The 10 Most Dangerous And Worst Neighborhoods In Knoxville, TN


The most dangerous and worst Knoxville neighborhoods are Old North Knoxville and Old City for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Worst Neighborhoods In Knoxville
Source: Wikipedia User Nathan C. Fortner (User:Nfutvol at en.wikipedia) | GFDL

Knoxville’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 Knoxville.

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

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

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

We examined 34 of Knoxville’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to Knoxville’s reputation.


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


The Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Knoxville For 2024

  1. Old North Knoxville
  2. Old City
  3. Downtown
  4. Old Sevier
  5. Beaumont
  6. SouthKnoxville
  7. Holston Hills
  8. Mechanicsville
  9. Halls Crossroads
  10. North Hills

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

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

For more Tennessee reading, check out:

The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Knoxville For 2024

Old North Knoxville Knoxville, TN

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 868

Median Home Value: $77,045 (7th worst)
Median Income: $21,228 (3rd worst)
More on Old North Knoxville:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,887

Median Home Value: $68,199 (4th worst)
Median Income: $25,421 (8th worst)
More on Old City:  Data

3. Downtown

Population: 3,224

Median Home Value: $68,199 (4th worst)
Median Income: $25,421 (8th worst)

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 1,075

Median Home Value: $71,158 (6th worst)
Median Income: $26,871 (12th worst)
More on Old Sevier:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 818

Median Home Value: $64,378 (3rd worst)
Median Income: $23,489 (5th worst)
More on Beaumont:  Data

6. SouthKnoxville

Population: 8,686

Median Home Value: $86,621 (9th worst)
Median Income: $27,681 (13th worst)

7. Holston Hills

Population: 4,628

Median Home Value: $90,304 (10th worst)
Median Income: $39,073 (2worst)

Mechanicsville Knoxville, TN

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 3,536

Median Home Value: $51,011 (worst)
Median Income: $18,258 (worst)
More on Mechanicsville:  Data

9. Halls Crossroads

Population: 566

Median Home Value: $121,249 (18th worst)
Median Income: $40,770 (23rd worst)

10. North Hills

Population: 2,522

Median Home Value: $98,267 (12th worst)
Median Income: $28,797 (14th worst)

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Knoxville 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 Knoxville:

  • 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 Knoxville, Tennessee 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 Knoxville.

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 Knoxville.

Skip to the end to see the list of all 34 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.

Summary: The Worst Neighborhoods Around Knoxville

Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Knoxville with Old North Knoxville landing at the bottom of the pack.

The worst neighborhoods in Knoxville are Old North Knoxville, Old City, Downtown, Old Sevier, Beaumont, SouthKnoxville, Holston Hills, Mechanicsville, Halls Crossroads, and North Hills.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Knoxville aren’t all bad. Five Points takes the cake as the best place to live in Knoxville.

The best neighborhoods in Knoxville are Five Points, Parkridge, Morningside, Lyons View, and Inskip.

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

For more Tennessee reading, check out:

Most Dangerous Neighborhoods To Live In Knoxville For 2024?

Rank Neighborhood Population Home Value Median Income
1 Old North Knoxville 868 $77,045 $21,228
2 Old City 2,887 $68,199 $25,421
3 Downtown 3,224 $68,199 $25,421
4 Old Sevier 1,075 $71,158 $26,871
5 Beaumont 818 $64,378 $23,489
6 Southknoxville 8,686 $86,621 $27,681
7 Holston Hills 4,628 $90,304 $39,073
8 Mechanicsville 3,536 $51,011 $18,258
9 Halls Crossroads 566 $121,249 $40,770
10 North Hills 2,522 $98,267 $28,797
11 Western Heights 2,801 $61,111 $20,505
12 South Knoxville 28,682 $118,327 $32,785
13 Norwood 29,798 $103,606 $44,660
14 Burlington 6,187 $83,786 $30,139
15 Lonsdale 13,278 $91,135 $23,168
16 Lake Forest 5,911 $158,771 $35,516
17 West Knoxville 45,979 $238,722 $52,085
18 North Knoxville 42,454 $112,359 $36,308
19 Forest Heights 957 $255,731 $55,661
20 East Knoxville 20,794 $193,506 $36,682
21 Marble City 4,216 $255,731 $43,193
22 Rocky Hill 2,135 $187,957 $78,104
23 Deane Hill 6,908 $241,037 $72,576
24 Park City 3,603 $165,209 $25,643
25 Whittle Springs 8,833 $104,175 $34,082
26 Bearden 4,215 $255,731 $87,724
27 Colonial Village 4,814 $121,779 $42,783
28 Lakemoor Hills 1,934 $454,418 $74,274
29 Fountain City 26,120 $140,310 $45,135
30 Inskip 20,491 $119,126 $39,540
31 Lyons View 759 $454,418 $87,431
32 Morningside 1,560 $457,125 $26,608
33 Parkridge 4,131 $279,807 $24,933
34 Five Points 2,647 $307,891 $25,624
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.