village | 6,108 | $385,857 | $68,178 |
| 51 | Allied Gardens | 10,485 | $560,800 | $98,904 |
| 52 | Marina | 5,147 | $748,733 | $101,719 |
| 53 | Del Cerro | 7,715 | $723,380 | $145,915 |
| 54 | Loma Portal | 6,151 | $851,783 | $102,321 |
| 55 | Sorrento Valley | 5,578 | $803,500 | $131,900 |
| 56 | Paradise Hills | 17,552 | $462,811 | $82,009 |
| 57 | Midtown | 4,144 | $776,017 | $78,819 |
| 58 | University City | 50,294 | $651,046 | $100,582 |
| 59 | Talmadge | 9,587 | $613,912 | $78,229 |
| 60 | Roseville | 6,705 | $737,410 | $97,826 |
| 61 | Rancho Bernadino | 44,185 | $553,456 | $95,093 |
| 62 | Miramar | 5,398 | $495,467 | $86,192 |
| 63 | Sabre Springs | 10,313 | $714,900 | $129,605 |
| 64 | Lake Murray | 18,708 | $564,464 | $100,688 |
| 65 | North City | 8,226 | $1,190,529 | $181,904 |
| 66 | Jomacha-Lomita | 10,967 | $432,617 | $75,645 |
| 67 | Bay Park | 17,860 | $707,443 | $97,131 |
| 68 | Park West | 9,147 | $723,522 | $83,911 |
| 69 | La Jolla | 36,662 | $1,298,387 | $128,665 |
| 70 | North Clairemont | 15,494 | $603,617 | $98,740 |
| 71 | South Park | 5,472 | $722,771 | $100,660 |
| 72 | San Carlos | 13,423 | $600,367 | $117,481 |
| 73 | Tierrasanta | 30,151 | $645,145 | $108,245 |
| 74 | Carmel Mountain | 11,748 | $708,543 | $115,289 |
| 75 | Scripps Ranch | 22,537 | $791,708 | $134,883 |
| 76 | Mira Mesa | 75,182 | $544,098 | $107,972 |
| 77 | Rancho Penasquitos | 52,735 | $770,052 | $141,794 |
| 78 | Pacific Beach | 30,872 | $920,036 | $105,991 |
| 78 | Wooded Area | 4,375 | $1,116,100 | $146,555 |
| 80 | Gaslamp Quarter | 1,003 | $438,200 | $136,541 |
| 81 | Ocean Beach | 11,791 | $938,036 | $88,712 |
| 82 | Bay Ho | 14,621 | $678,042 | $108,600 |
| 83 | Del Mar Heights | 6,613 | $1,328,975 | $166,796 |
| 84 | Carmel Valley | 48,364 | $1,037,794 | $172,093 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 84 San Diego neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around San Diego
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in San Diego with Mount Hope landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in San Diego are Mount Hope, Mission Valley, San Ysidro, Midtown District, Emerald Hills, Palm City, Memorial, Chollas View, Grant Hill, and City Heights East.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in San Diego aren’t all bad. Carmel Valley takes the cake as the best place to live in San Diego.
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 San Diego FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in San Diego?
Mount Hope ranks as the worst neighborhood in San Diego for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Mission Valley and San Ysidro are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in San Diego?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in San Diego are Mount Hope, Mission Valley, San Ysidro, Midtown District, Emerald Hills, Palm City, Memorial, Chollas View, Grant Hill, and City Heights East. We scored all 84 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Mount Hope rank as the worst?
Mount Hope posts the roughest combined numbers in San Diego: a median household income of $37,060 and a median home value of $288,200, 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.
