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/Washington Square West
76fit
Washington Square West
Official neighborhood: Washington Square West
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · PPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
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.
wash westgayborhoodmidtown villagejewelers row
Best in Philadelphia for familiesWalkable PhiladelphiaUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
0
184 violent · 1456 property · 121.1 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)-50 vs city set
Schools
26
Rating 6.7 / 10 nearby-10 vs city set
Walk
100
OSM: 24 groceries · 37 cafes · 103 transit · 22 parks+64 vs city set
Cost
100
$1,700 ACS median vs your rent budget0 vs city set
Vibe
92
OSM: 37 cafes · 156 restaurants · 32 bars · 22 parks+50 vs city set
Commute to work
From Washington Square West, a typical weekday is 8 min to Center City, 16 min to University City, 18 min to Navy Yard. Not live traffic.
Center City is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Center City
8 min
City Hall, Market East · -6 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
University City
16 min
Penn, Drexel, hospitals · -3 min vs the city-set median
Navy Yard
18 min
South jobs, the waterfront · -4 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 $1,700 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 23% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($88K) could “afford” about $2,199 a month at 30% of pay.
79% of households rent. Median home value is $631,363.
ACS median rent
$1,700
30% income budget
$2,199
Rent / income
23%
Median home
$631,363
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Philadelphia city. Up 53% since 2014. Washington Square West is 22% 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: 24 groceries, 37 cafes, 22 parks, and 103 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 22 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (103 stops or stations).
37 cafes and 156 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Philadelphia set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 19 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
13,550
Median age
33.2
Median income
$88K
Renters
79%
Bachelor+
79%
Violent / 1k
13.6
Property / 1k
107.5
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 5 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.
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. That still belongs on the page. It is not a verdict on who lives on Pine.
Weight walk. Rittenhouse is the other Center City lawn. Society Hill is the garden east. Old City is the cobblestone. Do not skip the page because the score is not a postcard.
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 Washington Square West.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Washington Square West safe?
Washington Square West shows more Part I than most of this Philadelphia set (safety 0 vs city 50). PPD logged 13.6 violent and 107.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 121.1 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Washington Square West?
ACS median rent is $1,700 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 79% of households rent. Median home value is $631,363. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Washington Square West walkable?
Walk is 100 here vs 36 for the Philadelphia set — a grocery run and a coffee on foot are realistic. Inside 800 meters: 24 groceries, 37 cafes, 103 transit stops, 22 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Washington Square West good for families?
There is more night and visitor traffic in the mix — not the quietest family default. Nearby school rating is 6.7 / 10. Median age is 33.2. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Washington Square West?
8 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 Washington Square West?
About 13,550 people. Median income $88K. 79% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Washington Square West?
Bella Vista, Passyunk Square, Rittenhouse sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official neighborhoods, start with Washington Square West vs Bella Vista.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Washington Square West vs Bella VistaWashington Square West vs Passyunk SquareWashington Square West vs Rittenhouse
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
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
49fit
Passyunk Square
$2K median rent
East Passyunk Avenue is the strip. Cheesesteaks are the tourist layer; the restaurants behind them are why people stay. South of Bella Vista, north of the stadiums.
NightlifeWalk 37Safety 32