The 10 Most Dangerous And Worst Neighborhoods In Santa Ana, CA


The most dangerous and worst Santa Ana neighborhoods are Mar-Les and French Court for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Worst Neighborhoods In Santa Ana
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Santa Ana’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 Santa Ana.

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

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

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

We examined 54 of Santa Ana’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to Santa Ana’s reputation.


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


The Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Santa Ana For 2024

  1. Mar-Les
  2. French Court
  3. Lyon Street
  4. Santa Anita
  5. French Park
  6. Cedar Evergreen
  7. Pico-Lowell
  8. New Horizons
  9. Heninger Park
  10. Northwest

So what’s the worst neighborhood to live in Santa Ana for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Mar-Les looks to be the worst neighborhood in Santa Ana.

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

For more California reading, check out:

The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Santa Ana For 2024

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 763
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 514
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,490
Median Home Value: $229,900 (worst)
Median Income: $64,427 (19th worst)
More on Mar-Les:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 2,103
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 578
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,802
Median Home Value: $396,600 (7th worst)
Median Income: $47,222 (4th worst)
More on French Court:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 4,667
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 557
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,699
Median Home Value: $297,350 (2nd worst)
Median Income: $57,749 (11th worst)
More on Lyon Street:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 11,893
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 284
Property Crime Per 100k: 4,277
Median Home Value: $393,975 (5th worst)
Median Income: $65,397 (20th worst)
More on Santa Anita:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 2,313
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 548
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,657
Median Home Value: $425,067 (10th worst)
Median Income: $47,716 (5th worst)
More on French Park:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 1,381
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 480
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,327
Median Home Value: $417,200 (9th worst)
Median Income: $44,063 (worst)
More on Cedar Evergreen:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 10,654
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 612
Property Crime Per 100k: 6,106
Median Home Value: $448,500 (12th worst)
Median Income: $62,386 (15th worst)
More on Pico-Lowell:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 4,380
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 1,255
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,361
Median Home Value: $450,850 (13th worst)
Median Income: $67,750 (2worst)
More on New Horizons:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 6,873
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 537
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,604
Median Home Value: $457,633 (15th worst)
Median Income: $54,768 (9th worst)
More on Heninger Park:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 828
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 575
Property Crime Per 100k: 2,786
Median Home Value: $648,150 (5worst)
Median Income: $62,644 (16th worst)
More on Northwest:  Data

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Santa Ana 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 Santa Ana:

  • 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 Santa Ana, California 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 Santa Ana.

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 Santa Ana.

Skip to the end to see the list of all 54 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.

Summary: The Worst Neighborhoods Around Santa Ana

Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Santa Ana with Mar-Les landing at the bottom of the pack.

The worst neighborhoods in Santa Ana are Mar-Les, French Court, Lyon Street, Santa Anita, French Park, Cedar Evergreen, Pico-Lowell, New Horizons, Heninger Park, and Northwest.

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

The best neighborhoods in Santa Ana are Sandpointe, Morning Sunwood, Wilshire Square, Portola Park, and Republic Homes.

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

For more California reading, check out:

Most Dangerous Neighborhoods To Live In Santa Ana For 2024?

Rank Neighborhood Population Home Value Median Income
1 Mar-Les 763 $229,900 $64,427
2 French Court 2,103 $396,600 $47,222
3 Lyon Street 4,667 $297,350 $57,749
4 Santa Anita 11,893 $393,975 $65,397
5 French Park 2,313 $425,067 $47,716
6 Cedar Evergreen 1,381 $417,200 $44,063
7 Pico-Lowell 10,654 $448,500 $62,386
8 New Horizons 4,380 $450,850 $67,750
9 Heninger Park 6,873 $457,633 $54,768
10 Northwest 828 $648,150 $62,644
11 Cornerstone Village 3,721 $476,700 $60,801
12 Bristol Memory 843 $526,850 $46,016
13 Bella Vista 4,633 $456,833 $73,842
14 Santa Ana Triangle 1,921 $551,300 $54,199
15 Logan 1,772 $459,733 $57,094
16 Centennial Park 3,324 $495,250 $82,359
17 Mid-City 8,886 $369,700 $61,060
18 Artesia Pilar 14,248 $489,350 $73,812
19 Morrison-Eldridge Par 2,072 $526,850 $46,016
20 Flower Park 5,166 $394,000 $59,043
21 Saddleback View 1,580 $570,700 $64,366
22 Meredith Parkwood 2,480 $587,400 $76,426
23 Central City 7,331 $484,925 $84,606
24 Lacy 6,258 $506,567 $50,519
25 Delhi 5,406 $467,525 $86,884
26 Shadow Run 1,686 $388,100 $53,650
27 Mabury Park 2,797 $519,600 $75,576
28 Eastside 13,668 $471,625 $62,877
29 Riverview 4,272 $618,200 $82,570
30 Riverglen 449 $830,600 $68,750
31 Concord 899 $598,700 $116,335
32 Fairbridge Square 309 $433,900 $82,951
33 South Coast 3,168 $413,267 $82,489
34 Riverview West 32,911 $485,875 $69,566
35 Washington Square 4,116 $617,350 $70,270
36 Windsor Village 3,128 $546,000 $110,341
37 Valley Adams 3,144 $483,700 $79,516
38 Park Santiago 5,112 $626,700 $83,183
39 Laurelhurst 1,655 $572,600 $129,519
40 Fisher Park 1,295 $639,400 $115,058
41 Sunwood Central 5,835 $598,150 $105,991
42 West Grove Valley 1,719 $577,500 $101,429
43 West Floral Park 3,285 $615,067 $90,561
44 Memorial Park 12,607 $492,140 $95,710
45 Madison Park 7,346 $523,920 $77,837
46 Bristol-Warner 3,205 $579,800 $94,036
47 Floral Park 2,081 $769,950 $92,853
48 Edna Park 628 $608,700 $101,625
49 Thornton Park 4,126 $600,100 $96,141
50 Republic Homes 1,217 $592,500 $107,376
51 Portola Park 1,358 $599,800 $96,886
52 Wilshire Square 5,172 $562,000 $98,520
53 Morning Sunwood 2,698 $564,150 $84,124
54 Sandpointe 4,412 $666,200 $114,710
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.