Jersey City’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 Jersey City.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in New Jersey thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Jersey City. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Jersey City neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Jersey City hoods need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Jersey City area if you will. Realistically, you can’t expect all the neighborhoods to be amazing, although The Waterfront ranks way above the rest.
We examined 11 of Jersey City’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to Jersey City’s reputation.
Table Of Contents: Top 10 | Methodology | Summary | Table
So what’s the worst neighborhood to live in Jersey City for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Greenville looks to be the worst neighborhood in Jersey City.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Jersey City that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don’t blame the messenger.
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Jersey
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Jersey
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Jersey
The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Jersey City For 2024
/10
Population: 48,963
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 585
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,976
Median Home Value: $337,270 (2nd worst)
Median Income: $63,375 (2nd worst)
More on Greenville: Data
Go to the top of the Statue of Liberty and turn toward New Jersey. There’s a good chance you’re looking at Greenville. It sits on a strip of land along Newark Bay, a short ride from Liberty State Park.
Not a bad spot, almost in the literal shadow of Lady Liberty. Still, the area winds up ranked the number 1 worst neighborhood in Jersey City for 2024. Why? The issue relates mostly to economics.
First, the job market is sluggish, with an unemployment rate of 4.8%. Second, the cost of living is high. The median home price stands at $337,270, compared to a median income of $63,375.
/10
Population: 22,642
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 561
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,894
Median Home Value: $366,400 (4th worst)
Median Income: $46,054 (worst)
More on Bergen-Lafayette: Data
Another neighborhood within a short ride from Liberty State Park, Bergen-Lafayette also lies adjacent to the Historic Downtown Jersey City. Sounds like a nice spot. Unfortunately, this close proximity to the center of town only serves to drive up real estate values.
With an anemic economy to start with, high housing costs push many of the locals out of the market. The combination of a weak economic base and an inflated cost of living make this the number 2 worst part of Jersey City for 2024.
Just look at the numbers. The median home price sits at $366,400. Meanwhile, the neighborhood’s 22,642 residents face an unemployment rate of 5.3% and a median income of $46,054.
/10
Population: 23,620
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 516
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,742
Median Home Value: $326,669 (worst)
Median Income: $67,422 (6th worst)
More on West Side: Data
/10
Population: 26,826
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 532
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,797
Median Home Value: $408,459 (6th worst)
Median Income: $64,553 (3rd worst)
More on Journal Square: Data
Journal Square got its name from a newspaper, the Jersey Journal. Think of it as a down-market Times Square. Except, in this case, the Journal actually moved to Secaucus in 2014.
Still, the area provides a local center of shopping and restaurants. This bolsters the economy, which supports an unemployment rate of 3.1% and a median income of $64,553. As has become common on this list already, though, the area also suffers a high cost of living. The median home value hovers at $408,459.
Located to the northeast of downtown, Journal Square serves as home to Hudson County Community College.
/10
Population: 1,019
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 446
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,507
Median Home Value: $349,550 (3rd worst)
Median Income: $77,231 (8th worst)
More on Lincoln Park: Data
Lincoln Park is an actual park. It sits just across the road from the Hackensack River and boasts a number of features, like a dog park, a tennis center, an attractive fountain, and a nearby golf course.
The park alone might make you want to move to the area. If you can afford it…but, then, that’s the problem. Few locals can earn enough to get by in Lincoln Park. First off, jobs are scarce in the area, which sports an unemployment rate of 3.1%. Second, even the available jobs often can’t keep up with real estate prices. The median income stands at $77,231, compared to a median home value of $349,550.
/10
Population: 3,876
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 437
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,475
Median Home Value: $389,629 (5th worst)
Median Income: $66,774 (5th worst)
More on Hackensack Riverfront: Data
/10
Population: 20,749
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 544
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,837
Median Home Value: $425,200 (7th worst)
Median Income: $65,850 (4th worst)
More on Mcginley Square: Data
Situated east of downtown, McGinley Square houses a few local landmarks. It has Saint Peter’s University, including the gorgeous architectural specimen of St Aedan’s Church. Unfortunately, like a lot of the neighborhoods on this list, an unimpressive economy and a high cost of living erode the area’s appeal. In the end, it winds up as the number 6 least attractive place in Jersey City for 2024.
You can see the trends spelled out in the statistics. McGinley Square has an unemployment rate of 4.4% and a median income of $65,850. At the same time, locals struggle to make their mortgages with a median home value of $425,200.
/10
Population: 50,701
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 507
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,710
Median Home Value: $454,812 (8th worst)
Median Income: $71,342 (7th worst)
More on The Heights: Data
/10
Population: 618
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 177
Property Crime Per 100k: 599
Median Home Value: $601,300 (9th worst)
Median Income: $182,926 (11th worst)
More on Liberty Park: Data
/10
Population: 38,783
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 192
Property Crime Per 100k: 649
Median Home Value: $772,881 (10th worst)
Median Income: $133,134 (9th worst)
More on Downtown: Data
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Jersey City 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 Jersey City:
- 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 Jersey City, New Jersey 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 Jersey City.
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 Jersey City.
Skip to the end to see the list of all 11 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
Summary: The Worst Neighborhoods Around Jersey City
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Jersey City with Greenville landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Jersey City are Greenville, Bergen-Lafayette, West Side, Journal Square, Lincoln Park, Hackensack Riverfront, McGinley Square, The Heights, Liberty Park, and Downtown.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Jersey City aren’t all bad. The Waterfront takes the cake as the best place to live in Jersey City.
The best neighborhoods in Jersey City are The Waterfront, Downtown, Liberty Park, The Heights, and McGinley Square.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below.
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
Most Dangerous Neighborhoods To Live In Jersey City For 2024?
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenville | 48,963 | $337,270 | $63,375 |
| 2 | Bergen-Lafayette | 22,642 | $366,400 | $46,054 |
| 3 | West Side | 23,620 | $326,669 | $67,422 |
| 4 | Journal Square | 26,826 | $408,459 | $64,553 |
| 5 | Lincoln Park | 1,019 | $349,550 | $77,231 |
| 6 | Hackensack Riverfront | 3,876 | $389,629 | $66,774 |
| 7 | Mcginley Square | 20,749 | $425,200 | $65,850 |
| 8 | The Heights | 50,701 | $454,812 | $71,342 |
| 9 | Liberty Park | 618 | $601,300 | $182,926 |
| 10 | Downtown | 38,783 | $772,881 | $133,134 |
| 11 | The Waterfront | 14,428 | $793,950 | $172,200 |
Really make no sense
The 3 neighborhoods you have listed as the ‘worst’ and the 3 most vibrant, interesting, and rapidly growing economic areas of the city. The neighborhoods you have as ‘best’ are already tapped out from a real estate perspective and most people coming to JC are here to find value because they can’t afford Brooklyn.
Please don’t tell them McGinley Sqaure, Journal Square, and the West Side are arguably the 3 fastest growing neighborhoods in the whole country real estate wise. I can still kinda afford it here.
Sheesh. Some list.
I live in Greenville. It’s basically a residential community. I used to live in Astoria and couldn’t afford to buy anything there. The houses in Greenville are very cheap, granted they are mostly fixer-uppers. Cheap house, put a bit of money into it and you have a nice place to live. There are some beautiful turn of the last century houses here. My house still had gaslight spigots in the wall. Plus, it’s very quiet here. My real estate agent called Greenville the best kept secret in real estate. He was right. If people in Astoria knew they could buy a house here for around $200,000. There would be waiting lines.
This article is everything Jersey City is not. It’s offensive to Jersey City natives and to long term residents. This article is like a low brow gossip column, except it also spreads classist, racist, ideology.
Only decent areas in JC to live are directly north and east/southeast of Journal Square. (Heights, Harsimus Cove, Hamilton Park, The Village, etc.) Anywhere else is a gamble.