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/Old City
68fit
Old City
Official neighborhood: Old City
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · PPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
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.
old city philadelphiaelmsindependence mall
Best in Philadelphia for familiesWalkable PhiladelphiaUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
11
56 violent · 467 property · 101.8 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)-39 vs city set
Schools
13
Rating 6.4 / 10 nearby-23 vs city set
Walk
78
OSM: 15 groceries · 46 cafes · 61 transit · 41 parks+42 vs city set
Cost
100
$2,191 ACS median vs your rent budget0 vs city set
Vibe
92
OSM: 46 cafes · 114 restaurants · 13 bars · 41 parks+50 vs city set
Commute to work
From Old City, a typical weekday is 10 min to Center City, 22 min to University City, 20 min to Navy Yard. Not live traffic.
Center City is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Center City
10 min
City Hall, Market East · -4 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
20 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 $2,191 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 25% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($105K) could “afford” about $2,630 a month at 30% of pay.
70% of households rent. Median home value is $491,745.
ACS median rent
$2,191
30% income budget
$2,630
Rent / income
25%
Median home
$491,745
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Philadelphia city. Up 53% since 2014. Old City is 57% 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: 15 groceries, 46 cafes, 41 parks, and 61 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 41 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (61 stops or stations).
46 cafes and 114 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Philadelphia set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 14 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
5,135
Median age
34.6
Median income
$105K
Renters
70%
Bachelor+
89%
Violent / 1k
10.9
Property / 1k
90.9
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 2 census tracts · PPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM 2026-09-22
Nightlife
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.
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 — visitors, the stations, the last call. That still belongs on the page.
Weight walk. Society Hill is the quieter garden next door. Northern Liberties is the newer night north. Washington Square West is the other Center City rectangle if you wanted a square instead of a cobblestone.
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 Old City.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Old City safe?
Old City shows more Part I than most of this Philadelphia set (safety 11 vs city 50). PPD logged 10.9 violent and 90.9 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 101.8 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Old City?
ACS median rent is $2,191 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 70% of households rent. Median home value is $491,745. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Old City walkable?
Walk is 78 here vs 36 for the Philadelphia set — a grocery run and a coffee on foot are realistic. Inside 800 meters: 15 groceries, 46 cafes, 61 transit stops, 41 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Old City good for families?
There is more night and visitor traffic in the mix — not the quietest family default. Nearby school rating is 6.4 / 10. Median age is 34.6. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Old City?
10 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 Old City?
About 5,135 people. Median income $105K. 89% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Old City?
Northern Liberties, Society Hill, Queen Village sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official neighborhoods, start with Old City vs Northern Liberties.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Old City vs Northern LibertiesOld City vs Society HillOld City vs Queen Village
76fit
Washington Square West
$2K median rent
The Square, the Gayborhood, Jeweler’s Row as searches inside one line. Walk maxes out. Part I is the highest violent read in this Philadelphia set — visitors and the night count.
NightlifeWalk 100Safety 0
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
Northern Liberties
$2K median rent
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.
NightlifePlannedWalk 29Safety 16