San Francisco/Compare
Bernal Heights vs Russian Hill
Bernal Heights and Russian Hill are two official analysis neighborhoods in San Francisco. Bernal Heights is the calmer Part I map (79 vs 53). Russian Hill wins the errand count. Russian Hill has the lower ACS median ($2,788).
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · SFPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Scores
Fit axes among official San Francisco analysis neighborhoods.
| Axis | Bernal Heights | Russian Hill |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 79 | 53 |
| Schools | 67 | 67 |
| Walk | 6 | 11 |
| Cost fit | 88 | 90 |
| Vibe | 7 | 18 |
| Median rent | $2,833 | $2,788 |
| Median home | $1,534,862 | $1,422,991 |
| Population | 24,099 | 15,524 |
| Commute to FiDi | 33 min | 20 min |
| Commute to SoMa | 23 min | 29 min |
| Commute to Mission Bay | 15 min | 38 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Bernal Heights | Russian Hill |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 38% | 79% |
| Median age | 42.3 | 38.3 |
| Median income | $183K | $156K |
| Part I per 1k | 20.9 | 31.3 |
| Groceries / 800m | 15 | 10 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 97 | 97 |
| Parks / 800m | 30 | 50 |
| 311 last 14 days | 1,010 | 556 |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for San Francisco city. Up 62% since 2014. Bernal is 14% above the 2024 city median. R Hill is 13% 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. Dashed marks are each area’s ACS 2024 median.
Which to pick
The same numbers as the table, in sentences. Nobody wins the city.
Pick Bernal Heights if the quieter map matters more than the scene and you want the quieter, family-leaning read. Safety is 79 vs 53. Bernal Heights is tagged family on this map; Russian Hill is not. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Russian Hill if the shorter ride to FiDi is the point and you want the cafes and the night. 20 vs 33 minutes to FiDi. Vibe is 18 vs 7. Read both pages before you decide.
Bernal Heights
A hill with a park on top and Cortland at the base. South of the Mission without Mission prices — relatively.
$2,833 median rent · safety 79 · walk 6
Russian Hill
The crooked street is the postcard. The rest is steep walks, bay windows, and a quieter read of the north waterfront.
$2,788 median rent · safety 53 · walk 11
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Bernal Heights or Russian Hill?
Russian Hill is the lower ACS median: $2,833 vs $2,788. About 79% rent in Russian Hill vs 38% in Bernal Heights. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Bernal Heights more walkable than Russian Hill?
Russian Hill wins the errand count (walk 6 vs 11). Groceries inside 800 meters: 15 vs 10. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Bernal Heights or Russian Hill?
Bernal Heights is the calmer Part I read (79 vs 53). Combined rate 20.9 vs 31.3 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Bernal Heights or Russian Hill?
Bernal Heights leads the school axis (67 vs 67). Nearby rating is 7.8 / 10 vs 7.8 / 10. Median age 42.3 vs 38.3. Russian Hill has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to FiDi?
33 minutes from Bernal Heights to FiDi, 20 from Russian Hill. Russian Hill is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official analysis neighborhood that is not Bernal Heights or Russian Hill: Hayes Valley. The freeway came down; the boutiques stayed. A compact walk to the opera without living on the Tenderloin edge.
Scores are relative among official San Francisco analysis neighborhoods with the same editorial weights. Read the method.