Seattle’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 Seattle.
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 Seattle. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Seattle neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Seattle hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 77 of Seattle’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$56,829 median income
$49,002 median income
$80,342 median income
$83,584 median income
$76,727 median income
$65,554 median income
$75,068 median income
$97,486 median income
$85,466 median income
$84,547 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 Seattle 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 Seattle:
- 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 Seattle, 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 Seattle.
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 77 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Seattle for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Park | 3,730 | $407,750 | $56,829 |
| 2 | International District | 6,935 | $498,789 | $49,002 |
| 3 | Pioneer Square | 654 | $637,150 | $80,342 |
| 4 | Roxhill | 5,468 | $507,300 | $83,584 |
| 5 | Georgetown | 1,949 | $491,060 | $76,727 |
| 6 | Northgate | 4,414 | $481,040 | $65,554 |
| 7 | Sand Point | 788 | $515,100 | $75,068 |
| 8 | North Delridge | 4,840 | $579,700 | $97,486 |
| 9 | Rainier Beach | 16,060 | $447,755 | $85,466 |
| 10 | Haller Lake | 9,105 | $509,188 | $84,547 |
| 10 | Highland Park | 6,752 | $468,420 | $77,412 |
| 12 | Riverview | 3,738 | $485,375 | $94,884 |
| 13 | Atlantic | 5,555 | $645,962 | $76,498 |
| 14 | Beacon Hill | 35,469 | $560,896 | $76,883 |
| 15 | South Delridge | 6,821 | $443,260 | $75,812 |
| 16 | High Point | 8,807 | $546,950 | $90,727 |
| 17 | Olympic Hills | 8,834 | $498,967 | $73,213 |
| 18 | Industrial District | 3,017 | $593,600 | $101,956 |
| 19 | First Hill | 13,005 | $619,250 | $80,018 |
| 20 | Bitter Lake | 9,207 | $540,100 | $62,397 |
| 21 | Interbay | 3,359 | $767,220 | $112,626 |
| 22 | South Lake Union | 7,155 | $572,767 | $112,418 |
| 23 | Mount Baker | 10,406 | $700,367 | $105,979 |
| 24 | Columbia City | 10,582 | $601,183 | $101,141 |
| 25 | North College Park | 7,296 | $623,612 | $93,581 |
| 26 | Lower Queen Anne | 13,141 | $652,042 | $89,961 |
| 27 | University District | 31,937 | $850,889 | $61,264 |
| 28 | Brighton | 8,678 | $538,922 | $67,024 |
| 29 | Central District | 19,378 | $694,700 | $89,534 |
| 30 | Ballard | 20,145 | $717,026 | $111,230 |
| 31 | Pinehurst | 6,903 | $598,217 | $82,235 |
| 32 | Victory Heights | 6,008 | $607,917 | $106,968 |
| 33 | Cedar Park | 6,255 | $636,914 | $90,465 |
| 34 | Roosevelt | 3,994 | $832,550 | $125,118 |
| 35 | Madison Park | 1,750 | $1,612,125 | $148,198 |
| 36 | Eastlake | 3,127 | $872,333 | $118,666 |
| 37 | Broadview | 8,519 | $659,771 | $103,633 |
| 38 | Admiral | 12,572 | $725,325 | $131,429 |
| 39 | Alki | 1,809 | $762,750 | $123,565 |
| 40 | Meadowbrook | 4,549 | $648,483 | $104,565 |
| 41 | Capitol Hill | 42,342 | $712,089 | $101,771 |
| 42 | Belltown | 12,974 | $724,745 | $119,089 |
| 42 | Maple Leaf | 13,133 | $655,680 | $112,090 |
| 44 | Greenwood | 18,085 | $633,528 | $98,236 |
| 45 | Green Lake | 10,751 | $761,711 | $115,032 |
| 46 | Downtown | 18,952 | $728,205 | $104,919 |
| 47 | Fauntleroy | 4,135 | $795,340 | $108,630 |
| 48 | Broadmoor | 1,183 | $1,438,150 | $209,423 |
| 49 | Westlake | 5,252 | $676,800 | $134,864 |
| 50 | Seward Park | 4,900 | $749,267 | $126,607 |
| 51 | Sunset Hill | 5,871 | $778,700 | $126,147 |
| 52 | Crown Hill | 3,518 | $755,400 | $135,529 |
| 53 | Blue Ridge | 2,056 | $763,567 | $133,868 |
| 54 | Montlake | 2,382 | $1,028,050 | $209,141 |
| 55 | West Seattle | 30,285 | $715,152 | $114,356 |
| 56 | Arbor Heights | 5,143 | $681,967 | $122,584 |
| 57 | Fremont | 14,645 | $757,769 | $106,927 |
| 58 | Matthews Beach | 6,348 | $782,183 | $134,463 |
| 59 | Loyal Heights | 9,545 | $778,571 | $132,548 |
| 59 | Phinney Ridge | 11,319 | $841,450 | $120,498 |
| 61 | Ravenna | 12,018 | $852,658 | $127,194 |
| 62 | Wallingford | 16,998 | $833,794 | $122,922 |
| 63 | Madison Valley | 1,941 | $873,250 | $121,864 |
| 64 | Wedgwood | 10,926 | $792,455 | $133,957 |
| 65 | Leschi | 4,884 | $965,200 | $137,792 |
| 66 | Whittier Heights | 6,181 | $710,475 | $126,064 |
| 67 | View Ridge | 4,352 | $784,500 | $152,296 |
| 68 | Portage Bay | 1,891 | $1,142,650 | $167,367 |
| 69 | Queen Anne | 28,522 | $908,813 | $127,134 |
| 70 | Olympic Manor | 2,666 | $940,600 | $187,862 |
| 71 | Magnolia | 19,471 | $767,500 | $141,201 |
| 72 | North Beach | 2,562 | $917,300 | $139,319 |
| 73 | Hawthorne Hills | 1,915 | $1,000,000 | $160,074 |
| 74 | Bryant | 5,081 | $838,225 | $132,914 |
| 75 | Madrona | 4,488 | $960,117 | $144,462 |
| 76 | Laurelhurst | 3,147 | $1,500,867 | $210,921 |
| 77 | Windermere | 1,900 | $1,523,750 | $143,520 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 77 Seattle neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Seattle
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Seattle with South Park landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Seattle are South Park, International District, Pioneer Square, Roxhill, Georgetown, Northgate, Sand Point, North Delridge, Rainier Beach, and Haller Lake.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Seattle aren’t all bad. Windermere takes the cake as the best place to live in Seattle.
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 Seattle FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Seattle?
South Park ranks as the worst neighborhood in Seattle for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. International District and Pioneer Square are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Seattle?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Seattle are South Park, International District, Pioneer Square, Roxhill, Georgetown, Northgate, Sand Point, North Delridge, Rainier Beach, and Haller Lake. We scored all 77 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does South Park rank as the worst?
South Park posts the roughest combined numbers in Seattle: a median household income of $56,829 and a median home value of $407,750, 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.
