These Are The 10 Worst Neighborhoods In Denver For 2018

Denver’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 Denver.

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 Denver. Some neighborhoods aren’t as great as others.

So the question arises, which Denver neighborhoods are the worst, and which are the best?

Today, we’ll use science and data to determine which Denver hoods need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Denver area if you will. Realistically, you can’t expect all the neighborhoods to be amazing, although Cherry Creek ranks way above the rest.

We examined 22 of Denver’s neighborhoods to find out the worst places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to Denver’s reputation.

Here are the 10 worst neighborhoods in Denver according to data:

1. Northern Denver
2. Central West Denver
3. Northwestern Denver
4. Southwestern Denver
5. Baker
6. Gateway-Green Valley Ranch
7. Jefferson Park
8. City Park
9. Highland
10. Southeastern Denver

Read on to see how we determined the places around Denver 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 Denver.

For more reading on Colorado, check out:

• 10 Best Places To Live In Colorado
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Colorado
• 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Colorado

How we determined the worst Denver hoods

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 Denver:

• 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 Denver 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 Denver.

Read on below to learn more about these terrible places around Denver to live. Or skip to the end to see the list of all 22 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.

1. Northern Denver

Population: 25,687
Median Income: $45,565
Median Home Value: $210,400

2. Central West Denver

Population: 48,219
Median Income: $43,023
Median Home Value: $199,584

3. Northwestern Denver

Population: 29,954
Median Income: $53,025
Median Home Value: $237,457

4. Southwestern Denver

Population: 118,759
Median Income: $51,677
Median Home Value: $208,515

5. Baker

Population: 5,567
Median Income: $42,468
Median Home Value: $311,160

6. Gateway-Green Valley Ranch

Population: 33,328
Median Income: $72,045
Median Home Value: $186,550

7. Jefferson Park

Population: 5,218
Median Income: $50,843
Median Home Value: $295,462

8. City Park

Population: 7,293
Median Income: $47,800
Median Home Value: $329,367

9. Highland

Population: 14,720
Median Income: $62,658
Median Home Value: $311,080

10. Southeastern Denver

Population: 118,238
Median Income: $61,242
Median Home Value: $252,393

The ‘hoods around Denver that are really hoods

Well there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Denver with Northern Denver landing at the bottom of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Denver aren’t all bad. Cherry Creek takes the cake as the best place to live in Denver.

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

For more Colorado reading, check out:

• 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Colorado
• These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Colorado
• 10 Safest Places In Colorado
• 10 Best Cities For Singles In Colorado
• 10 Worst Places To Live In Colorado

Detailed List Of The Worst Denver Neighborhoods