Tampa’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 Tampa.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Florida thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Tampa. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Tampa neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Tampa hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 70 of Tampa’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$23,805 median income
$34,166 median income
$21,048 median income
$24,167 median income
$24,167 median income
$29,749 median income
$35,054 median income
$38,488 median income
$29,270 median income
$25,494 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Florida’s statewide median.
Florida statewide median: $375,662
Florida statewide median: $74,568
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Tampa 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 Tampa:
- 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 Tampa, Florida 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 Tampa.
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 70 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Tampa for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orient Park | 720 | $49,367 | $23,805 |
| 2 | East Ybor | 1,216 | $121,000 | $34,166 |
| 3 | Highland Pines | 1,234 | $178,250 | $21,048 |
| 4 | Florence | 548 | $70,000 | $24,167 |
| 5 | Grant Park | 1,558 | $113,550 | $24,167 |
| 6 | Northeast | 2,313 | $123,300 | $29,749 |
| 7 | Beasley | 227 | $120,900 | $35,054 |
| 8 | College Hill | 1,274 | $96,333 | $38,488 |
| 9 | Sulphur Springs | 7,486 | $103,267 | $29,270 |
| 9 | Temple Park | 12,569 | $87,375 | $25,494 |
| 11 | Palmetto Beach | 2,094 | $160,550 | $45,313 |
| 12 | Old Seminol Heights | 7,487 | $123,331 | $43,396 |
| 13 | Northview Hills | 3,604 | $136,475 | $32,559 |
| 14 | North Tampa | 8,913 | $126,125 | $31,590 |
| 15 | East Tampa | 21,443 | $149,050 | $34,862 |
| 16 | Drew Park | 1,457 | $152,800 | $47,461 |
| 17 | Ridgewood Park | 450 | $381,300 | $34,948 |
| 18 | Old West Tampa | 3,777 | $200,700 | $34,775 |
| 19 | West Riverfront | 2,012 | $215,467 | $44,616 |
| 20 | Woodland Terrace | 1,965 | $165,950 | $41,392 |
| 21 | University Square | 7,564 | $101,975 | $31,271 |
| 22 | Riverside | 5,182 | $115,417 | $36,274 |
| 22 | Historic Ybor | 2,168 | $221,917 | $49,757 |
| 25 | Temple Crest | 8,825 | $131,350 | $33,010 |
| 25 | Ybor City | 4,307 | $168,338 | $31,053 |
| 25 | Tampa Heights | 7,661 | $255,812 | $37,499 |
| 27 | West Shore Palms | 1,406 | $245,867 | $58,834 |
| 28 | Live Oaks Square | 3,375 | $129,125 | $36,882 |
| 29 | Seminol Heights | 6,280 | $131,633 | $44,243 |
| 30 | Plaza Terrace | 8,655 | $193,917 | $39,104 |
| 31 | Lowry Park Central | 14,314 | $180,100 | $44,964 |
| 32 | Carver City | 4,988 | $177,967 | $63,770 |
| 33 | South Seminol Heights | 4,510 | $153,117 | $49,576 |
| 34 | River Grove | 2,836 | $161,400 | $45,024 |
| 35 | Downtown | 3,504 | $316,267 | $57,709 |
| 36 | Northeast Macfarlane | 8,727 | $196,133 | $47,509 |
| 36 | Wellswood | 7,618 | $184,900 | $46,188 |
| 38 | Tampa International Airport Area | 2,661 | $372,150 | $70,868 |
| 39 | Forest Hills | 8,646 | $217,778 | $56,581 |
| 40 | Interbay | 3,092 | $236,780 | $53,648 |
| 41 | Port Tampa City | 4,977 | $237,700 | $71,402 |
| 42 | West Meadows | 12,372 | $286,900 | $93,494 |
| 43 | Oakford Park | 3,938 | $309,071 | $60,661 |
| 44 | Tampa Palms | 17,731 | $326,938 | $98,343 |
| 45 | Bon Air North | 1,214 | $276,450 | $57,962 |
| 46 | Channelside | 3,154 | $288,175 | $78,576 |
| 47 | Gandy-Sun Bay South | 15,879 | $268,086 | $58,887 |
| 48 | Rattlesnake | 3,071 | $308,983 | $69,658 |
| 49 | Fairoaks | 5,052 | $300,780 | $56,084 |
| 50 | Cory Lake Isles | 2,820 | $412,333 | $125,637 |
| 51 | Riverside Heights | 3,333 | $249,700 | $65,054 |
| 52 | Hunters Green | 5,897 | $330,175 | $106,218 |
| 53 | New Tampa | 10,119 | $297,917 | $107,109 |
| 54 | Bayside West | 5,692 | $226,280 | $52,391 |
| 55 | Courier City | 4,655 | $372,320 | $107,288 |
| 56 | Bon Air | 2,324 | $360,225 | $88,254 |
| 57 | Palma Ceia West | 1,752 | $406,800 | $127,640 |
| 58 | North Hyde Park | 13,590 | $394,010 | $90,817 |
| 59 | Golf View | 1,357 | $314,900 | $150,513 |
| 60 | Culbreath | 1,472 | $406,800 | $166,729 |
| 61 | Beach Park | 4,553 | $413,225 | $142,447 |
| 62 | Davis Island | 5,130 | $636,833 | $103,501 |
| 63 | Ballast Point | 5,664 | $407,620 | $97,886 |
| 64 | Tampa-Bayshore Gardens | 1,869 | $463,600 | $73,195 |
| 65 | Virginia Park | 6,253 | $504,500 | $121,734 |
| 66 | Harbour Island | 3,631 | $473,150 | $91,611 |
| 67 | Palma Ceia | 4,879 | $540,380 | $133,176 |
| 68 | Belmar Gardens | 2,045 | $398,200 | $148,644 |
| 68 | Bayshore Beautiful | 6,863 | $588,267 | $140,228 |
| 70 | Parkland Estates | 2,977 | $734,150 | $159,386 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 70 Tampa neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Tampa
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Tampa with Orient Park landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Tampa are Orient Park, East Ybor, Highland Pines, Florence, Grant Park, Northeast, Beasley, College Hill, Sulphur Springs, and Temple Park.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Tampa aren’t all bad. Parkland Estates takes the cake as the best place to live in Tampa.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Florida? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Tampa FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Tampa?
Orient Park ranks as the worst neighborhood in Tampa for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. East Ybor and Highland Pines are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Tampa?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Tampa are Orient Park, East Ybor, Highland Pines, Florence, Grant Park, Northeast, Beasley, College Hill, Sulphur Springs, and Temple Park. We scored all 70 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Orient Park rank as the worst?
Orient Park posts the roughest combined numbers in Tampa: a median household income of $23,805 and a median home value of $49,367, 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.
