Wichita’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 Wichita.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Kansas thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Wichita. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Wichita neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Wichita hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 67 of Wichita’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$25,427 median income
$25,427 median income
$32,250 median income
$30,006 median income
$27,531 median income
$30,673 median income
$25,379 median income
$27,531 median income
$27,322 median income
$39,257 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Kansas’s statewide median.
Kansas statewide median: $244,761
Kansas statewide median: $74,275
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Wichita 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 Wichita:
- 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 Wichita, Kansas 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 Wichita.
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 67 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Wichita for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central 2000 | 148 | $49,100 | $25,427 |
| 2 | McAdams | 407 | $49,100 | $25,427 |
| 3 | Jones Park | 405 | $65,700 | $32,250 |
| 4 | New Salem | 559 | $65,200 | $30,006 |
| 5 | The Elm | 750 | $56,733 | $27,531 |
| 6 | Power | 1,624 | $56,433 | $30,673 |
| 7 | Oakview | 1,529 | $23,800 | $25,379 |
| 8 | Murdock | 1,239 | $56,733 | $27,531 |
| 9 | Hilltop | 1,653 | $24,650 | $27,322 |
| 10 | South City Community | 6,294 | $70,367 | $39,257 |
| 11 | Northeast Millair | 1,186 | $105,367 | $46,508 |
| 12 | Fairmount | 1,246 | $69,833 | $30,738 |
| 13 | Planeview United | 3,826 | $55,000 | $29,408 |
| 13 | Kellogg School | 2,125 | $72,375 | $32,849 |
| 15 | McCormick | 3,139 | $69,600 | $34,001 |
| 16 | Matlock Heights | 2,438 | $53,350 | $30,089 |
| 17 | South Area | 5,689 | $62,983 | $49,812 |
| 18 | Linwood | 1,040 | $70,875 | $36,875 |
| 19 | North Central | 1,695 | $78,000 | $29,706 |
| 20 | Schweiter | 846 | $102,250 | $41,736 |
| 21 | Grandview Heights | 1,334 | $93,900 | $35,976 |
| 22 | Southwest Village | 5,999 | $99,675 | $53,290 |
| 23 | Southwest | 12,517 | $81,227 | $46,445 |
| 24 | Stanley-Aley | 3,415 | $74,356 | $42,780 |
| 25 | Comotara Mainsgate Villa | 528 | $155,500 | $52,500 |
| 26 | Sunflower | 6,275 | $80,850 | $41,458 |
| 27 | Cottonwood Village | 501 | $131,400 | $47,316 |
| 28 | Ken-Mar | 2,021 | $60,600 | $37,418 |
| 28 | Eastridge | 4,215 | $90,820 | $42,830 |
| 30 | South Central Improvemen | 8,744 | $68,831 | $41,063 |
| 31 | Fabrique | 2,660 | $82,800 | $40,831 |
| 32 | Schweiter East | 1,145 | $96,700 | $34,452 |
| 33 | Orchard Breeze | 3,030 | $77,667 | $53,551 |
| 34 | Indian Hills | 2,064 | $116,067 | $43,841 |
| 35 | East Mt Vernon Na | 1,438 | $78,533 | $43,873 |
| 36 | East Front | 1,001 | $88,150 | $43,012 |
| 37 | Riverside | 8,611 | $89,275 | $50,134 |
| 38 | Mead | 3,233 | $82,150 | $41,924 |
| 39 | Historic Midtown | 8,430 | $82,962 | $37,253 |
| 40 | Uptown | 1,203 | $100,600 | $38,047 |
| 41 | La Placita Park | 2,162 | $126,560 | $44,954 |
| 42 | K-15 | 1,876 | $77,700 | $48,358 |
| 43 | Pueblo | 6,429 | $79,020 | $44,022 |
| 43 | Park Meadows | 323 | $166,600 | $87,869 |
| 45 | Sunnyside | 1,685 | $79,667 | $42,336 |
| 46 | Meadowlark | 1,128 | $95,450 | $58,118 |
| 47 | Pleasant Valley | 926 | $127,200 | $83,868 |
| 48 | North Riverside | 4,458 | $99,271 | $48,792 |
| 49 | Northeast Heights | 2,587 | $170,250 | $55,335 |
| 50 | Orchard Park | 3,716 | $104,080 | $56,108 |
| 52 | Sleepy Hollow | 470 | $160,700 | $64,794 |
| 52 | Country Overlook | 1,222 | $110,000 | $43,359 |
| 52 | Brookhollow | 719 | $192,500 | $68,594 |
| 54 | Delano | 5,782 | $101,112 | $46,137 |
| 55 | Village | 607 | $130,050 | $66,341 |
| 56 | Harrison Park Rk | 552 | $163,500 | $71,083 |
| 57 | Hilltop-Jefferson | 1,960 | $121,800 | $57,773 |
| 58 | Longview | 572 | $84,300 | $50,988 |
| 59 | Sherwood Glen | 1,444 | $127,200 | $83,868 |
| 60 | Rockhurst | 134 | $187,400 | $92,614 |
| 61 | Chisholm Creek | 11,933 | $136,222 | $58,341 |
| 62 | Macdonald | 1,095 | $122,950 | $71,842 |
| 63 | Benjamin Hills | 4,642 | $143,233 | $58,236 |
| 64 | Indian Hills Riverbend | 2,481 | $117,100 | $55,187 |
| 65 | Northwest Big River | 1,642 | $130,950 | $48,218 |
| 66 | College Hill | 4,784 | $192,600 | $88,481 |
| 67 | Crown Heights | 1,215 | $150,800 | $66,318 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 67 Wichita neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Wichita
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Wichita with Central 2000 landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Wichita are Central 2000, McAdams, Jones Park, New Salem, The Elm, Power, Oakview, Murdock, Hilltop, and South City Community.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Wichita aren’t all bad. Crown Heights takes the cake as the best place to live in Wichita.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Kansas? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Wichita FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Wichita?
Central 2000 ranks as the worst neighborhood in Wichita for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. McAdams and Jones Park are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Wichita?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Wichita are Central 2000, McAdams, Jones Park, New Salem, The Elm, Power, Oakview, Murdock, Hilltop, and South City Community. We scored all 67 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Central 2000 rank as the worst?
Central 2000 posts the roughest combined numbers in Wichita: a median household income of $25,427 and a median home value of $49,100, 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.
