New York/Compare
Bed-Stuy vs Carroll Gardens
Bed-Stuy and Carroll Gardens are two official neighborhoods in New York. Carroll Gardens is the calmer Part I map (86 vs 71). Bed-Stuy wins the errand count. Bed-Stuy has the lower ACS median ($2,079).
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · NYPD Oct 2025 – Jun 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Scores
Fit axes among official New York neighborhoods.
| Axis | Bed-Stuy | Carroll Gardens |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 71 | 86 |
| Schools | 17 | 77 |
| Walk | 100 | 23 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 36 | 21 |
| Median rent | $2,079 | $2,329 |
| Median home | $1,371,517 | $1,626,285 |
| Population | 182,837 | 58,384 |
| Commute to Midtown | 35 min | 35 min |
| Commute to FiDi | 33 min | 28 min |
| Commute to Downtown Brooklyn | 14 min | 12 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Bed-Stuy | Carroll Gardens |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 78% | 69% |
| Median age | 33 | 38.1 |
| Median income | $85K | $148K |
| Part I per 1k | 10.5 | 9.6 |
| Groceries / 800m | 165 | 73 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 312 | 66 |
| Parks / 800m | 120 | 80 |
| 311 last 14 days | 3,010 | 1,360 |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for New York city. Up 48% since 2014. Bed-Stuy is 14% above the 2024 city median. Carroll is 28% 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 Bed-Stuy if you want the errands on foot and you want the cafes and the night. Walk is 100 vs 23. Vibe is 36 vs 21. ACS median rent is $2,079 vs $2,329. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Carroll Gardens if the school rating nearby is the point and the quieter map matters more than the scene. Schools score 77 vs 17. Safety is 86 vs 71. Vibe is 21 vs 36. Read both pages before you decide.
Bed-Stuy
Block after block of brownstone, a food scene that caught up, and a scale the other Brooklyn names do not have.
$2,079 median rent · safety 71 · walk 100
Carroll Gardens
Court Street, Italian leftovers, and Gowanus condos at the edge. Cobble Hill and Red Hook share the official polygon.
$2,329 median rent · safety 86 · walk 23
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Bed-Stuy or Carroll Gardens?
Bed-Stuy is the lower ACS median: $2,079 vs $2,329. About 78% rent in Bed-Stuy vs 69% in Carroll Gardens. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Bed-Stuy more walkable than Carroll Gardens?
Bed-Stuy wins the errand count (walk 100 vs 23). Groceries inside 800 meters: 165 vs 73. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Bed-Stuy or Carroll Gardens?
Carroll Gardens is the calmer Part I read (86 vs 71). Combined rate 9.6 vs 10.5 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Bed-Stuy or Carroll Gardens?
Carroll Gardens leads the school axis (77 vs 17). Nearby rating is 8.1 / 10 vs 6.3 / 10. Median age 38.1 vs 33. Bed-Stuy has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Midtown?
35 minutes from Bed-Stuy to Midtown, 35 from Carroll Gardens. A wash on this estimate. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official neighborhood that is not Bed-Stuy or Carroll Gardens: Bushwick. Warehouses, murals, and a loft inventory that keeps replenishing. Cheaper than Williamsburg, louder than both.
Scores are relative among official New York neighborhoods with the same editorial weights. Read the method.