61fit
Downtown
$2K median rent
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.
NightlifeWalk 62Safety 5
Boston/South End
34fit
South End
Official planning neighborhood: South End
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
SoWa, brownstones, and a grid that walks. Tremont and Washington are the strips. Quieter than Back Bay’s shopping, denser than JP.
sowatremont street
Best in Boston for familiesWalkable BostonUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
11
108 violent · 776 property · 30.1 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)-39 vs city set
Schools
71
Rating 7.4 / 10 nearby+23 vs city set
Walk
6
OSM: 7 groceries · 14 cafes · 74 transit · 52 parks-21 vs city set
Cost
97
$2,274 ACS median vs your rent budget+4 vs city set
Vibe
25
OSM: 14 cafes · 55 restaurants · 6 bars · 52 parks-8 vs city set
Commute to work
From South End, a typical weekday is 10 min to Downtown, 14 min to Seaport, 12 min to Longwood. Not live traffic.
Downtown is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Downtown
10 min
Downtown Crossing, Financial District · -6 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
Seaport
14 min
Innovation District, the waterfront · -5 min vs the city-set median
Longwood
12 min
Hospitals, medical offices · -6 min vs the city-set median
Minutes are baked from neighborhood geography to three job centers — not Google, not this hour’s traffic.
Cost of living
The ACS median rent is $2,274 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 21% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($129K) could “afford” about $3,215 a month at 30% of pay.
63% of households rent. Median home value is $1,182,045.
ACS median rent
$2,274
30% income budget
$3,215
Rent / income
21%
Median home
$1,182,045
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Boston city. Up 65% since 2014. South 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. The dashed mark is this area’s ACS 2024 median.
HUD treats 30% of income as the cost-burden line. We do not split ACS rent into 1-bed vs 2-bed. Method.
Within a walk
Within a short walk of this official planning neighborhood: 7 groceries, 14 cafes, 52 parks, and 74 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 52 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (74 stops or stations).
14 cafes and 55 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Boston set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 7 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
29,435
Median age
38.9
Median income
$129K
Renters
63%
Bachelor+
69%
Violent / 1k
3.7
Property / 1k
26.4
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 10 census tracts · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM 2026-09-10
Nightlife
Crime is BPD Part I reports per 1,000 ACS residents — not a judgment of who lives here. Home and rent figures are ACS medians, not live MLS. Read the method.
On the ground
What it is like to live here, beyond the scores.
SoWa, brownstones, and a grid that walks. Tremont and Washington are the strips. Quieter than Back Bay’s shopping, denser than JP. The Southwest Corridor is the park you actually use.
Weight walk. Back Bay is the postcard north. Southie is the peninsula east. Jamaica Plain is the porch if you wanted a pond and a slightly longer Orange Line ride.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, Seattle Times coverage, Boston planning-neighborhood writing, and local writing, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
On Reddit
Public posts from r/boston that mention this neighborhood. Not Nextdoor, not people on this block, and not part of the fit score.
No r/boston posts in this snapshot mentioned South End.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is South End safe?
South End shows more Part I than most of this Boston set (safety 11 vs city 50). BPD logged 3.7 violent and 26.4 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 30.1 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in South End?
ACS median rent is $2,274 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 63% of households rent. Median home value is $1,182,045. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is South End walkable?
Walk is 6 here vs 27 for the Boston set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 7 groceries, 14 cafes, 74 transit stops, 52 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is South End good for families?
There is more night and visitor traffic in the mix — not the quietest family default. Nearby school rating is 7.4 / 10. Median age is 38.9. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from South End?
10 typical weekday minutes to Downtown. Not the app on your phone this hour. Other job centers are further down this page.
How many people live in South End?
About 29,435 people. Median income $129K. 69% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to South End?
Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Downtown sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official planning neighborhoods, start with South End vs Back Bay.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
South End vs Back BaySouth End vs Beacon HillSouth End vs Downtown
58fit
Beacon Hill
$2K median rent
Gas lamps, brick, and a hill that actually is a hill. Charles Street is the errand. The Common is the lawn. Quieter than Back Bay, tighter than it looks on a map.
Family streetsWalk 34Safety 42
44fit
Back Bay
$3K median rent
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.
NightlifeWalk 26Safety 0
43fit
Fenway
$2K median rent
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.
NightlifeNear UTWalk 19Safety 47
36fit
West End
$3K median rent
MGH, the Garden, and towers that replaced a neighborhood. New rental, high median, and a walk to the river. You live here for the job and the T, not a main street.
PlannedWalk 22Safety 32