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Baltimore'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 Baltimore.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in the country thanks in part to a strong economy and tons of entertainment, it's not all rainbows and sunshine in Baltimore. Some neighborhoods aren't as great as others.
So the question arises, which Baltimore neighborhoods are the worst, and which are the best?
Today, we'll use science and data to determine which Baltimore hoods need a little tender loving care - the sore thumbs of the Baltimore area if you will. Realistically, you can't expect all the neighborhoods to be amazing, although Riverside ranks way above the rest.
We examined 54 of Baltimore's neighborhoods to find out the worst places to live. These places don't quite measure up to Baltimore's reputation.
The Worst Neighborhoods In Baltimore For 2021
So what's the worst neighborhood to live in Baltimore for 2021? According to the most recent census data, Fairfield Area looks to be the worst neighborhood in Baltimore.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Baltimore that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don't blame the messenger.
Once you're done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from worst to best. Looking for places to avoid outside of the city? You can also check out the worst suburbs of Baltimore.
For more Maryland reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Maryland
- Cheapest Places To Live In Maryland
- Most Dangerous Cities In Maryland
The 10 Worst Neighborhoods In Baltimore For 2021
/10
Population: 530
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $26,633 (2nd worst)
Median Income: $29,271 (6th worst)
More on Fairfield Area: Data
/10
Population: 2,359
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $60,120 (7th worst)
Median Income: $31,725 (8th worst)
More on Dundalk Cityside: Data
/10
Population: 3,168
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $14,650 (worst)
Median Income: $28,677 (4th worst)
More on Monument Street Area: Data
/10
Population: 2,235
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $37,160 (3rd worst)
Median Income: $33,926 (10th worst)
More on Orangeville: Data
/10
Population: 11,041
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $57,042 (6th worst)
Median Income: $28,740 (5th worst)
More on Greenmount East: Data
/10
Population: 475
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $41,800 (4th worst)
Median Income: $36,631 (12th worst)
More on Pulaski: Data
/10
Population: 52,160
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $78,008 (13th worst)
Median Income: $28,589 (2nd worst)
More on West Baltimore: Data
/10
Population: 5,628
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $65,593 (8th worst)
Median Income: $40,870 (20th worst)
More on Berea Area: Data
/10
Population: 4,383
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $66,250 (9th worst)
Median Income: $30,643 (7th worst)
More on Madison-Eastend: Data
/10
Population: 13,252
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $75,582 (12th worst)
Median Income: $40,238 (18th worst)
More on Brooklyn-Curtis Bay: Data
The residential community of Curtis Bay is along three major north-south thoroughfares of Curtis Avenue, Pennington Avenue and residential Fairhaven Avenue and a partial street of Prudence Street. Running west to east are fifteen smaller residential streets named alphabetically for various types of trees. "The Bay", as it is often called colloquially, also offers a variety of housing, townhouses, rowhouses, individual homes, and corner stores, taverns/bars.
How we determined the worst Baltimore hoods in 2021
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 threw the following criteria into this analysis in order to get the best, most complete results possible. We used this set of criteria for each neighborhood in Baltimore:
- 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)
- High crime (Estimated)
Then, we ranked each neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland for each of these criteria from worst to best.
Next, we averaged the individual rankings for each criteria into a "Worst Score".
The neighborhood with the lowest "Worst Score" ranks as the worst neighborhood of Baltimore.
Read on below to learn more about these terrible places around Baltimore to live. Or skip to the end to see the list of all 54 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased. Hold on to your pants.
The 'hoods around Baltimore that are really hoods
Well there you have it -- the worst of the neighborhoods in Baltimore with Fairfield Area landing at the bottom of the pack.
As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Baltimore aren't all bad. Riverside takes the cake as the best place to live in Baltimore.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below.
For more Maryland reading, check out:
