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/West End
36fit
West End
Official planning neighborhood: West End
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
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.
mghnorth stationtd garden
Best in Boston for familiesWalkable BostonUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
32
34 violent · 123 property · 19.0 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)-18 vs city set
Schools
32
Rating 6.3 / 10 nearby-16 vs city set
Walk
22
OSM: 13 groceries · 18 cafes · 100 transit · 73 parks-5 vs city set
Cost
66
$3,346 ACS median vs your rent budget-27 vs city set
Vibe
38
OSM: 18 cafes · 68 restaurants · 19 bars · 73 parks+5 vs city set
Commute to work
From West End, a typical weekday is 8 min to Downtown, 14 min to Seaport, 18 min to Longwood. Not live traffic.
Downtown is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Downtown
8 min
Downtown Crossing, Financial District · -8 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
18 min
Hospitals, medical offices · at 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 $3,346 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 28% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($143K) could “afford” about $3,569 a month at 30% of pay.
84% of households rent. Median home value is $824,636.
ACS median rent
$3,346
30% income budget
$3,569
Rent / income
28%
Median home
$824,636
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Boston city. Up 65% since 2014. West End is 56% 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: 13 groceries, 18 cafes, 73 parks, and 100 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 73 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (100 stops or stations).
18 cafes and 68 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Boston set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 11 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
8,249
Median age
34.1
Median income
$143K
Renters
84%
Bachelor+
85%
Violent / 1k
4.1
Property / 1k
14.9
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 3 census tracts · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM 2026-09-10
Planned
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.
MGH, the Garden, and towers that replaced a neighborhood. New rental, the highest median rent in this Boston set, and a walk to the river. North Station is the T. You live here for the job, not a main street.
Weight new-urban and the downtown commute. Beacon Hill is the brick hill next door. Downtown is the crossing. Charlestown is across the bridge if you wanted a yard.
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 West End.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is West End safe?
West End shows more Part I than most of this Boston set (safety 32 vs city 50). BPD logged 4.1 violent and 14.9 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 19.0 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in West End?
ACS median rent is $3,346 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 84% of households rent. Median home value is $824,636. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is West End walkable?
Walk is 22 here vs 27 for the Boston set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 13 groceries, 18 cafes, 100 transit stops, 73 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is West End good for families?
There is more night and visitor traffic in the mix — not the quietest family default. Nearby school rating is 6.3 / 10. Median age is 34.1. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from West End?
8 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 West End?
About 8,249 people. Median income $143K. 85% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to West End?
North End, Beacon Hill, Charlestown sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official planning neighborhoods, start with West End vs North End.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
West End vs North EndWest End vs Beacon HillWest End vs Charlestown
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
54fit
North End
$3K median rent
Hanover Street is the postcard. The alleys are where people actually live. You will hear the tourists. You will also walk to a grocery if you picked the right block.
NightlifeWalk 25Safety 95
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
44fit
Charlestown
$2K median rent
The Navy Yard, the monument, and a peninsula that still feels slightly separate. The bridge is the commute. Family streets sit two blocks off the tourist path.
Family streetsWaterfrontWalk 4Safety 89