The 10 Most Dangerous And Worst Neighborhoods In Little Rock, AR


The most dangerous and worst Little Rock neighborhoods are Wakefield and Big Dickinson Lake for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Worst Neighborhoods In Little Rock
Source: Wikipedia User xnatedawgx | CC BY 2.0

Little Rock’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 Little Rock.

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

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

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

We examined 27 of Little Rock’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to Little Rock’s reputation.


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


The Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Little Rock For 2024

  1. Wakefield
  2. Big Dickinson Lake
  3. 65th Street West
  4. South End
  5. Central High
  6. Stephens
  7. Oak Forest
  8. Chicot West
  9. East Of I-30
  10. Upper Baseline

So what’s the worst neighborhood to live in Little Rock for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Wakefield looks to be the worst neighborhood in Little Rock.

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

For more Arkansas reading, check out:

The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Little Rock For 2024

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,017
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 2,803
Property Crime Per 100k: 7,360
Median Home Value: $74,850 (2nd worst)
Median Income: $33,180 (5th worst)
More on Wakefield:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 750
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 2,757
Property Crime Per 100k: 7,238
Median Home Value: $78,300 (4th worst)
Median Income: $38,607 (11th worst)
More on Big Dickinson Lake:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,738
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 2,422
Property Crime Per 100k: 9,323
Median Home Value: $79,650 (5th worst)
Median Income: $35,436 (8th worst)
More on 65th Street West:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,787
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 4,093
Property Crime Per 100k: 4,196
Median Home Value: $69,925 (worst)
Median Income: $31,969 (3rd worst)
More on South End:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,859
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 2,922
Property Crime Per 100k: 7,672
Median Home Value: $109,300 (11th worst)
Median Income: $34,319 (6th worst)
More on Central High:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 4,723
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 3,624
Property Crime Per 100k: 9,501
Median Home Value: $101,391 (10th worst)
Median Income: $36,465 (9th worst)
More on Stephens:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 8,070
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 4,056
Property Crime Per 100k: 7,008
Median Home Value: $83,662 (6th worst)
Median Income: $30,444 (2nd worst)
More on Oak Forest:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 8,651
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 2,250
Property Crime Per 100k: 6,469
Median Home Value: $95,686 (9th worst)
Median Income: $38,423 (10th worst)
More on Chicot West:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 1,801
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 1,610
Property Crime Per 100k: 4,303
Median Home Value: $94,080 (7th worst)
Median Income: $32,768 (4th worst)
More on East Of I-30:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 11,175
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 2,624
Property Crime Per 100k: 7,369
Median Home Value: $77,567 (3rd worst)
Median Income: $35,028 (7th worst)
More on Upper Baseline:  Data

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Little Rock 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 Little Rock:

  • 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 Little Rock, Arkansas 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 Little Rock.

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 Little Rock.

Skip to the end to see the list of all 27 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.

Summary: The Worst Neighborhoods Around Little Rock

Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Little Rock with Wakefield landing at the bottom of the pack.

The worst neighborhoods in Little Rock are Wakefield, Big Dickinson Lake, 65th Street West, South End, Central High, Stephens, Oak Forest, Chicot West, East Of I-30, and Upper Baseline.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Little Rock aren’t all bad. Heights takes the cake as the best place to live in Little Rock.

The best neighborhoods in Little Rock are Heights, Midtown, Hillcrest, River Mountain, and Rock Creek.

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

For more Arkansas reading, check out:

Most Dangerous Neighborhoods To Live In Little Rock For 2024?

Rank Neighborhood Population Home Value Median Income
1 Wakefield 3,017 $74,850 $33,180
2 Big Dickinson Lake 750 $78,300 $38,607
3 65th Street West 3,738 $79,650 $35,436
4 South End 2,787 $69,925 $31,969
5 Central High 1,859 $109,300 $34,319
6 Stephens 4,723 $101,391 $36,465
7 Oak Forest 8,070 $83,662 $30,444
8 Chicot West 8,651 $95,686 $38,423
9 East Of I-30 1,801 $94,080 $32,768
10 Upper Baseline 11,175 $77,567 $35,028
11 Cloverdale Watson 6,314 $94,467 $41,717
12 Boyle Park 4,661 $117,640 $40,050
13 Downtown 6,391 $137,400 $30,291
14 West Markham 2,565 $139,540 $49,271
15 Briarwood 2,140 $140,250 $48,726
16 South Geyer Springs 1,711 $122,250 $50,150
17 John Barrow 12,336 $111,127 $40,153
18 Westwood-Pecan Lake 4,995 $146,400 $45,068
19 Walnut Valley 7,214 $175,340 $50,886
20 Otter Creek Crystal 7,130 $190,440 $51,613
21 Capital View-Stiff 3,043 $150,520 $40,185
22 Reservoir 7,104 $184,325 $78,665
23 Rock Creek 13,859 $246,800 $79,200
24 River Mountain 13,802 $284,525 $96,832
25 Hillcrest 5,671 $286,780 $73,968
26 Midtown 9,054 $210,583 $67,187
27 Heights 5,151 $370,000 $81,906
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.