St. Paul’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 St. Paul.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Minnesota thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in St. Paul. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which St. Paul neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which St. Paul hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 15 of St. Paul’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$37,813 median income
$31,905 median income
$36,327 median income
$41,704 median income
$43,840 median income
$53,962 median income
$32,826 median income
$42,148 median income
$57,713 median income
$53,207 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Minnesota’s statewide median.
Minnesota statewide median: $346,668
Minnesota statewide median: $89,062
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous St. Paul 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 St. Paul:
- 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 St. Paul, Minnesota 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 St. Paul.
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 15 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in St. Paul for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brady Arts District | 181 | $84,502 | $37,813 |
| 2 | Downtown | 3,279 | $99,227 | $31,905 |
| 3 | North Tulsa | 63,592 | $81,020 | $36,327 |
| 4 | West Tulsa | 15,152 | $174,026 | $41,704 |
| 5 | East Tulsa | 33,252 | $126,233 | $43,840 |
| 6 | Expo Square | 289 | $112,552 | $53,962 |
| 7 | Uptown | 318 | $271,375 | $32,826 |
| 8 | Burning Tree Housing Addition | 4,188 | $160,146 | $42,148 |
| 9 | 71 Street Corridor | 1,966 | $182,005 | $57,713 |
| 10 | South Tulsa | 34,782 | $235,754 | $53,207 |
| 11 | Southern Hills | 911 | $375,336 | $94,934 |
| 12 | Midtown | 93,629 | $191,452 | $53,389 |
| 13 | Cherry Street | 145 | $207,253 | $59,327 |
| 14 | Terwilliger Heights | 1,141 | $829,351 | $141,396 |
| 15 | Utica Square | 90 | $829,351 | $169,792 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 15 St. Paul neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around St. Paul
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in St. Paul with Brady Arts District landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in St. Paul are Brady Arts District, Downtown, North Tulsa, West Tulsa, East Tulsa, Expo Square, Uptown, Burning Tree Housing Addition, 71 Street Corridor, and South Tulsa.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in St. Paul aren’t all bad. Utica Square takes the cake as the best place to live in St. Paul.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Minnesota? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In St. Paul FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in St. Paul?
Brady Arts District ranks as the worst neighborhood in St. Paul for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Downtown and North Tulsa are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in St. Paul?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in St. Paul are Brady Arts District, Downtown, North Tulsa, West Tulsa, East Tulsa, Expo Square, Uptown, Burning Tree Housing Addition, 71 Street Corridor, and South Tulsa. We scored all 15 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Brady Arts District rank as the worst?
Brady Arts District posts the roughest combined numbers in St. Paul: a median household income of $37,813 and a median home value of $84,502, 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.
