The 10 Most Dangerous And Worst Neighborhoods In St. Louis, MO


The most dangerous and worst St. Louis neighborhoods are North Riverfront and Fairground Neighborhood for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Worst Neighborhoods In St. Louis
Source: Flickr User Arch_Sam | CC BY 2.0

St. Louis’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 St. Louis.

And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Missouri thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in St. Louis. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.

So the question arises, which St. Louis neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?

Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which St. Louis hoods need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the St. Louis area if you will. Realistically, you can’t expect all the neighborhoods to be amazing, although Wydown-Skinker ranks way above the rest.

We examined 76 of St. Louis’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to St. Louis’s reputation.


Table Of Contents: Top 10 | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In St. Louis For 2024

  1. North Riverfront
  2. Fairground Neighborhood
  3. Hyde Park
  4. Old North Saint Louis
  5. Baden
  6. College Hill
  7. The Ville
  8. Saint Louis Place
  9. Fountain Park
  10. Visitation Park

So what’s the worst neighborhood to live in St. Louis for 2024? According to the most recent census data, North Riverfront looks to be the worst neighborhood in St. Louis.

Read on to see how we determined the places around St. Louis that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don’t blame the messenger.

For more Missouri reading, check out:

The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In St. Louis For 2024

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 992
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 3,509
Property Crime Per 100k: 9,998
Median Home Value: $66,900 (17th worst)
Median Income: $21,848 (4th worst)
More on North Riverfront:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 690
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 3,203
Property Crime Per 100k: 9,261
Median Home Value: $42,400 (5th worst)
Median Income: $24,768 (6th worst)
More on Fairground Neighborhood:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 1,394
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 3,642
Property Crime Per 100k: 8,738
Median Home Value: $35,700 (worst)
Median Income: $30,928 (17th worst)
More on Hyde Park:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,438
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 4,169
Property Crime Per 100k: 9,275
Median Home Value: $119,133 (3worst)
Median Income: $23,160 (5th worst)
More on Old North Saint Louis:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 4,300
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 3,779
Property Crime Per 100k: 8,834
Median Home Value: $66,486 (16th worst)
Median Income: $28,916 (15th worst)
More on Baden:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 1,026
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 3,288
Property Crime Per 100k: 5,653
Median Home Value: $44,650 (6th worst)
Median Income: $29,056 (16th worst)
More on College Hill:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,715
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 3,878
Property Crime Per 100k: 6,132
Median Home Value: $36,650 (2nd worst)
Median Income: $24,790 (7th worst)
More on The Ville:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,720
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 2,525
Property Crime Per 100k: 5,228
Median Home Value: $87,283 (24th worst)
Median Income: $20,792 (3rd worst)
More on Saint Louis Place:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,036
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 3,067
Property Crime Per 100k: 8,870
Median Home Value: $94,150 (28th worst)
Median Income: $20,313 (2nd worst)
More on Fountain Park:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 794
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 2,463
Property Crime Per 100k: 7,317
Median Home Value: $141,550 (36th worst)
Median Income: $26,993 (10th worst)
More on Visitation Park:  Data

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous St. Louis neighborhoods in 2024

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 St. Louis:

  • 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 St. Louis, Missouri 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 St. Louis.

The article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2024. This report is our time ranking the worst neighborhoods to live in St. Louis.

Skip to the end to see the list of all 76 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.

Summary: The Worst Neighborhoods Around St. Louis

Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in St. Louis with North Riverfront landing at the bottom of the pack.

The worst neighborhoods in St. Louis are North Riverfront, Fairground Neighborhood, Hyde Park, Old North Saint Louis, Baden, College Hill, The Ville, Saint Louis Place, Fountain Park, and Visitation Park.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in St. Louis aren’t all bad. Wydown-Skinker takes the cake as the best place to live in St. Louis.

The best neighborhoods in St. Louis are Wydown-Skinker, Shaw, Hi-Pointe, South Hampton, and Skinker-Debaliviere.

We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below.

For more Missouri reading, check out:

Most Dangerous Neighborhoods To Live In St. Louis For 2024?

Rank Neighborhood Population Home Value Median Income
1 North Riverfront 992 $66,900 $21,848
2 Fairground Neighborhood 690 $42,400 $24,768
3 Hyde Park 1,394 $35,700 $30,928
4 Old North Saint Louis 1,438 $119,133 $23,160
5 Baden 4,300 $66,486 $28,916
6 College Hill 1,026 $44,650 $29,056
7 The Ville 1,715 $36,650 $24,790
8 Saint Louis Place 2,720 $87,283 $20,792
9 Fountain Park 1,036 $94,150 $20,313
10 Visitation Park 794 $141,550 $26,993
11 Academy 2,052 $75,750 $26,993
12 Jeffvanderlou 5,145 $86,600 $28,202
13 Wells-Goodfellow 5,099 $50,925 $31,929
14 Near North Riverfront 1,924 $80,067 $33,430
15 The Greater Ville 4,746 $48,514 $27,034
16 Walnut Park East 2,944 $36,700 $28,359
17 Hamilton Heights 2,214 $45,400 $17,706
18 Peabody-Darst-Webbe 1,652 $177,725 $48,840
19 Marine Villa 2,506 $89,300 $42,765
20 Walnut Park West 3,207 $51,925 $39,976
21 Patch 2,664 $88,833 $31,735
22 Kingsway West 2,327 $42,333 $41,442
23 Covenant Blu-Grand Center 3,005 $85,250 $34,628
24 Calvary-Bellefontaine Cemetery 1,478 $56,300 $25,286
25 Mark Twain 2,630 $53,333 $33,367
26 Lewis Place 1,314 $136,533 $39,432
27 Penrose 4,852 $57,612 $34,968
28 Vandeventer 2,011 $143,550 $43,602
29 Mount Pleasant 3,828 $68,433 $25,864
30 West End 5,834 $152,757 $38,437
31 La Salle 219 $183,750 $46,194
32 Gravois Park 5,442 $80,150 $39,860
33 Kingsway East 3,215 $45,033 $50,854
34 Soulard 2,532 $202,367 $62,454
35 Midtown 5,335 $219,000 $34,520
36 Kings Oak 453 $153,800 $47,300
37 Cheltenham 863 $153,800 $47,300
38 Dutchtown 15,510 $88,917 $36,261
39 Benton Park West 4,967 $163,600 $41,418
40 Kosciusko 872 $203,533 $50,127
41 Carondelet 7,807 $101,000 $45,028
42 Botanical Heights 1,058 $180,275 $44,517
43 Holly Hills 2,263 $138,800 $62,928
44 North Point 2,784 $59,575 $49,364
45 Forest Park Southeast 2,693 $224,933 $54,949
46 The Hill 2,953 $167,275 $49,191
47 Bevo Mill 12,266 $104,889 $45,637
48 Mckinley Heights 1,297 $215,000 $60,558
49 Ellendale 1,612 $142,050 $59,254
50 Lafayette Square 3,031 $228,500 $60,980
51 Central West End 14,347 $374,067 $52,315
52 Franz Park 1,879 $134,933 $64,172
53 Southwest Garden 4,209 $185,560 $52,906
54 Boulevard Heights 10,275 $134,244 $55,402
55 Downtown West 6,511 $224,667 $54,611
56 Clayton-Tamm 1,912 $152,800 $59,750
57 Debaliviere Place 2,848 $202,733 $62,791
58 Benton Park 3,957 $215,825 $65,561
59 North Hampton 7,117 $165,910 $57,118
60 Tower Grove East 6,551 $203,800 $57,203
61 Clifton Heights 2,722 $167,300 $61,217
62 Oarondelet Park 1,028 $195,400 $112,500
63 Tower Grove South 12,364 $157,429 $61,906
64 Downtown 5,505 $208,067 $66,526
65 The Gate District 3,405 $233,000 $81,916
66 Missouri Botanical Garden 1,296 $293,350 $89,436
67 Fox Park 2,809 $181,275 $64,681
68 Princeton Heights 6,897 $145,062 $61,387
69 Compton Heights 1,531 $318,800 $68,781
70 Saint Louis Hills 8,066 $238,900 $63,348
71 Lindenwood Park 8,607 $166,750 $66,158
72 Skinker-Debaliviere 4,531 $306,967 $67,465
73 South Hampton 7,622 $201,657 $62,089
74 Hi-Pointe 2,516 $173,267 $66,613
75 Shaw 6,108 $281,900 $75,439
76 Wydown-Skinker 762 $392,100 $110,357
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

6 thoughts on “The 10 Most Dangerous And Worst Neighborhoods In St. Louis, MO

  1. “Until World War II, Mount Auburn was a largely white, working-class neighborhood filled with frame bungalows with wide front porches. Neighbors knew each other, their kids walked to Mount Auburn Elementary School, up to Woolworths or J.C. Penney on East Grand, and over to the Major Theater on Samuell Avenue. It was your typical all-American neighborhood. No, it was your typical ALL-WHITE neighborhood. Non-white Americans were not welcome (like many neighborhoods in Dallas). Dallas neighborhoods were once severely segregated by race and ethnicity. Now, in these enlightened times, we don”t do that any more. Racial segregation has given way to economic segregation, thanks in large part to unchecked gentrification. Just like the neighborhoods east of Central Expressway, and south of Henderson, the poor and the middle class families will continue to disappear as redevelopment accelerates.

  2. I grew up in old north st. louis I believe that was the area the address was 1621 knapp st 63106 I really would like some info on that area. and also what would it take to turn these neighborhoods around. What if a builder went in and built all new homes would that bring the middle class back to these neighborhoods. I’m guessing the crack and cocaine epidemic brought them down in the first place. I’m so serious about trying to find a way to rebuild my old neighbor hood.

  3. I work as a home health nurse in 63106 and there’s been a lot of rebuilding. Lots of parks and new red brick housing.

  4. Please stop walking and around the problems on St. Louis’s north side. The problem is and has been the influx of blacks into n St. Louis in about 1968. I realize you may not know this. Or just don’t want to admit it. I lived there and I know it’s true. It was once a good neighborhood. Now it’s a jungles. Ask the current mayor why nothing has been done build fixed. By any mayor since about 1962 years. Thank you b

  5. I knew that. You would question my comments non the less they are true I was there. You weren’t. If asked I can give you more reasons. Which in sure you would like better

  6. You think you places and parks will keep bad elements out. It would take more then that to feel safe again. My boy friend thinks that we should not fear it but I just want a place that my children can walk around with looking around every 5 mins due to violence

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