New York/Compare
Chelsea vs East Village
Chelsea and East Village are two official neighborhoods in New York. East Village is the calmer Part I map (43 vs 19). East Village wins the errand count. East Village has the lower ACS median ($2,399).
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 | Chelsea | East Village |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 19 | 43 |
| Schools | 47 | 27 |
| Walk | 30 | 53 |
| Cost fit | 94 | 100 |
| Vibe | 44 | 75 |
| Median rent | $2,659 | $2,399 |
| Median home | $983,541 | $1,076,273 |
| Population | 52,113 | 59,866 |
| Commute to Midtown | 11 min | 16 min |
| Commute to FiDi | 20 min | 15 min |
| Commute to Downtown Brooklyn | 26 min | 21 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Chelsea | East Village |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 69% | 83% |
| Median age | 41.9 | 33.5 |
| Median income | $128K | $105K |
| Part I per 1k | 27.9 | 14.5 |
| Groceries / 800m | 44 | 88 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 138 | 105 |
| Parks / 800m | 120 | 120 |
| 311 last 14 days | 995 | 1,267 |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for New York city. Up 48% since 2014. Chelsea is 46% above the 2024 city median. E Vill is 32% 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 Chelsea if the school rating nearby is the point. Schools score 47 vs 27. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick East Village if you want the cafes and the night and the quieter map matters more than the scene. Vibe is 75 vs 44. Safety is 43 vs 19. Walk is 53 vs 30. Read both pages before you decide.
Chelsea
Galleries, the High Line, and a waterfront that turned into towers. The gayborhood label stuck; the warehouses did not.
$2,659 median rent · safety 19 · walk 30
East Village
St. Marks to Tompkins, bars stacked on bars, and a residual punk that the brunch menus cannot quite kill.
$2,399 median rent · safety 43 · walk 53
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Chelsea or East Village?
East Village is the lower ACS median: $2,659 vs $2,399. About 83% rent in East Village vs 69% in Chelsea. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Chelsea more walkable than East Village?
East Village wins the errand count (walk 30 vs 53). Groceries inside 800 meters: 44 vs 88. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Chelsea or East Village?
East Village is the calmer Part I read (43 vs 19). Combined rate 14.5 vs 27.9 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Chelsea or East Village?
Chelsea leads the school axis (47 vs 27). Nearby rating is 7.2 / 10 vs 6.6 / 10. Median age 41.9 vs 33.5. East Village has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Midtown?
11 minutes from Chelsea to Midtown, 16 from East Village. Chelsea is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official neighborhood that is not Chelsea or East Village: West Village. West 4th, brownstone streets that ignore the grid, and rents that assume you already live here. The postcard is the product.
Scores are relative among official New York neighborhoods with the same editorial weights. Read the method.