Boston/Compare
South Boston vs South End
South Boston and South End are two official planning neighborhoods in Boston. South Boston is the calmer Part I map (26 vs 11). South Boston wins the errand count. South End has the lower ACS median ($2,274).
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 | South Boston | South End |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 26 | 11 |
| Schools | 61 | 71 |
| Walk | 18 | 6 |
| Cost fit | 95 | 100 |
| Vibe | 18 | 25 |
| Median rent | $2,628 | $2,274 |
| Median home | $858,080 | $1,182,045 |
| Population | 36,766 | 29,435 |
| Commute to Downtown | 12 min | 10 min |
| Commute to Seaport | 8 min | 14 min |
| Commute to Longwood | 22 min | 12 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | South Boston | South End |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 55% | 63% |
| Median age | 32.9 | 38.9 |
| Median income | $166K | $129K |
| Part I per 1k | 19.5 | 30.1 |
| Groceries / 800m | 7 | 7 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 143 | 74 |
| Parks / 800m | 43 | 52 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Boston city. Up 65% since 2014. Southie is 22% 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 South Boston if the quieter map matters more than the scene and you want the errands on foot. Safety is 26 vs 11. Walk is 18 vs 6. South Boston is tagged family on this map; South End is not. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick South End if the rent gap is the point and the school rating nearby is the point. ACS median rent is $2,274 vs $2,628. Schools score 71 vs 61. Read both pages before you decide.
South Boston
Southie. Broadway is one 10 p.m.; the Seaport search is another, and the waterfront is its own BPDA polygon we fold here as an alias. The beach is real. The parking is also real.
$2,628 median rent · safety 26 · walk 18
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, South Boston or South End?
South End is the lower ACS median: $2,628 vs $2,274. About 63% rent in South End vs 55% in South Boston. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is South Boston more walkable than South End?
South Boston wins the errand count (walk 18 vs 6). Groceries inside 800 meters: 7 vs 7. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, South Boston or South End?
South Boston is the calmer Part I read (26 vs 11). Combined rate 19.5 vs 30.1 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, South Boston or South End?
South End leads the school axis (71 vs 61). Nearby rating is 7.4 / 10 vs 7.1 / 10. Median age 38.9 vs 32.9. South Boston has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
12 minutes from South Boston 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 South Boston or South End: Downtown. Downtown Crossing, the Common’s other edge, Chinatown and the Leather District as search terms. Walk maxes out. Part I is padded by people who do not sleep here.
Scores are relative among official Boston planning neighborhoods with the same editorial weights. Read the method.