These Are The 10 Worst Neighborhoods In San Diego For 2018


We used data and science to identify the neighborhoods in San Diego that are the real pits.

Sam Sparkes, RoadSnacks
December 4, 2017 - 25,140 views
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This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

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San Diego’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 San Diego.

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 San Diego. Some neighborhoods aren’t as great as others.

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

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

We examined 86 of San Diego’s neighborhoods to find out the worst places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to San Diego’s reputation.

Here are the 10 worst neighborhoods in San Diego according to data:

  1. San Ysidro
  2. Nestor
  3. Mount Hope
  4. Palm City
  5. Tijuana River Valley
  6. Memorial
  7. Emerald Hills
  8. Bario Logan
  9. Mountain View
  10. Egger Highlands

Read on to see how we determined the places around San Diego 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 San Diego.

For more reading on California, check out:

How we determined the worst San Diego hoods

Worst Neighborhoods In San Diego
Source: Wikipedia User Tomcio77, User: | CC BY-SA 3.0

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 San Diego:

  • 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 San Diego 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 San Diego.

Read on below to learn more about these terrible places around San Diego to live. Or skip to the end to see the list of all 86 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. San Ysidro

Population: 28,224
Median Income: $42,956
Median Home Value: $199,794

2. Nestor

Population: 15,358
Median Income: $53,097
Median Home Value: $181,867

3. Mount Hope

Population: 9,024
Median Income: $37,857
Median Home Value: $250,880

4. Palm City

Population: 7,257
Median Income: $59,131
Median Home Value: $183,720

5. Tijuana River Valley

Population: 2,803
Median Income: $55,500
Median Home Value: $267,250

6. Memorial

Population: 14,984
Median Income: $27,644
Median Home Value: $238,364

7. Emerald Hills

Population: 7,038
Median Income: $42,021
Median Home Value: $219,060

8. Bario Logan

Population: 10,057
Median Income: $28,429
Median Home Value: $178,175

9. Mountain View

Population: 12,285
Median Income: $29,547
Median Home Value: $251,850

10. Egger Highlands

Population: 10,099
Median Income: $52,382
Median Home Value: $230,980

The ‘hoods around San Diego that are really hoods

Well there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in San Diego with San Ysidro landing at the bottom of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in San Diego aren’t all bad. Marina takes the cake as the best place to live in San Diego.

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

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst San Diego Neighborhoods

Rank Neighborhood Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 San Ysidro 28,224 $42,956 $199,794
2 Nestor 15,358 $53,097 $181,867
3 Mount Hope 9,024 $37,857 $250,880
4 Palm City 7,257 $59,131 $183,720
5 Tijuana River Valley 2,803 $55,500 $267,250
6 Memorial 14,984 $27,644 $238,364
7 Emerald Hills 7,038 $42,021 $219,060
8 Bario Logan 10,057 $28,429 $178,175
9 Mountain View 12,285 $29,547 $251,850
10 Egger Highlands 10,099 $52,382 $230,980
11 City Heights East 38,231 $32,900 $204,865
12 Southcrest 9,991 $35,976 $248,317
13 Oak Park 10,194 $49,305 $242,800
14 Lincoln Park 5,673 $24,823 $293,300
15 Valencia Park 6,494 $53,938 $252,050
16 Chollas View 8,741 $47,978 $220,940
17 Encanto 15,197 $60,528 $287,870
18 Grant Hill 11,789 $31,630 $269,200
19 Gaslamp Quarter 1,154 $43,549 $151,067
20 City Heights West 31,511 $35,183 $275,856
21 Jomacha-Lomita 8,501 $60,629 $269,440
22 Sky Line 11,585 $60,598 $264,929
23 Webster 9,629 $52,982 $276,543
24 Mission Bay 60,822 $62,891 $368,211
25 Grantville 13,121 $62,949 $271,077
26 East Village 13,144 $54,178 $327,989
27 El Cerritos 5,344 $54,190 $293,925
28 Rolando 7,452 $37,258 $382,000
29 Paradise Hills 24,176 $66,767 $223,127
30 Cortez Hill 2,029 $31,154 $217,475
31 Darnall 9,119 $61,918 $281,550
32 Normal Heights 16,097 $52,826 $328,816
33 Midtown District 10,734 $54,962 $314,400
34 Core 3,527 $30,600 $130,600
35 Mission Valley 6,793 $66,122 $269,360
36 Alta Vista 8,831 $82,322 $293,186
37 Moreno Mission 9,036 $55,822 $339,290
38 Allied Gardens 8,839 $72,696 $286,609
39 College Area 20,534 $49,312 $394,253
40 Linda Vista 24,028 $54,891 $365,835
41 Bird Land 5,034 $73,619 $342,240
42 Kearny Mesa 3,029 $77,260 $315,600
43 Mira Mesa 68,906 $86,281 $393,867
44 North Clairemont 14,399 $63,424 $427,507
45 Bay Terrace 22,415 $69,229 $274,647
46 Talmadge 9,342 $59,904 $364,989
47 La Jolla Village 6,202 $55,518 $376,300
48 Serra Mesa 28,167 $71,772 $356,360
49 Torrey Pines 3,273 $84,302 $528,967
50 Gateway 2,994 $66,375 $297,900
51 Balboa Park 12,292 $59,691 $432,976
52 Tierrasanta 20,048 $93,940 $399,744
53 North Hills 41,687 $58,116 $410,820
54 Bay Ho 12,392 $74,812 $502,550
55 Horton Plaza 703 $39,780 $445,200
56 Lake Murray 20,485 $73,700 $411,139
57 West University Heights 9,247 $62,100 $502,090
58 South Park 4,566 $64,185 $471,057
59 Clairemont Mesa 37,903 $68,531 $412,457
60 Park West 4,584 $45,645 $474,733
61 Miramar 2,209 $51,981 $1,000,001
62 Bay Park 15,818 $73,152 $530,207
63 Sorrento Valley 9,186 $93,176 $509,688
64 University City 47,710 $74,229 $428,450
65 Midtown 18,785 $64,076 $475,689
66 Little Italy 2,878 $58,514 $361,150
67 Rancho Bernadino 44,745 $94,008 $507,963
68 Del Cerro 5,683 $89,060 $527,186
69 San Carlos 14,101 $87,392 $503,544
70 Rancho Penasquitos 61,808 $114,380 $536,858
71 Kensington 5,804 $82,378 $533,543
72 Loma Portal 23,060 $72,406 $537,371
73 Ocean Beach 10,144 $78,213 $609,880
74 Sabre Springs 14,605 $114,320 $517,100
75 Columbia 1,674 $87,491 $404,233
76 Old Town 11,102 $76,511 $534,482
77 Scripps Ranch 35,713 $117,010 $648,226
78 Roseville 6,451 $94,807 $724,470
79 North City 12,283 $136,225 $919,786
80 Wooded Area 7,752 $118,100 $724,000
81 Carmel Valley 38,768 $138,534 $736,158
82 Pacific Beach 28,891 $77,693 $568,121
83 Carmel Mountain 9,210 $104,236 $516,660
84 Del Mar Heights 6,885 $123,528 $902,141
85 La Jolla 28,561 $114,679 $926,721
86 Marina 4,653 $80,250 $526,667

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