Top 10 Worst Neighborhoods In Detroit 2022

The worst neighborhoods in Detroit are basically ambitious developments that went up in the early 1900’s when Detroit was the center of American manufacturing, and the economy was good. Things have changed since then, and not for the better.

With the auto manufacturing industry sunken into oblivion, a lack of economic prospects has largely forced out the more talented and ambitious of the population, leaving behind a very high rate of crime, because there are very many people who can commit them.

Over the years Detroit has acquired a reputation for being a hard place; full of gangsters and thugs. These are some of the roughest neighborhoods; best avoided or viewed from a distance.

Top 10 Worst Neighborhoods In Detroit

1. Chaldean Town

Chaldean Town got its name from the Chaldean Catholic immigrants from Iraq and Turkey. This was in the early 1900s when the industrial economy in Detroit was booming; and there were more auto factories than the local population could handle. The Chaldean immigrants settled in this neighborhood, and some of them went to work in the auto factories, while others set up small businesses like ethnic restaurants serving Middle Eastern food.

Now, Chaldean Town only has a population of about 1200 people, and they are mostly poor; the median household income in this town being $16,200. Everything about this town is just bad; high level of unemployment, a housing crisis, high crime rates, and low levels of education.

2. Petosky Otsego

Petosky Otsego is a neighborhood in Detroit which has a population of 7,200 people. This is one of the most dangerous parts of Detroit; the trouble seems to start at the school system; Petosky also has one of the worst schooling systems in the city. The student turnout is terrible, and many of them wind up in the world of crime.

This is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Detroit; a place where 14% of the population have no jobs, and those that do are paid low wages. The median household in this town is $18,800.

The rate of crime is very high; murder, burglaries, car theft and robberies are quite common in this neighborhood. This is an unattractive place to set up shop if you are going to own a small business; although it may be possible with heavy investment in security.

3. Warrendale

Warrendale is located in the western part of Detroit, Michigan. It has a population of about 17,500, making it one of the highly populated neighborhoods in the city. However, a large population of people, with very little economic prospects can go sour quite quickly. Many of the people in this neighborhood are poor; the median household income is $27,970; and 14% of the population have no form of employment.

The result is classic; a high rate of crime. There are many break-ins, assaults, and robberies in this neighborhood; and many people say they are afraid to walk around once it gets dark.

4. Fiskhorn

Fiskhorn is one of the scariest neighborhoods in Detroit. Fiskhorn is a place where most decent people (with some education, and jobs, and hopes for the future) choose to avoid; the place is rough, and run down, and there are not many economic prospects in this town.

Fiskhorn has a population of around 3,800, and most of them -with a median household income of $23,000- are poor. Only 38% of people living in Fiskhorn have graduated high school, and only 5% have a bachelor’s degree. This is a great place to meet drug addled criminals; murder, assault, rape, and robbery are quite common here.

Another concern in Fiskhorn is the high amount of gang related activity; many of the young people consider themselves potential kingpins, and so they fight each other for territory; engaging in drive by shootings, and other forms of madness.

5. Van Steuban

Van Steuban has a population of around 3,500 people; and was ambitiously built as a place where families could live in single family homes as most Americans dream. That dream has not entirely worked out; the neighborhood struggles with poverty. The average household income in Van Steuban is $34,000.

Van Steuban has an unemployment rate of 15.6%; many of the young people have taken to crime. Gang activity, homicide, shootings, and rape are some of the factors that make this neighborhood unattractive.

6. Franklin Park

Franklin Park is a neighborhood located on the Eastside of Detroit; it has a population of around 11,000 people, making it a nice little town. The neighborhood does not attract the best quality of persons; only about 36% of its population having graduated high school and only 8% with a bachelor’s degree.

With education being so low, it naturally follows that poverty should be so high. The median household income is $29,300, and the unemployment rate is at 13.7%.

Franklin Park is one of the worst neighborhoods in Detroit; the area is riddled with gangs and drug traffickers. There are many abandoned buildings in the area; many of which serve as headquarters for the criminals.

7. Brightmoor

Brightmoor is a neighborhood in Detroit that has a population of around 9,900 residents. This suburban neighborhood was a lot prettier in the 70’s when the town houses were occupied by working families, and the neighborhood thrived. Many of those houses have fallen to different stages of disrepair; many of the former residents simply left.

There is poverty in Brightmoor; the median household income is $24,947. Unemployment stands at 13.1%, which is good for crime. There is plenty of gang related criminal activity going on here.

8. Forest Park

Forest Park is a small neighborhood with just 1100 people in the area. Despite the low population, the rate of poverty is quite high; the median household income is about $14,900. This is one of the most run down and rugged neighborhoods in the whole of Detroit.

There are plenty of shootings, theft, robberies, and many other types of crime.

9. Greensbriar

Greensbriar has a population of 2,451. This neighborhood has many abandoned and rotting buildings, which show just how bad things are in the area. Education is problematic in the area; only 39% of its population having graduated from High school and only 3% have graduate degrees.

With no skills, many of the people are without jobs; the median household income is around $31,313 and unemployment stands at 13.5%.

The neighborhood has been overrun by gangs; it will take a lot of work to make this place livable again.

10. Riverdale

Riverdale has a population of 2,427. The economic indicators are not good; the median household income is $29,691, and the unemployment rate is 5.6%.

Social indicators are not good either; only 26% of the population has high school diplomas. This makes the neighborhood a perfect place for crime; there are many gangsters here scaring away all the decent people.

Closing

The worst neighborhoods in Detroit have earned this infamy over many years. In order to get these neighborhoods on the right track, a lot of work will have to be done over a long period of time. Investments will have to be made not only in the area of jobs, but also in the area of keeping the young people in school so that they can develop their potentials.