78fit
Society Hill
$2K median rent
Gardens, brick, Headhouse. Quieter than Old City’s Mall, tighter than Queen Village. The Square is the lawn you share with Washington Square West.
Family streetsWalk 68Safety 84
Philadelphia/Northern Liberties
39fit
Northern Liberties
Official neighborhood: Northern Liberties
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · PPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Second Street, Piazza-era leftovers, and a walk to the El that is not quite Fishtown. Newer than Old City, louder than Fairmount. NoLibs is the search.
nolibsno-libs2nd street
Best in Philadelphia for familiesWalkable PhiladelphiaUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
16
69 violent · 866 property · 96.0 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)-34 vs city set
Schools
17
Rating 6.5 / 10 nearby-19 vs city set
Walk
29
OSM: 9 groceries · 8 cafes · 39 transit · 17 parks-7 vs city set
Cost
100
$2,030 ACS median vs your rent budget0 vs city set
Vibe
25
OSM: 8 cafes · 42 restaurants · 20 bars · 17 parks-17 vs city set
Commute to work
From Northern Liberties, a typical weekday is 12 min to Center City, 22 min to University City, 24 min to Navy Yard. Not live traffic.
Center City is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Center City
12 min
City Hall, Market East · -2 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
University City
22 min
Penn, Drexel, hospitals · +3 min vs the city-set median
Navy Yard
24 min
South jobs, the waterfront · +2 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 $2,030 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 18% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($136K) could “afford” about $3,402 a month at 30% of pay.
55% of households rent. Median home value is $631,628.
ACS median rent
$2,030
30% income budget
$3,402
Rent / income
18%
Median home
$631,628
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Philadelphia city. Up 53% since 2014. Northern Liberties is 45% 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: 9 groceries, 8 cafes, 17 parks, and 39 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 17 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (39 stops or stations).
8 cafes and 42 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Philadelphia set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 7 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
9,739
Median age
33.5
Median income
$136K
Renters
55%
Bachelor+
80%
Violent / 1k
7.1
Property / 1k
88.9
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 3 census tracts · PPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM 2026-09-22
NightlifePlanned
Crime is PPD 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.
Second Street, Piazza-era leftovers, and a walk to the El that is not quite Fishtown. Newer than Old City, louder than Fairmount. NoLibs is the search. Property Part I is high here — visitors and the night count.
Weight nightlife. Fishtown is the Avenue next door. Old City is the cobblestone south. Brewerytown is the cheaper Girard version if the night was not the point.
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, and local writing, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
On Reddit
Public posts from r/philadelphia that mention this neighborhood. Not Nextdoor, not people on this block, and not part of the fit score.
No r/philadelphia posts in this snapshot mentioned Northern Liberties.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Northern Liberties safe?
Northern Liberties shows more Part I than most of this Philadelphia set (safety 16 vs city 50). PPD logged 7.1 violent and 88.9 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 96.0 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Northern Liberties?
ACS median rent is $2,030 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 55% of households rent. Median home value is $631,628. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Northern Liberties walkable?
Walk is 29 here vs 36 for the Philadelphia set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 9 groceries, 8 cafes, 39 transit stops, 17 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Northern Liberties good for families?
There is more night and visitor traffic in the mix — not the quietest family default. Nearby school rating is 6.5 / 10. Median age is 33.5. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Northern Liberties?
12 typical weekday minutes to Center City. Not the app on your phone this hour. Other job centers are further down this page.
How many people live in Northern Liberties?
About 9,739 people. Median income $136K. 80% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Northern Liberties?
Old City, Society Hill, Queen Village sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official neighborhoods, start with Northern Liberties vs Old City.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Northern Liberties vs Old CityNorthern Liberties vs Society HillNorthern Liberties vs Queen Village
68fit
Old City
$2K median rent
Cobblestones, the Mall, First Friday. You live next to a national park. Walk maxes out. Part I is padded by people who do not sleep here.
NightlifeWalk 78Safety 11
58fit
Queen Village
$2K median rent
Fabric Row, the river, and a grid that still feels like a neighborhood. South Street is the tax. Society Hill is the garden north.
Family streetsNightlifeWalk 28Safety 100
57fit
Bella Vista
$2K median rent
The Italian Market is the errand and the smell. Ninth Street still works as a grocery, not just a postcard. South of Washington Square, denser than Queen Village, cheaper than Rittenhouse.
NightlifeFamily streetsWalk 38Safety 63
39fit
Fishtown
$2K median rent
Frankford Avenue is the night. The El is the spine. The official line is Fishtown–Lower Kensington — Kensington as a search is not this whole map, and not a second polygon here.
NightlifePlannedWalk 26Safety 26