Background <p>Effortful control (EC) is a self-regulatory ability that is linked to many individual child outcomes and is influenced by ecological variables (e.g., family, parenting). The influence of neighborhood-level variables has not been thoroughly examined.</p> Objective <p>The present study examined poorer neighborhood quality as a predictor of EC development, and the moderating role of parenting in relation to poor neighborhood quality and EC development.</p> Method <p>Latent growth curve modeling analyses were used to assess changes in EC across time in a community sample (N = 796) of 4&#xa0;year-olds. Subsequent analyses were run to determine the impact of neighborhood quality and the moderating role of parenting in relation to EC development.</p> Results <p>Analyses indicated that children experienced steady and significant improvements in EC across ages 4, 5, and 6. Independent of socioeconomic status, poorer neighborhood quality significantly predicted age 4 EC level and the growth in EC from ages 4 to 6. Hostile parenting emerged as a significant moderator of the relationship between poorer neighborhood quality and age 4 EC level.</p> Conclusions <p>This study underscores the importance of examining neighborhood context in relation to individual child outcomes.</p>