The 10 Most Dangerous And Worst Neighborhoods In Providence, RI


The most dangerous and worst Providence neighborhoods are Lower South Providence and Hartford for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Worst Neighborhoods In Providence
Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR 2 | CC BY 2.0

Providence’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 Providence.

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

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

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

We examined 23 of Providence’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to Providence’s reputation.


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


The Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Providence For 2024

  1. Lower South Providence
  2. Hartford
  3. Olneyville
  4. Charles
  5. Washington Park
  6. Wanskuck
  7. Smith Hill
  8. Federal Hill
  9. Downtown
  10. Reservoir

So what’s the worst neighborhood to live in Providence for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Lower South Providence looks to be the worst neighborhood in Providence.

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

For more Rhode Island reading, check out:

The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Providence For 2024

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,030
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 605
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,767
Median Home Value: $127,667 (worst)
Median Income: $27,440 (worst)
More on Lower South Providence:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,286
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 612
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,135
Median Home Value: $181,500 (3rd worst)
Median Income: $38,131 (2nd worst)
More on Hartford:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,417
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 924
Property Crime Per 100k: 3,300
Median Home Value: $229,650 (12th worst)
Median Income: $43,021 (4th worst)
More on Olneyville:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 6,674
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 712
Property Crime Per 100k: 3,196
Median Home Value: $169,620 (2nd worst)
Median Income: $43,450 (6th worst)
More on Charles:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,009
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 460
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,014
Median Home Value: $223,100 (10th worst)
Median Income: $45,408 (8th worst)
More on Washington Park:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 11,315
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 648
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,390
Median Home Value: $199,460 (6th worst)
Median Income: $42,194 (3rd worst)
More on Wanskuck:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,789
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 848
Property Crime Per 100k: 3,371
Median Home Value: $415,413 (20th worst)
Median Income: $51,724 (12th worst)
More on Smith Hill:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 7,553
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 580
Property Crime Per 100k: 4,716
Median Home Value: $352,217 (17th worst)
Median Income: $52,291 (13th worst)
More on Federal Hill:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 4,377
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 1,774
Property Crime Per 100k: 13,060
Median Home Value: $365,950 (18th worst)
Median Income: $49,838 (11th worst)
More on Downtown:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,444
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 347
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,651
Median Home Value: $216,533 (8th worst)
Median Income: $57,834 (14th worst)
More on Reservoir:  Data

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Providence 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 Providence:

  • 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 Providence, Rhode Island 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 Providence.

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 Providence.

Skip to the end to see the list of all 23 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.

Summary: The Worst Neighborhoods Around Providence

Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Providence with Lower South Providence landing at the bottom of the pack.

The worst neighborhoods in Providence are Lower South Providence, Hartford, Olneyville, Charles, Washington Park, Wanskuck, Smith Hill, Federal Hill, Downtown, and Reservoir.

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

The best neighborhoods in Providence are Blackstone, College Hill, Elmhurst, Wayland, and Mount Hope.

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

For more Rhode Island reading, check out:

Most Dangerous Neighborhoods To Live In Providence For 2024?

Rank Neighborhood Population Home Value Median Income
1 Lower South Providence 7,030 $127,667 $27,440
2 Hartford 6,286 $181,500 $38,131
3 Olneyville 5,417 $229,650 $43,021
4 Charles 6,674 $169,620 $43,450
5 Washington Park 6,009 $223,100 $45,408
6 Wanskuck 11,315 $199,460 $42,194
7 Smith Hill 5,789 $415,413 $51,724
8 Federal Hill 7,553 $352,217 $52,291
9 Downtown 4,377 $365,950 $49,838
10 Reservoir 2,444 $216,533 $57,834
11 West End 17,334 $199,133 $45,261
12 Elmwood 10,675 $238,175 $43,068
13 South Elmwood 3,657 $223,425 $49,439
14 Fox Point 3,314 $387,860 $63,560
15 Hope 3,175 $291,880 $76,286
16 Valley 5,127 $239,300 $59,559
17 Silverlake 11,958 $200,456 $49,563
18 Mount Pleasant 11,438 $196,250 $64,063
19 Mount Hope 6,103 $302,912 $77,826
20 Wayland 3,252 $502,825 $89,275
21 Elmhurst 10,551 $219,680 $68,504
22 College Hill 8,697 $619,683 $92,475
23 Blackstone 6,526 $459,340 $128,378
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.