Tacoma’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 Tacoma.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Washington thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Tacoma. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Tacoma neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Tacoma hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 31 of Tacoma’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$42,987 median income
$45,801 median income
$45,748 median income
$51,598 median income
$45,707 median income
$48,589 median income
$42,067 median income
$49,612 median income
$52,361 median income
$51,707 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington’s statewide median.
Washington statewide median: $601,016
Washington statewide median: $98,141
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Tacoma 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 Tacoma:
- 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 Tacoma, Washington 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 Tacoma.
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 31 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Tacoma for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larchmont | 3,650 | $180,007 | $42,987 |
| 2 | Lower Portland Avenue | 511 | $165,471 | $45,801 |
| 3 | Fern Hill | 2,258 | $160,124 | $45,748 |
| 4 | P.L.U. | 11,825 | $171,925 | $51,598 |
| 5 | South End | 38,944 | $173,275 | $45,707 |
| 6 | South Tacoma | 30,118 | $153,172 | $48,589 |
| 7 | New Tacoma | 11,912 | $240,798 | $42,067 |
| 8 | Ketcham Knoll | 3,333 | $266,042 | $49,612 |
| 9 | Hillsdale | 7,889 | $183,075 | $52,361 |
| 10 | Mckinley Hill | 26,840 | $176,655 | $51,707 |
| 11 | North Fort Lewis | 6,234 | $269,106 | $63,411 |
| 12 | Manitou | 3,550 | $165,122 | $57,387 |
| 13 | Eastside | 57,761 | $176,342 | $51,083 |
| 14 | Madrona | 3,100 | $329,742 | $46,517 |
| 15 | Firecrest | 5,524 | $276,432 | $57,061 |
| 16 | Lincoln | 4,622 | $151,419 | $43,165 |
| 17 | Central | 21,959 | $198,128 | $51,128 |
| 18 | Sunset Beach | 3,730 | $476,132 | $73,410 |
| 19 | Midland | 4,665 | $282,018 | $52,164 |
| 20 | University Place | 11,185 | $496,830 | $61,301 |
| 21 | Dash Point | 11,494 | $304,116 | $83,392 |
| 22 | Roman Ridge | 4,603 | $273,291 | $56,067 |
| 23 | Salishan | 4,010 | $315,172 | $59,147 |
| 24 | West End | 26,434 | $290,958 | $61,168 |
| 25 | 6th Avenue | 654 | $245,628 | $67,467 |
| 26 | Stadium | 323 | $432,098 | $43,979 |
| 27 | North End | 26,704 | $292,910 | $72,196 |
| 28 | Old Town | 5,308 | $390,336 | $70,474 |
| 29 | Upper Tacoma District | 9,486 | $202,659 | $61,040 |
| 30 | Theatre District | 5,891 | $47,679,497 | $40,064 |
| 31 | Proctor | 209 | $313,634 | $82,791 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 31 Tacoma neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Tacoma
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Tacoma with Larchmont landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Tacoma are Larchmont, Lower Portland Avenue, Fern Hill, P.L.U., South End, South Tacoma, New Tacoma, Ketcham Knoll, Hillsdale, and Mckinley Hill.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Tacoma aren’t all bad. Proctor takes the cake as the best place to live in Tacoma.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Washington? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Tacoma FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Tacoma?
Larchmont ranks as the worst neighborhood in Tacoma for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Lower Portland Avenue and Fern Hill are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Tacoma?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Tacoma are Larchmont, Lower Portland Avenue, Fern Hill, P.L.U., South End, South Tacoma, New Tacoma, Ketcham Knoll, Hillsdale, and Mckinley Hill. We scored all 31 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Larchmont rank as the worst?
Larchmont posts the roughest combined numbers in Tacoma: a median household income of $42,987 and a median home value of $180,007, 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.
