Boston/Compare
Fenway vs South End
Fenway and South End are two official planning neighborhoods in Boston. Fenway is the calmer Part I map (47 vs 11). Fenway wins the errand count. Fenway has the lower ACS median ($2,241).
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Scores
Fit axes among official Boston planning neighborhoods.
| Axis | Fenway | South End |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 47 | 11 |
| Schools | 36 | 71 |
| Walk | 19 | 6 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 34 | 25 |
| Median rent | $2,241 | $2,274 |
| Median home | $727,953 | $1,182,045 |
| Population | 33,093 | 29,435 |
| Commute to Downtown | 14 min | 10 min |
| Commute to Seaport | 20 min | 14 min |
| Commute to Longwood | 8 min | 12 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Fenway | South End |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 90% | 63% |
| Median age | 23.7 | 38.9 |
| Median income | $62K | $129K |
| Part I per 1k | 14.9 | 30.1 |
| Groceries / 800m | 15 | 7 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 118 | 74 |
| Parks / 800m | 23 | 52 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Boston city. Up 65% since 2014. Fenway is 4% above the 2024 city median. S End is 6% above the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. Dashed marks are each area’s ACS 2024 median.
Which to pick
The same numbers as the table, in sentences. Nobody wins the city.
Pick Fenway if the quieter map matters more than the scene and you want the cafes and the night. Safety is 47 vs 11. Vibe is 34 vs 25. Walk is 19 vs 6. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick South End if the school rating nearby is the point. Schools score 71 vs 36. Read both pages before you decide.
Fenway
The park, the students, Kenmore, and Longwood as a search that actually sits next door. Game day is a tax. The rest of the week is apartments and hospitals.
$2,241 median rent · safety 47 · walk 19
South End
SoWa, brownstones, and a grid that walks. Tremont and Washington are the strips. Quieter than Back Bay’s shopping, denser than JP.
$2,274 median rent · safety 11 · walk 6
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Fenway or South End?
Fenway is the lower ACS median: $2,241 vs $2,274. About 90% rent in Fenway vs 63% in South End. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Fenway more walkable than South End?
Fenway wins the errand count (walk 19 vs 6). Groceries inside 800 meters: 15 vs 7. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Fenway or South End?
Fenway is the calmer Part I read (47 vs 11). Combined rate 14.9 vs 30.1 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Fenway or South End?
South End leads the school axis (71 vs 36). Nearby rating is 7.4 / 10 vs 6.4 / 10. Median age 38.9 vs 23.7. Fenway has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
14 minutes from Fenway to Downtown, 10 from South End. South End is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official planning neighborhood that is not Fenway or South End: Back Bay. Newbury, the brownstones, the Public Garden. Bay Village is a search term that sits inside the same planning neighborhood. You pay for the postcard and for the visitors who shop it.
Scores are relative among official Boston planning neighborhoods with the same editorial weights. Read the method.