San Jose’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 Jose.
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 Jose. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which San Jose neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which San Jose hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 18 of San Jose’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$44,822 median income
$57,932 median income
Located in
Santa Clara County, California
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$73,072 median income
$96,615 median income
$72,752 median income
$94,629 median income
$105,663 median income
$135,823 median income
$141,919 median income
$95,888 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 Jose 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 Jose:
- 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 Jose, 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 Jose.
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 San Jose for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buena Vista | 1,423 | $420,833 | $44,822 |
| 2 | Burbank | 5,274 | $556,183 | $57,932 |
| 3 | Edenvale-Seven Trees | 41,443 | $469,583 | $73,072 |
| 4 | East San Jose | 115,325 | $645,096 | $96,615 |
| 4 | Fairgrounds | 56,423 | $560,385 | $72,752 |
| 6 | Alum Rock-East Foothills | 29,934 | $680,715 | $94,629 |
| 7 | North Valley | 80,651 | $731,928 | $105,663 |
| 8 | Berryessa | 38,763 | $957,650 | $135,823 |
| 9 | Santa Teresa | 58,064 | $818,408 | $141,919 |
| 10 | Downtown | 84,990 | $844,232 | $95,888 |
| 11 | Blossom Valley | 71,983 | $809,087 | $118,432 |
| 12 | Evergreen | 81,105 | $896,235 | $159,304 |
| 13 | North San Jose | 35,478 | $826,107 | $144,769 |
| 14 | Rose Garden | 14,537 | $1,066,850 | $118,739 |
| 15 | Willow Glen | 77,437 | $1,088,590 | $130,927 |
| 16 | Cambrian Park | 70,045 | $1,139,062 | $145,893 |
| 17 | Almaden Valley | 46,778 | $1,176,574 | $181,680 |
| 18 | West San Jose | 96,997 | $1,301,833 | $143,421 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 18 San Jose neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around San Jose
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in San Jose with Buena Vista landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in San Jose are Buena Vista, Burbank, Edenvale-Seven Trees, East San Jose, Fairgrounds, Alum Rock-East Foothills, North Valley, Berryessa, Santa Teresa, and Downtown.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in San Jose aren’t all bad. West San Jose takes the cake as the best place to live in San Jose.
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 Jose FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in San Jose?
Buena Vista ranks as the worst neighborhood in San Jose for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Burbank and Edenvale-Seven Trees are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in San Jose?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in San Jose are Buena Vista, Burbank, Edenvale-Seven Trees, East San Jose, Fairgrounds, Alum Rock-East Foothills, North Valley, Berryessa, Santa Teresa, and Downtown. We scored all 18 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Buena Vista rank as the worst?
Buena Vista posts the roughest combined numbers in San Jose: a median household income of $44,822 and a median home value of $420,833, 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.
