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San Francisco'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 Francisco.
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 Francisco. Some neighborhoods aren't as great as others.
So the question arises, which San Francisco neighborhoods are the worst, and which are the best?
Today, we'll use science and data to determine which San Francisco hoods need a little tender loving care - the sore thumbs of the San Francisco area if you will. Realistically, you can't expect all the neighborhoods to be amazing, although Pacific Heights ranks way above the rest.
We examined 34 of San Francisco's neighborhoods to find out the worst places to live. These places don't quite measure up to San Francisco's reputation.
The Worst Neighborhoods In San Francisco For 2022
So what's the worst neighborhood to live in San Francisco for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Bayview looks to be the worst neighborhood in San Francisco.
Read on to see how we determined the places around San Francisco 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 Francisco.
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 Francisco For 2022
/10
Population: 35,739
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $567,431 (5th worst)
Median Income: $63,752 (4th worst)
More on Bayview: Data
/10
Population: 24,607
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $541,511 (3rd worst)
Median Income: $62,162 (3rd worst)
More on Visitacion Valley: Data
/10
Population: 22,014
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $745,567 (11th worst)
Median Income: $100,506 (18th worst)
More on Lakeshore: Data
/10
Population: 39,932
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $278,081 (worst)
Median Income: $43,555 (2nd worst)
More on Downtown: Data
/10
Population: 6,974
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $654,150 (8th worst)
Median Income: $101,601 (19th worst)
More on Financial District: Data
/10
Population: 10,136
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $557,736 (4th worst)
Median Income: $35,896 (worst)
More on Chinatown: Data
/10
Population: 13,448
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $852,064 (14th worst)
Median Income: $162,259 (34th worst)
More on Potrero Hill: Data
/10
Population: 37,796
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $646,360 (7th worst)
Median Income: $74,182 (6th worst)
More on Excelsior: Data
/10
Population: 11,601
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $930,373 (19th worst)
Median Income: $83,033 (9th worst)
More on North Beach: Data
/10
Population: 29,799
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $704,303 (10th worst)
Median Income: $86,739 (10th worst)
More on Outer Mission: Data
Methodology: How we determined the worst San Francisco 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 San Francisco:
- 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 Francisco, 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 Francisco.
Read on below to learn more about these terrible places around San Francisco to live. Or skip to the end to see the list of all 34 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.
Summary: The Worst Neighborhoods Around San Francisco
Well there you have it -- the worst of the neighborhoods in San Francisco with Bayview landing at the bottom of the pack.
As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in San Francisco aren't all bad. Pacific Heights takes the cake as the best place to live in San Francisco.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below.
For more California reading, check out:
Where Are The Worst Neighborhoods To Live In San Francisco For 2022?
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayview | 35,739 |
| 2 | Visitacion Valley | 24,607 |
| 3 | Lakeshore | 22,014 |
| 4 | Downtown | 39,932 |
| 5 | Financial District | 6,974 |
| 6 | Chinatown | 10,136 |
| 7 | Potrero Hill | 13,448 |
| 8 | Excelsior | 37,796 |
| 9 | North Beach | 11,601 |
| 10 | Outer Mission | 29,799 |
| 11 | Mission | 56,009 |
| 12 | South Of Market | 35,386 |
| 13 | Crocker Amazon | 11,751 |
| 14 | Parkside | 27,661 |
| 15 | Diamond Heights | 2,239 |
| 16 | Ocean View | 30,618 |
| 17 | Western Addition | 52,616 |
| 18 | Bernal Heights | 28,638 |
| 19 | Outer Sunset | 50,788 |
| 20 | Castro-Upper Market | 21,884 |
| 21 | Glen Park | 6,919 |
| 22 | Russian Hill | 17,133 |
| 23 | Inner Richmond | 38,842 |
| 24 | Nob Hill | 21,931 |
| 25 | Twin Peaks | 7,538 |
| 26 | Presidio Heights | 8,734 |
| 27 | West Of Twin Peaks | 21,375 |
| 28 | Haight-Ashbury | 23,717 |
| 29 | Outer Richmond | 36,055 |
| 30 | Marina | 22,358 |
| 31 | Seacliff | 1,429 |
| 32 | Inner Sunset | 27,720 |
| 33 | Noe Valley | 21,074 |
| 34 | Pacific Heights | 19,716 |
