74fit
Upper West Side
$3K ACS median rent
Pre-war co-ops, the park, and a grocery on every other corner. Family default for people who still want a subway.
- Walk index
- 74
- Safety index
- 52
- Published fit
- 74
Family streetsWaterfront
76fit
Upper East Side
Official neighborhood: Upper East Side (Lenox Hill, Carnegie Hill, Yorkville)
Published fit 76 uses default walkable weights and a $2,500 ACS rent budget — the same number as the New York table. Your current weights score this 73.
Data period. ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · NYPD Oct 2025 – Jun 2026 · OSM Sep 2026. ACS and NYPD retrieved 2026-09-01; OSM retrieved 2026-09-01. Editorial copy last revised Sep 2026.
Doorman buildings, school-district hunting, and a museum wall along the park. The east 80s are quieter than the listings imply.
uesupper eastyorkvillecarnegie hilllenox hill
Best in New York for familiesWalkable New YorkUnder $2,500 rent
Why this published score
Default walkable weights, $2,500 ACS rent budget. Same axes as the city table and the FAQ.
Safety
67
180 violent · 2033 property · 11.4 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Jun 2026)+17 vs city set
Schools
97
Rating 8.7 / 10 nearby+50 vs city set
Walk
73
OSM: 101 groceries · 127 cafes · 251 transit · 96 parks+33 vs city set
Cost
89
$2,817 ACS median vs published $2,500 rent budget-4 vs city set
Vibe
59
OSM: 127 cafes · 426 restaurants · 54 bars · 96 parks+22 vs city set
Commute to work
From Upper East Side, a typical weekday is 15 min to Midtown, 30 min to FiDi, 29 min to Downtown Brooklyn. Not live traffic.
Midtown is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Midtown
15 min
Times Square, Hudson Yards · -12 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
FiDi
30 min
Wall Street, ferries · +1 min vs the city-set median
Downtown Brooklyn
29 min
BAM, Dumbo, Borough Hall · +7 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 $2,817 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 21% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($162K) could “afford” about $4,050 a month at 30% of pay.
62% of households rent. Median home value is $1,416,654.
ACS median rent
$2,817
30% income budget
$4,050
Rent / income
21%
Median home
$1,416,654
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for New York city. Up 48% since 2014. Upper East Side is 55% 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 neighborhood: 101 groceries, 127 cafes, 96 parks, and 251 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 96 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (251 stops or stations).
127 cafes and 426 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 19 of the other 21 areas in this city.
Population
193,914
Median age
43.2
Median income
$162K
Renters
62%
Bachelor+
82%
Violent / 1k
0.9
Property / 1k
10.5
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 38 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.
Doorman buildings, school-district hunting, and Museum Mile. Zillow files it as upscale and residential — the east 80s are quieter than the listings imply. The Q train finally made the far east side feel connected; the 4/5/6 still own Lexington.
It is not trendy. That is the feature. Weight schools and safety. Cost is Manhattan cost. If you want bookstores and a slightly looser collar, the UWS is across the park. If you want nightlife, you will go downtown anyway.
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, Philadelphia neighborhood writing, Portland neighborhood writing, Washington neighborhood-cluster writing, 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.
1,659 reports
- Illegal Parking227
- UNSANITARY CONDITION107
- Noise89
- Homeless Person Assistance76
- Noise - Residential66
- Outdoor Dining
- Obstruction
- Vendor Enforcement
- Vendor Enforcement
- Illegal Parking
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.
One r/nyc post in this snapshot names Upper East Side.
- Upper East Side preschool students devastated after vandal destroys sidewalk corn garden
r/nyc · Aug 23 · 212 upvotes · 52 comments
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 Upper East Side safe?
Upper East Side is middle of the pack for Part I here (safety 67 vs city 50). NYPD logged 0.9 violent and 10.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 11.4 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Upper East Side?
ACS median rent is $2,817 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 62% of households rent. Median home value is $1,416,654. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Upper East Side walkable?
Walk is 73 here vs 40 for the New York set — a grocery run and a coffee on foot are realistic. Inside 800 meters: 101 groceries, 127 cafes, 251 transit stops, 96 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Upper East Side good for families?
The scores lean family relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 8.7 / 10. Median age is 43.2. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Upper East Side?
15 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 Upper East Side?
About 193,914 people. Median income $162K. 82% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Upper East Side?
Upper West Side, Harlem, Long Island City sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official neighborhoods, start with Upper East Side vs Upper West Side.
Next door
Closest on this schematic map, scored with the same published walkable weights as the New York table. Distances here are not street geography.
Upper East Side vs Upper West SideUpper East Side vs HarlemUpper East Side vs Long Island City
50fit
Greenpoint
$3K ACS median rent
Polish bakeries, a waterfront that finally opened, and the overflow from Williamsburg without the L-train crush.
- Walk index
- 20
- Safety index
- 95
- Published fit
- 50
NightlifeWaterfront
39fit
Long Island City
$3K ACS median rent
Waterfront towers, the 7 train, and a skyline that faces Manhattan. New-build default for people priced out of the island.
- Walk index
- 22
- Safety index
- 33
- Published fit
- 39
PlannedWaterfront
38fit
Harlem
$2K ACS median rent
Brownstones, the Apollo, and a park at the north end of the island. Not a starter-kit neighborhood — the original one.
- Walk index
- 28
- Safety index
- 38
- Published fit
- 38
Family streets
32fit
Hell's Kitchen
$3K ACS median rent
Ninth Avenue restaurants, Port Authority in earshot, and Hudson Yards glass at the south edge. Nightlife that still has walk-ups.
- Walk index
- 5
- Safety index
- 29
- Published fit
- 32
Nightlife