Top 10 Areas To Avoid In Detroit (2023)

Detroit is hardly a tourist attraction, but there are some who just love to travel and explore new places. Those ones will need to know that there are certain areas to avoid in Detroit- places that are worse off than the rest of the city. Detroit was once a thriving place; an idealistic city whose wheels turned on industry.

Decades of decline and neglect have turned much of Detroit into a collection of run down communities where the most promising individuals depart, and those with less prospects stay behind. There is plenty of violence, gang related activity, and random criminality going on in the area, and residents just do not feel safe.

Areas To Avoid In Detroit

1. Chaldean Town

Chaldean Town got its name from the Chaldean Catholic immigrants from Iraq and Turkey who moved there during the early 1900s. That was around the time when Detroit had automobile factories all over the place. Many of the immigrants established restaurants where they served Middle Eastern food.

All of that is gone now. The town has only around 1200 residents and many of them are in and out of jail. There are few economic opportunities, and unemployment rates are very high. The education levels are too low, and the rate of crime is quite high.

2. Petosky Otsego

Petosky Otsego is one of the areas to be avoided in Detroit; it is an ugly, run down area with a population of 7,200 people. This is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Detroit; few businesses exist in the area, and median household income of around $18,800.

The worst part of the situation is that many of the residents are young people, and with no economic prospects they soon embrace a life of crime.

There are plenty of drugs in the area, and gang activities usually end up in violence. This community has one of the worst schooling systems in the city, with low student turnout. Massive failures are usually seen during school tests.

3. Fiskhorn

Fiskhorn is another example of a run down neighborhood; one where the more promising leave, while those without prospects stay put. Here there are no rich people; and even most decent people fear to venture into the neighborhood. The neighborhood has a population of around 3,800, and the median household income is around $23,000.

The unemployment rate is high, and many of the young people engage in crime. Violent crimes like murder, assault, rape, and robbery are very popular here, and there are plenty of gang activities here, resulting in shootings and robberies.

4. Warrendale

Warrendale is a community located in the western part of Detroit, Michigan. Around 17,500 call this neighborhood home, although most of them are poor. The median household income is $27,970, and the unemployment rate is very high.

Warrendale is one of the worst Detroit neighborhoods; it is not ideal for a young professional, or for a young family with children because it is impossible to feel safe, and bad influences are all over the place. Crime is on the high side; break-ins, assaults, and robberies are some of the most common types of crime in the area.

5. Van Steuben

Van Steuban is not a good place to live or visit; this Detroit neighborhood is practically abandoned by the authorities. There are around 3,500 residents in the area; and they are mostly poor. The average household income in the neighborhood is $34,000, and yet the unemployment rate is quite high. There are few businesses in area to boost the local economy.

Van Steuban has a lot of gang activity; some of their crimes include homicide, shootings, and rape. This is not an ideal place for someone trying to build a good life for the future. It is not a good place for a person to visit.

6. Franklin Park

Franklin Park is a neighborhood located on the Eastside of Detroit; it is home to over 11,000 people. The neighborhood is riddled with run down apartment buildings; some of them lacking any amenities at all. These are few shops and other businesses in the area, and there is very little money to spend in these places of business.

The median household income is $29,300, and the rate of unemployment is quite high. The rate of education is also quite low, and because many of the residents are young it is easy to see the relationship between a lack of jobs and the prevalence of gang related activity.

Some of the common crimes include drug trafficking, robbery and homicide. There too many gangs in the area; and sometimes they engage each other in gang wars.

7. Brightmoor

Brightmoor is a neighborhood in Detroit. Brightmoor has a population of around 9,900 residents and the rate of poverty is very high. The median household income in this neighborhood is $24, 947. Brightmoor is so run down that its population is decreasing rapidly.

Brightmoor has a lot of gang activity, some of their crimes include drugs, robbery, and so on.

8. Forest Park

Forest Park in Detroit, Michigan is home to 1100 people. It is a largely poor area; the median household income is about  $14,900 – one of the lowest in the United States. There are too few businesses, and the area is generally unsafe despite the presence of the Detroit branch of the national Federal Reserve.

This is a hot spot for crime; some of the gangs have their treasuries and headquarters located in the area. The neighborhood also has a vibrant nightlife, although most of the people one would meet could be quite dangerous.

9. Greensbriar

Greensbriar has a population of about 2,451. The good thing is that it has a slightly better median household income which is  around $31,313. However, the education levels are too low, and the unemployment rate is too high.

Poverty is quite high in this neighborhood, and there is plenty of gang activity. Some of the common crimes in the area include drug peddling, violence, robbery and burglary.

10. Weatherby

Weatherby could be a nice neighborhood to buy property and live if there were not so many criminals running around. This neighborhood of around 1,414 people has a lot of crime, and very few economic opportunities. The few businesses cannot pay so much.

Some of the crimes in the neighborhood include car-jackings, murder, assault, robbery, and theft.

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Closing

The areas in avoid in Detroit are obviously some of the worst areas in the city; Detroit as a whole is just somewhere most people prefer to avoid. This is not to say there are no decent families living in the city; it just goes to show that one needs to take extra precautions in order to live there.