The 10 Most Dangerous And Worst Neighborhoods In Baton Rouge, LA


The most dangerous and worst Baton Rouge neighborhoods are Brookstown and Victoria Gardens for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

Worst Neighborhoods In Baton Rouge
Source: Public domain

Baton Rouge’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 Baton Rouge.

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

So the question arises, which Baton Rouge neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?

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

We examined 43 of Baton Rouge’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to Baton Rouge’s reputation.

The Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Baton Rouge For 2023

  1. Brookstown
  2. Victoria Gardens
  3. Greenville Addition
  4. Scotlandville Heights
  5. Fruit Town
  6. Beauregard Town
  7. Downtown Baton Rouge
  8. Melrose Place
  9. Scotlandville
  10. North Gate

So what’s the worst neighborhood to live in Baton Rouge for 2023? According to the most recent census data, Brookstown looks to be the worst neighborhood in Baton Rouge.

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

For more Louisiana reading, check out:


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


The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Baton Rouge For 2023

1. Brookstown

Population: 4,597

Median Home Value: $73,639 (10th worst)
Median Income: $26,519 (10th worst)

2. Victoria Gardens

Population: 2,489

Median Home Value: $114,660 (15th worst)
Median Income: $23,658 (6th worst)

3. Greenville Addition

Population: 708

Median Home Value: $59,254 (6th worst)
Median Income: $20,866 (4th worst)

4. Scotlandville Heights

Population: 1,225

Median Home Value: $101,496 (13th worst)
Median Income: $22,356 (5th worst)

5. Fruit Town

Population: 480

Median Home Value: $49,199 (4th worst)
Median Income: $27,986 (13th worst)

6. Beauregard Town

Population: 1,121

Median Home Value: $48,744 (2nd worst)
Median Income: $28,393 (14th worst)

7. Downtown Baton Rouge

Population: 2,739

Median Home Value: $48,744 (2nd worst)
Median Income: $28,393 (14th worst)

8. Melrose Place

Population: 3,312

Median Home Value: $68,779 (8th worst)
Median Income: $29,302 (17th worst)

9. Scotlandville

Population: 11,217

Median Home Value: $94,549 (12th worst)
Median Income: $26,450 (9th worst)

10. North Gate

Population: 356

Median Home Value: $323,750 (36th worst)
Median Income: $9,612 (worst)

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Baton Rouge neighborhoods in 2023

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 Baton Rouge:

  • 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 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 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 Baton Rouge.

The article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2023. This report is our time ranking the worst neighborhoods to live in Baton Rouge.

Skip to the end to see the list of all 43 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.

Summary: The Worst Neighborhoods Around Baton Rouge

Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Baton Rouge with Brookstown landing at the bottom of the pack.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Baton Rouge aren’t all bad. Bernard Terrace takes the cake as the best place to live in Baton Rouge.

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

For more Louisiana reading, check out:

Most Dangerous Neighborhoods To Live In Baton Rouge For 2023?

Rank Neighborhood Population Home Value Median Income
1 Brookstown 4,597 $73,639 $26,519
2 Victoria Gardens 2,489 $114,660 $23,658
3 Greenville Addition 708 $59,254 $20,866
4 Scotlandville Heights 1,225 $101,496 $22,356
5 Fruit Town 480 $49,199 $27,986
6 Beauregard Town 1,121 $48,744 $28,393
7 Downtown Baton Rouge 2,739 $48,744 $28,393
8 Melrose Place 3,312 $68,779 $29,302
9 Scotlandville 11,217 $94,549 $26,450
10 North Gate 356 $323,750 $9,612
11 Contana Mall 514 $157,898 $41,396
12 Dayton 2,911 $45,866 $25,377
13 North Baton Rouge 44,129 $110,269 $30,140
14 Park Forest 5,703 $138,878 $43,255
15 Highland Farms 3,731 $80,471 $19,239
16 Villa Del Rey 3,053 $183,782 $44,792
17 Melrose Place East 3,974 $121,959 $35,774
18 Howell Park 2,035 $120,365 $26,922
19 Istrouma 9,020 $69,759 $27,649
20 Valley Park 1,476 $127,485 $58,378
21 Citiplace 179 $706,212 $71,593
22 Goodwood Homesites 2,848 $143,672 $49,710
23 Louisiana State University 8,323 $364,874 $28,773
24 The Bottom 3,957 $144,564 $20,360
25 Sherwood 14,728 $171,336 $52,862
26 Southmoor 683 $284,287 $43,245
27 Greenville Extension 2,148 $52,428 $59,445
28 Goodwood 5,624 $284,287 $68,387
29 Steele Place 1,245 $238,927 $66,894
30 Perkins 2,003 $156,727 $65,319
31 Midtown 38,225 $192,794 $48,085
32 Southdowns 5,281 $343,736 $65,860
33 Jefferson Place 811 $1,047,849 $96,215
34 Bocage 619 $1,047,849 $92,642
35 Old South Baton Rouge 9,422 $133,404 $32,275
36 Highland 12,777 $329,145 $72,618
37 Eden Park 3,102 $67,727 $24,343
38 Ogden Park 2,251 $223,084 $44,692
39 The Garden District 8,146 $267,110 $50,367
40 Broadmoor 7,420 $175,175 $64,739
41 Lake Sherwood Acres 2,738 $310,349 $61,606
42 Cedarcrest 1,481 $187,481 $73,854
43 Bernard Terrace 3,058 $406,314 $70,337
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.