73fit
Upper East Side
$3K median rent
Doorman buildings, school-district hunting, and a museum wall along the park. The east 80s are quieter than the listings imply.
Family streetsWalk 73Safety 67
New York/Harlem
38fit
Harlem
Official neighborhood: Harlem (South / North)
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · NYPD Oct 2025 – Jun 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Brownstones, the Apollo, and a park at the north end of the island. Not a starter-kit neighborhood — the original one.
central harlem125th
Best in New York for familiesWalkable New YorkUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
38
525 violent · 1700 property · 16.5 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Jun 2026)-12 vs city set
Schools
0
Rating 5.8 / 10 nearby-47 vs city set
Walk
28
OSM: 58 groceries · 24 cafes · 204 transit · 91 parks-12 vs city set
Cost
100
$1,516 ACS median vs your rent budget+14 vs city set
Vibe
7
OSM: 24 cafes · 128 restaurants · 8 bars · 91 parks-30 vs city set
Commute to work
From Harlem, a typical weekday is 18 min to Midtown, 35 min to FiDi, 35 min to Downtown Brooklyn. Not live traffic.
Midtown is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Midtown
18 min
Times Square, Hudson Yards · -9 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
FiDi
35 min
Wall Street, ferries · +6 min vs the city-set median
Downtown Brooklyn
35 min
BAM, Dumbo, Borough Hall · +13 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 $1,516 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 30% of median household income — on the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($60K) could “afford” about $1,492 a month at 30% of pay.
84% of households rent. Median home value is $1,055,447.
ACS median rent
$1,516
30% income budget
$1,492
Rent / income
30%
Median home
$1,055,447
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for New York city. Up 48% since 2014. Harlem is 17% 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. 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 neighborhood: 58 groceries, 24 cafes, 91 parks, and 204 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 91 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (204 stops or stations).
24 cafes and 128 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the New York set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 8 of the other 21 areas in this city.
Population
135,011
Median age
38.7
Median income
$60K
Renters
84%
Bachelor+
43%
Violent / 1k
3.9
Property / 1k
12.6
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 25 census tracts · NYPD Oct 2025 – Jun 2026 · OSM 2026-09-01
Family streets
Crime is NYPD 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.
Harlem is brownstones, the Apollo, and a park at the north end of the island — not a starter-kit neighborhood, the original one. 125th Street is a job center; the side streets are stoops. Redditors still put it on the “I could actually live here” list next to Bed-Stuy, with a 2/3 train that makes Midtown a ride, not a myth.
Central Park North is a different product from west of St. Nicholas. Tour both. Weight cost relative to the UWS, culture as the amenity, safety as blockwise. This is not an “emerging” caption. It is Harlem.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, Seattle Times coverage, and local writing, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
Reported here lately
City 311 service requests in this official unit, last 14 days. This is what neighbors filed with the city — not a chat thread, and not part of the fit score.
2,921 reports
- Noise - Street/Sidewalk327
- Illegal Parking274
- UNSANITARY CONDITION261
- Noise - Residential250
- PAINT/PLASTER141
- Rodent
- Obstruction
- Noise - Residential
- Animal-Abuse
- Noise - Street/Sidewalk
NYC 311 from 2020–present, last 14 days, mapped to 2020 NTAs. No addresses stored. Method.
On Reddit
Public posts from r/nyc that mention this neighborhood. Not Nextdoor, not people on this block, and not part of the fit score.
In r/nyc lately: food and shops.
- Short-term pain for a long-term train: MTA subway construction upends life in East Harlem
r/nyc · Aug 4 · 27 upvotes · 8 comments
- NYC is getting serious about the Second Avenue Subway. Construction is now underway at multiple sites across East Harlem - this phase will add three new stations.
r/nyc · Aug 24 · 28 upvotes
- BSA Approves Office Conversion for Harlem Church Once Slated for Demolition
r/nyc · Aug 26 · 8 upvotes
The line above is a reading of the titles, not a verdict. Up to 3 links, last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Harlem safe?
Harlem shows more Part I than most of this New York set (safety 38 vs city 50). NYPD logged 3.9 violent and 12.6 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 16.5 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Harlem?
ACS median rent is $1,516 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 84% of households rent. Median home value is $1,055,447. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Harlem walkable?
Walk is 28 here vs 40 for the New York set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 58 groceries, 24 cafes, 204 transit stops, 91 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Harlem good for families?
The scores lean family relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 5.8 / 10. Median age is 38.7. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Harlem?
18 typical weekday minutes to Midtown. Not the app on your phone this hour. Other job centers are further down this page.
How many people live in Harlem?
About 135,011 people. Median income $60K. 43% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Harlem?
Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Hell's Kitchen sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official neighborhoods, start with Harlem vs Upper East Side.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Harlem vs Upper East SideHarlem vs Upper West SideHarlem vs Hell's Kitchen
72fit
Upper West Side
$3K median rent
Pre-war co-ops, the park, and a grocery on every other corner. Family default for people who still want a subway.
Family streetsWaterfrontWalk 74Safety 52
47fit
Greenpoint
$3K median rent
Polish bakeries, a waterfront that finally opened, and the overflow from Williamsburg without the L-train crush.
NightlifeWaterfrontWalk 20Safety 95
36fit
Long Island City
$3K median rent
Waterfront towers, the 7 train, and a skyline that faces Manhattan. New-build default for people priced out of the island.
PlannedWaterfrontWalk 22Safety 33
29fit
Hell's Kitchen
$3K median rent
Ninth Avenue restaurants, Port Authority in earshot, and Hudson Yards glass at the south edge. Nightlife that still has walk-ups.
NightlifeWalk 5Safety 29