10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Modesto, CA [2023]

Source: Public domain

Modesto’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 Modesto.

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 Modesto. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.

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

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

We examined 15 of Modesto’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live. These places don’t quite measure up to Modesto’s reputation.

The Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Modesto For 2023

South Side
O. G. Southside
Bret Harte
Riverdale Park
Shackelford
Downtown
Robertson Road
West Side
Airport
Central Modesto

So what’s the worst neighborhood to live in Modesto for 2023? According to the most recent census data, South Side looks to be the worst neighborhood in Modesto.

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

For more California reading, check out:

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

The 10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In Modesto For 2023

1. South Side

Population: 16,501

Median Home Value: $148,680 (6th worst)
Median Income: $37,005 (4th worst)

2. O. G. Southside

Population: 3,112

Median Home Value: $126,688 (3rd worst)
Median Income: $31,167 (worst)

3. Bret Harte

Population: 10,269

Median Home Value: $158,774 (7th worst)
Median Income: $47,265 (10th worst)

4. Riverdale Park

Population: 1,136

Median Home Value: $211,597 (8th worst)
Median Income: $43,919 (7th worst)

5. Shackelford

Population: 1,269

Median Home Value: $126,692 (4th worst)
Median Income: $38,954 (5th worst)

6. Downtown

Population: 2,920

Median Home Value: $111,490 (2nd worst)
Median Income: $33,428 (3rd worst)

7. Robertson Road

Population: 660

Median Home Value: $92,882 (worst)
Median Income: $31,531 (2nd worst)

8. West Side

Population: 37,321

Median Home Value: $136,903 (5th worst)
Median Income: $42,411 (6th worst)

9. Airport

Population: 6,346

Median Home Value: $249,954 (11th worst)
Median Income: $43,977 (8th worst)

10. Central Modesto

Population: 28,826

Median Home Value: $235,823 (9th worst)
Median Income: $44,128 (9th worst)

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Modesto neighborhoods in 2023

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 Modesto:

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 Modesto, 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 Modesto.

The article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2023. This report is our time ranking the worst neighborhoods to live in Modesto.

Skip to the end to see the list of all 15 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.

Summary: The Worst Neighborhoods Around Modesto

Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Modesto with South Side landing at the bottom of the pack.

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

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