74fit
Rittenhouse
$2K median rent
The Square is the lawn. Walnut is the shop. Fitler Square is a search that sits next door, not a second official polygon here. You pay for the postcard and for the visitors who use it.
NightlifeWalk 86Safety 5
Philadelphia/University City
61fit
University City
Official neighborhood: University City
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · PPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Penn, Drexel, the hospitals. Median income looks low because of students; home values do not. Powelton is a search on the north edge of this official line.
ucitypenndrexelpowelton
Best in Philadelphia for familiesWalkable PhiladelphiaUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
42
91 violent · 881 property · 55.3 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)-8 vs city set
Schools
13
Rating 6.4 / 10 nearby-23 vs city set
Walk
60
OSM: 17 groceries · 22 cafes · 49 transit · 40 parks+24 vs city set
Cost
100
$1,856 ACS median vs your rent budget0 vs city set
Vibe
65
OSM: 22 cafes · 102 restaurants · 6 bars · 40 parks+23 vs city set
Commute to work
From University City, a typical weekday is 16 min to Center City, 6 min to University City, 22 min to Navy Yard. Not live traffic.
University City is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Center City
16 min
City Hall, Market East · +2 min vs the city-set median
University City
6 min
Penn, Drexel, hospitals · -13 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
Navy Yard
22 min
South jobs, the waterfront · at 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 $1,856 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 69% of median household income — over the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($32K) could “afford” about $806 a month at 30% of pay.
94% of households rent. Median home value is $860,800.
ACS median rent
$1,856
30% income budget
$806
Rent / income
69%
Median home
$860,800
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Philadelphia city. Up 53% since 2014. University City is 33% 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: 17 groceries, 22 cafes, 40 parks, and 49 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 40 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (49 stops or stations).
22 cafes and 102 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Philadelphia set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 18 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
17,588
Median age
21.8
Median income
$32K
Renters
94%
Bachelor+
68%
Violent / 1k
5.2
Property / 1k
50.1
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 6 census tracts · PPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM 2026-09-22
Near UTPlanned
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.
Penn, Drexel, the hospitals. Median income looks low because of students; home values do not. Powelton is a search on the north edge of this official line. You live here for the job or the degree, not a village main street.
Weight the University City commute. Spruce Hill is the porch-and-park neighbor. Center City is the other side of the river. Graduate Hospital is the brick if the campus 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 University City.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is University City safe?
University City shows more Part I than most of this Philadelphia set (safety 42 vs city 50). PPD logged 5.2 violent and 50.1 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 55.3 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in University City?
ACS median rent is $1,856 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 94% of households rent. Median home value is $860,800. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is University City walkable?
Walk is 60 here vs 36 for the Philadelphia set — some errands work on foot; some still need a ride. Inside 800 meters: 17 groceries, 22 cafes, 49 transit stops, 40 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is University City good for families?
Family fit depends on the school rating nearby and how much quiet you want. Nearby school rating is 6.4 / 10. Median age is 21.8. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from University City?
16 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 University City?
About 17,588 people. Median income $32K. 68% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to University City?
Spruce Hill, Graduate Hospital, Fairmount sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official neighborhoods, start with University City vs Spruce Hill.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
University City vs Spruce HillUniversity City vs Graduate HospitalUniversity City vs Fairmount
53fit
Spruce Hill
$1K median rent
Clark Park, Baltimore Avenue, porches. Next to University City without being the campus. Cedar Park is a search just west of this line.
Near UTFamily streetsWalk 41Safety 37
46fit
Fairmount
$2K median rent
The Art Museum steps, the park, and streets that still feel like a neighborhood. Girard and Fairmount Avenue are the errands. The Parkway is the tourist tax.
Family streetsWaterfrontWalk 23Safety 58
44fit
Graduate Hospital
$2K median rent
South of South Street, west of Broad. Newer than Bella Vista, tighter than Point Breeze. The hospital name is leftover. The product is brick and a walk to Center City.
PlannedWalk 27Safety 21
41fit
Point Breeze
$2K median rent
West of Broad, south of Graduate Hospital. Newer infill next to older blocks. Newbold is a search inside this line, not a second official map.
PlannedWalk 16Safety 74