Santa Ana’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 Santa Ana.
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 Santa Ana. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Santa Ana neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Santa Ana hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 54 of Santa Ana’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$64,427 median income
$47,222 median income
$57,749 median income
$47,716 median income
$65,397 median income
$44,063 median income
$46,016 median income
$62,386 median income
$54,768 median income
$46,016 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 Santa Ana 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 Santa Ana:
- 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 Santa Ana, 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 Santa Ana.
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 54 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Santa Ana for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar-Les | 763 | $229,900 | $64,427 |
| 2 | French Court | 2,103 | $396,600 | $47,222 |
| 3 | Lyon Street | 4,667 | $297,350 | $57,749 |
| 4 | French Park | 2,313 | $425,067 | $47,716 |
| 4 | Santa Anita | 11,893 | $393,975 | $65,397 |
| 6 | Cedar Evergreen | 1,381 | $417,200 | $44,063 |
| 7 | Bristol Memory | 843 | $526,850 | $46,016 |
| 8 | Pico-Lowell | 10,654 | $448,500 | $62,386 |
| 9 | Heninger Park | 6,873 | $457,633 | $54,768 |
| 10 | Morrison-Eldridge Par | 2,072 | $526,850 | $46,016 |
| 11 | Mid-City | 8,886 | $369,700 | $61,060 |
| 12 | New Horizons | 4,380 | $450,850 | $67,750 |
| 13 | Logan | 1,772 | $459,733 | $57,094 |
| 14 | Cornerstone Village | 3,721 | $476,700 | $60,801 |
| 15 | Santa Ana Triangle | 1,921 | $551,300 | $54,199 |
| 15 | Bella Vista | 4,633 | $456,833 | $73,842 |
| 17 | Central City | 7,331 | $484,925 | $84,606 |
| 18 | Riverview | 4,272 | $618,200 | $82,570 |
| 18 | Shadow Run | 1,686 | $388,100 | $53,650 |
| 20 | Meredith Parkwood | 2,480 | $587,400 | $76,426 |
| 21 | Delhi | 5,406 | $467,525 | $86,884 |
| 22 | Saddleback View | 1,580 | $570,700 | $64,366 |
| 23 | Flower Park | 5,166 | $394,000 | $59,043 |
| 24 | Mabury Park | 2,797 | $519,600 | $75,576 |
| 25 | Centennial Park | 3,324 | $495,250 | $82,359 |
| 26 | Northwest | 828 | $648,150 | $62,644 |
| 27 | Artesia Pilar | 14,248 | $489,350 | $73,812 |
| 28 | Fairbridge Square | 309 | $433,900 | $82,951 |
| 29 | Lacy | 6,258 | $506,567 | $50,519 |
| 30 | South Coast | 3,168 | $413,267 | $82,489 |
| 31 | Washington Square | 4,116 | $617,350 | $70,270 |
| 32 | Concord | 899 | $598,700 | $116,335 |
| 33 | Windsor Village | 3,128 | $546,000 | $110,341 |
| 34 | Riverview West | 32,911 | $485,875 | $69,566 |
| 35 | Park Santiago | 5,112 | $626,700 | $83,183 |
| 36 | Valley Adams | 3,144 | $483,700 | $79,516 |
| 37 | Eastside | 13,668 | $471,625 | $62,877 |
| 37 | Fisher Park | 1,295 | $639,400 | $115,058 |
| 39 | West Floral Park | 3,285 | $615,067 | $90,561 |
| 40 | West Grove Valley | 1,719 | $577,500 | $101,429 |
| 41 | Madison Park | 7,346 | $523,920 | $77,837 |
| 42 | Laurelhurst | 1,655 | $572,600 | $129,519 |
| 43 | Riverglen | 449 | $830,600 | $68,750 |
| 44 | Floral Park | 2,081 | $769,950 | $92,853 |
| 45 | Sunwood Central | 5,835 | $598,150 | $105,991 |
| 46 | Bristol-Warner | 3,205 | $579,800 | $94,036 |
| 47 | Morning Sunwood | 2,698 | $564,150 | $84,124 |
| 48 | Edna Park | 628 | $608,700 | $101,625 |
| 49 | Thornton Park | 4,126 | $600,100 | $96,141 |
| 50 | Republic Homes | 1,217 | $592,500 | $107,376 |
| 51 | Portola Park | 1,358 | $599,800 | $96,886 |
| 52 | Memorial Park | 12,607 | $492,140 | $95,710 |
| 53 | Wilshire Square | 5,172 | $562,000 | $98,520 |
| 54 | Sandpointe | 4,412 | $666,200 | $114,710 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 54 Santa Ana neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Santa Ana
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Santa Ana with Mar-Les landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Santa Ana are Mar-Les, French Court, Lyon Street, French Park, Santa Anita, Cedar Evergreen, Bristol Memory, Pico-Lowell, Heninger Park, and Morrison-Eldridge Par.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Santa Ana aren’t all bad. Sandpointe takes the cake as the best place to live in Santa Ana.
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 Santa Ana FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Santa Ana?
Mar-Les ranks as the worst neighborhood in Santa Ana for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. French Court and Lyon Street are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Santa Ana?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Santa Ana are Mar-Les, French Court, Lyon Street, French Park, Santa Anita, Cedar Evergreen, Bristol Memory, Pico-Lowell, Heninger Park, and Morrison-Eldridge Par. We scored all 54 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Mar-Les rank as the worst?
Mar-Les posts the roughest combined numbers in Santa Ana: a median household income of $64,427 and a median home value of $229,900, 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.
