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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 Del Mar Heights ranks way above the rest.
We examined 85 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.
The Worst Neighborhoods In San Diego For 2021
So what's the worst neighborhood to live in San Diego for 2021? According to the most recent census data, San Ysidro looks to be the worst neighborhood in San Diego.
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 California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Most Dangerous Cities In California
The 10 Worst Neighborhoods In San Diego For 2021
/10
Population: 28,456
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $252,665 (10th worst)
Median Income: $46,562 (15th worst)
More on San Ysidro: Data
/10
Population: 7,132
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $216,300 (8th worst)
Median Income: $56,621 (26th worst)
More on Palm City: Data
/10
Population: 14,637
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $299,864 (20th worst)
Median Income: $30,176 (worst)
More on Memorial: Data
/10
Population: 8,997
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $288,200 (18th worst)
Median Income: $37,060 (10th worst)
More on Mount Hope: Data
/10
Population: 9,873
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $244,475 (9th worst)
Median Income: $50,064 (19th worst)
More on Oak Park: Data
/10
Population: 10,962
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $274,430 (15th worst)
Median Income: $53,556 (23rd worst)
More on Midtown District: Data
/10
Population: 7,490
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $279,720 (16th worst)
Median Income: $74,473 (57th worst)
More on Mission Valley: Data
/10
Population: 3,664
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $328,900 (32nd worst)
Median Income: $79,000 (60th worst)
More on Kearny Mesa: Data
/10
Population: 13,053
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $370,033 (40th worst)
Median Income: $59,134 (33rd worst)
More on East Village: Data
/10
Population: 12,582
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $198,900 (6th worst)
Median Income: $30,582 (2nd worst)
More on Mountain View: Data
How we determined the worst San Diego hoods in 2021
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, California 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 85 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.
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. Del Mar Heights takes the cake as the best place to live in San Diego.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below.
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