Best PlacesBala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd ranks 164th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Household income$193,715 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
Where Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd
A household needs to earn about $195,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $193,715; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd's effective rate of 1.26%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd
Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd.
Who works in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd, and how
Work in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 59%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd
Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd, month by month
Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd
Philadelphia International sits about 10 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 14.8 million passengers in 2025, with 179 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd
Schools across Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd average an A+, better than 99% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Merion El SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Cynwyd SchA+ · 89% proficient
- Belmont Hills El SchA+ · 82% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bala-cynwyd MsA+ · 77% proficient
- Welsh Valley MsA+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- Lower Merion HsA+ · 90% proficient
- Harriton ShsA+ · 89% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd
Is Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd ranks 164th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on good schools, what local pay buys, and health care access, and lowest on state infrastructure and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $702,139. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $193,715 median income, cost of living beats 99% of neighborhoods.
Is Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd safe?
Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd is safer than 40% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $443 per resident a year.
Compare Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bala Cynwyd, Bala-Cynwyd detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.