New York/Compare
East Village vs Lower East Side
East Village and Lower East Side are two official neighborhoods in New York. East Village is the calmer Part I map (43 vs 10). East Village wins the errand count. Lower East Side has the lower ACS median ($1,780).
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 | East Village | Lower East Side |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 43 | 10 |
| Schools | 27 | 7 |
| Walk | 53 | 31 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 75 | 43 |
| Median rent | $2,399 | $1,780 |
| Median home | $1,076,273 | $890,452 |
| Population | 59,866 | 32,164 |
| Commute to Midtown | 16 min | 18 min |
| Commute to FiDi | 15 min | 15 min |
| Commute to Downtown Brooklyn | 21 min | 18 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | East Village | Lower East Side |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 83% | 75% |
| Median age | 33.5 | 39.6 |
| Median income | $105K | $79K |
| Part I per 1k | 14.5 | 31.4 |
| Groceries / 800m | 88 | 67 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 105 | 91 |
| Parks / 800m | 120 | 120 |
| 311 last 14 days | 1,267 | 765 |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for New York city. Up 48% since 2014. E Vill is 32% above the 2024 city median. LES is 2% below 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 East Village if you want the cafes and the night and the quieter map matters more than the scene. Vibe is 75 vs 43. Safety is 43 vs 10. Walk is 53 vs 31. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Lower East Side if the rent gap is the point. ACS median rent is $1,780 vs $2,399. Read both pages before you decide.
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
Lower East Side
Orchard Street, public housing, and new condos sharing the same blocks. Night-out density with daytime fruit stands.
$1,780 median rent · safety 10 · walk 31
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, East Village or Lower East Side?
Lower East Side is the lower ACS median: $2,399 vs $1,780. About 75% rent in Lower East Side vs 83% in East Village. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is East Village more walkable than Lower East Side?
East Village wins the errand count (walk 53 vs 31). Groceries inside 800 meters: 88 vs 67. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, East Village or Lower East Side?
East Village is the calmer Part I read (43 vs 10). Combined rate 14.5 vs 31.4 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, East Village or Lower East Side?
East Village leads the school axis (27 vs 7). Nearby rating is 6.6 / 10 vs 6.0 / 10. Median age 33.5 vs 39.6. Lower East Side has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Midtown?
16 minutes from East Village to Midtown, 18 from Lower East Side. East Village is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official neighborhood that is not East Village or Lower East Side: 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.