Tempe’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 Tempe.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Arizona thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Tempe. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Tempe neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Tempe hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 47 of Tempe’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$47,108 median income
$39,608 median income
$91,988 median income
$51,009 median income
$46,019 median income
$89,602 median income
$72,091 median income
$39,922 median income
$46,019 median income
$72,250 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Arizona’s statewide median.
Arizona statewide median: $423,330
Arizona statewide median: $79,964
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Tempe 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 Tempe:
- 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 Tempe, Arizona 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 Tempe.
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 47 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Tempe for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knoell Gardens | 153 | $158,100 | $47,108 |
| 2 | University Heights | 1,607 | $187,500 | $39,608 |
| 3 | Superstition | 443 | $238,500 | $91,988 |
| 4 | Pepperwood | 3,878 | $199,600 | $51,009 |
| 5 | Mitchell Park East | 481 | $273,500 | $46,019 |
| 6 | Tempe Gardens | 1,031 | $238,500 | $89,602 |
| 7 | Kiwanis Park | 2,225 | $256,850 | $72,091 |
| 8 | Sunset | 3,864 | $182,350 | $39,922 |
| 9 | Clark Park | 564 | $273,500 | $46,019 |
| 10 | McClintock | 778 | $268,000 | $72,250 |
| 11 | NTNA-Cavalier Hills | 657 | $229,500 | $44,412 |
| 12 | Bell De Mar Crossing | 128 | $248,100 | $59,792 |
| 13 | Ntna-College | 2,884 | $161,900 | $43,822 |
| 14 | Ntna-West Rio | 778 | $229,500 | $44,412 |
| 15 | Ntna-Canal Park | 768 | $220,600 | $61,250 |
| 16 | Rural-Geneva | 1,502 | $285,700 | $65,878 |
| 17 | Alameda-Campus | 742 | $317,700 | $47,083 |
| 18 | Baseline-Hardy | 941 | $176,900 | $51,713 |
| 19 | Meyer Park | 3,701 | $255,100 | $72,310 |
| 19 | Alegre Community | 4,067 | $241,450 | $39,840 |
| 21 | East Rio | 229 | $208,100 | $120,602 |
| 22 | Mach 8 | 561 | $249,400 | $53,333 |
| 23 | Escalante | 5,628 | $163,633 | $43,906 |
| 24 | University Estates | 216 | $429,100 | $60,750 |
| 25 | Brentwood-Cavalier | 737 | $317,700 | $47,083 |
| 26 | Riverside | 1,640 | $369,200 | $39,430 |
| 27 | Daley Park | 366 | $429,100 | $60,750 |
| 28 | University Park | 426 | $429,100 | $60,750 |
| 29 | Ntna-Indian Bend | 1,988 | $167,200 | $56,129 |
| 30 | Maple-Ash | 481 | $429,100 | $60,750 |
| 31 | Cyprus Southwest | 348 | $298,300 | $84,042 |
| 32 | Holdeman | 2,081 | $293,750 | $57,613 |
| 33 | Tempe Royal Estates | 3,394 | $238,200 | $73,053 |
| 34 | Wood Park | 1,272 | $219,000 | $56,556 |
| 34 | Estate La Colina | 621 | $409,200 | $112,105 |
| 36 | Hughes Acres | 1,395 | $285,700 | $65,878 |
| 37 | Gililland | 2,014 | $293,750 | $57,613 |
| 38 | Optimist Park Nw | 1,485 | $290,850 | $90,894 |
| 38 | Dava-Lakeshore | 1,508 | $281,100 | $86,116 |
| 40 | Evergreen | 1,186 | $302,650 | $81,029 |
| 41 | Optimist Park Ne | 1,439 | $290,600 | $101,935 |
| 42 | Optimist Park Se | 1,087 | $290,600 | $101,935 |
| 43 | Broadmor | 1,045 | $370,700 | $91,818 |
| 44 | Optimist Park Sw | 1,576 | $291,100 | $104,779 |
| 45 | Tally Ho Farms North | 415 | $633,100 | $166,052 |
| 46 | Raintree | 523 | $633,100 | $166,052 |
| 47 | Camelot Village | 1,536 | $367,700 | $98,625 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 47 Tempe neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Tempe
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Tempe with Knoell Gardens landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Tempe are Knoell Gardens, University Heights, Superstition, Pepperwood, Mitchell Park East, Tempe Gardens, Kiwanis Park, Sunset, Clark Park, and McClintock.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Tempe aren’t all bad. Camelot Village takes the cake as the best place to live in Tempe.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Arizona? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Tempe FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Tempe?
Knoell Gardens ranks as the worst neighborhood in Tempe for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. University Heights and Superstition are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Tempe?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Tempe are Knoell Gardens, University Heights, Superstition, Pepperwood, Mitchell Park East, Tempe Gardens, Kiwanis Park, Sunset, Clark Park, and McClintock. We scored all 47 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Knoell Gardens rank as the worst?
Knoell Gardens posts the roughest combined numbers in Tempe: a median household income of $47,108 and a median home value of $158,100, 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.
