The 10 Worst Neighborhoods In Las Vegas For 2022

The 10 Worst Neighborhoods In Las Vegas For 2022

West Las Vegas is bounded by I-15 on the east and N. Rancho Dr. to the west. Head a little further to the northwest and you'll reach the airport. That means that most of the millions of visitors who stream to Vegas every year pass by West Las Vegas on their way to The Strip. Their plane lands, and they speed by the neighborhood in a rush to get to the glitzy hotels.

That's probably the best policy. Staying in West Las Vegas could prove a major mistake. Just ask the people who live there...folks who slog through a depressing economic situation. High unemployment and low wages make it difficult for these locals to pay their bills.

A cultural corridor? In Las Vegas? Like where showgirls present poetry readings about blackjack? Where magicians stage modernist interpretations of Shakespeare plays?

Well, not quite. But you will find the Neon Museum, plus the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. You have to give Sin City credit for trying to add a little high-minded entertainment.

For the people who live in this area, the extra layer of culture doesn't do much good. They have other concerns...like how they are going to make rent. That's a real worry too, when the unemployment rate is 9.3% and the median income only reaches $27,639.

Downtown East contains the Las Vegas Detention Center. With those guys as your neighbors, you know something's off about the area.

Following a curve in the I-545, the neighborhood has a relatively good location. As the name implies, it sits just east of the downtown area. That means a quick drive will get you to sights like the Fremont Street Experience or the SlotZilla Zipline.

Still, an occasional fun night out doesn't make up for the day-to-day struggles that the locals face. The unemployment rate hits 8.1%, while the median income sits below $25,000. No wonder some desperate residents end up living in the detention center for a bit.

Ultimate Military Conflict? No, don't worry...this might rank as the number 4 worst neighborhood in Las Vegas for 2022, but it isn't that bad. Uncovered Mammary Celebration? Well, this is Las Vegas, but the town still has some standards.

Nope...the UMC that gives this area its name comes from the University Medical Center. The hospital campus dominates the southern part of this neighborhood, along with the Valley Hospital Medical Center.

Located west of downtown, on the other side of I-15, UMC suffers from significant economic problems. This is most obvious in the unemployment rate, which tracks at 10.6%. However, you can also see the financial pinch in the predominance of low-paying gigs in the area. The median income sits at just $34,737.

Walk out of the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino. Blink a few times to let your eyes adjust to the light. Forget about that cash you left behind at the roulette table. Look around: you're basically in Meadows Village.

The area is bounded on the west by I-15 and on the north by E. Charleston Blvd. Besides the area outside Circus Circus, it encompasses the northern end of the Vegas Strip. This includes the STRAT and an area often known as the Gateway District.

No one said living near a casino would be glamorous. In fact, it can be downright depressing, thanks largely to high unemployment and low wages.

Michael Way isn't a person. It's a street. The moniker also happens to refer to the number 6 worst neighborhood in Las Vegas for 2022.

The asphalt version of Michael Way provides one of the main north-south transportation arteries in this section of northwest Las Vegas. The neighborhood sits just west of the airport. It's always a red flag when you live near the airport. It means you couldn't afford a place further away from the fumes and noise.

It's no different in Vegas. Residents in Michael Way enjoy relatively cheap housing. But they also deal with unimpressive incomes and a high unemployment rate.

When you think of Las Vegas, two main images come to mind. Barren Deserts and glimmering high-rise casinos. What probably doesn't come to mind: lush collections of grass and trees. Well, then, East Las Vegas has some pleasant surprises.

Despite ranking as the number 7 least attractive spot in Las Vegas for 2022, the neighborhood centers on two green areas. You've got Freedom Park and the Desert Pines Golf Club.

Unfortunately, these amenities aren't enough to overcome a spotty economic situation. Sure, residents can escape their problems in hikes and picnics. But that doesn't change the 7.8% unemployment rate or the $33,576 median income.

Before The Strip took over as the center of the action, Downtown represented the place to be in Las Vegas. Those glory years have passed.

Still, this part of the city retains a semblance of its former appeal. Fremont St. forms the centerpiece of this tourist magnet, with restaurants, shops, and multiple famed casinos. You'll even find the Mob Museum, for a look at the grittier side of Vegas history.

All that is fine for the visitors who fly into town for a brief vacation. But what about the people who live in the downtown area permanently? Well, things can get rough. The unemployment rate isn't horrible at 5.6%. However, few jobs pay a living wage. The median income only reaches $21,804.

The east side of Rancho Charleston runs up against I-15, a short drive away from the northern end of The Strip. There, you'll find a string of fast-food places and some stereotypical Vegas attractions, like the Palace Station Race & Sports Book. Meanwhile, the west side of the neighborhood plays home to a series of discount store, including the Fantastic Indoor Swap Meet.

Fast food and swap meets. That pretty much sums it up. Compared to some of the other spots on this list, the median income is actually pretty high. But the unemployment rate remains elevated, meaning locals often have trouble landing those strong-paying gigs.

Visiting Las Vegas, you might be awake for a lot of sunrises. In fact, you might not sleep at all. Even so, given that casinos lack of windows, you might never actually see the sun peak over the horizon.

Another Sunrise you might not want to see: this neighborhood. If you know a few things about science, it won't surprise you that Sunrise sits on the far eastern edge of Las Vegas.

Like so many entries on this list, it ranks as the number 10 worst area in Las Vegas because of its economy. The median income comes in at $40,072, while the unemployment rate hits 7.3%.

Methodology: How we determined the worst Las Vegas neighborhoods in 2022

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 Las Vegas:

• 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 Las Vegas, Nevada 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 Las Vegas.

Read on below to learn more about these terrible places around Las Vegas to live. Or skip to the end to see the list of all 26 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.