The 10 Most Dangerous And Worst Neighborhoods In Tucson, AZ

The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Tucson For 2025

Located along the I-10, San Ignacio Yaqui provides some draws. Still, the area has issues with affordability, jobs, and a lack of other amenities. This makes it one of the least attractive areas in the city.

The median home price in San Ignacio Yaqui sits at $83,950. In most places, that represents a highly affordable figure. However, it’s a tough mortgage to cover with a local median income of just $27,521. At the same time, the unemployment rate comes in at 7.7%.

Alvernon Heights is a square neighborhood bordered by E. 22nd Street on the north, E. 29th Street on the South, S. Alvernon Way to the west, and S. Columbus Blvd. to the east. It is also situated kitty-corner from the Randolph Golf Complex and the Tucson Police Department.

The area benefits from modest amenities and a good safety reputation. Still, it ranks as one of the worst neighborhoods in the city. Why? Well, the economy leaves a lot to be desired.

The numbers tell the story. The unemployment rate sits at 6.2% and the median income comes in at $29,967. The median home price in the area stands at $154,400.

Sunset Villa sounds like an excellent place to sit back, relax, and stare into the horizon, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, names can be deceiving. In reality, Sunset Villa represents one of the most unappealing locations in Tucson.

You can blame a lack of amenities and a weak economy for Sunset Villa’s bad reputation. The neighborhood’s 746 inhabitants have to deal with a 4.5% unemployment rate and make due with a median income of just $36,344.

Located along 1-19 and north of W. Ajo Way, Sunset Villa has its draws as well. Housing is relatively affordable, with a median home value of $125,750. Meanwhile, it’s located close to Santa Cruz River Park.

Living in a place called Fairgrounds seems like a lot of laughs. And, to be fair, this neighborhood does house the Tucson Rodeo

A lack of amenities and a weak economy contribute to the neighborhood’s bad character. The unemployment rate sits at 5.8% and the median income comes in at $5.8. At least Fairgrounds is affordable. The median home value stands at $98,450.

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 Tucson:

• 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 Tucson, Arizona 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 Tucson.

The article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2025. This report is our time ranking the worst neighborhoods to live in Tucson.

Skip to the end to see the list of all 127 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.