Best PlacesChelsea, Manhattan, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chelsea, Manhattan, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chelsea, Manhattan ranks 638th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Chelsea, Manhattan
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.
Chelsea, Manhattan's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chelsea, Manhattan ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
Where Chelsea, Manhattan ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Chelsea, Manhattan
A household needs to earn about $318,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chelsea, Manhattan home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $147,967, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Chelsea, Manhattan's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea, Manhattan's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chelsea, Manhattan.
Who works in Chelsea, Manhattan, and how
Work in Chelsea, Manhattan centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 6%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 66%
Life in Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea, Manhattan has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 14 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Chelsea, Manhattan and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Chelsea, Manhattan, month by month
Chelsea, Manhattan sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 69° | 60° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Chelsea, Manhattan
Laguardia sits about 7 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 16.3 million passengers in 2025, with 118 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Chelsea, Manhattan
Schools across Chelsea, Manhattan average an A+, better than 99% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Brooklyn School Of InquiryA+ · 93% proficient
- Ps 33 Chelsea PrepA+ · 93% proficient
- Ps 11 Sarah J Garnett Elementary School (the)A+ · 88% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nyc Lab Ms For Collaborative StudiesA+ · 93% proficient
- Mark Twain Is 239 For The Gifted And TalentedA+ · 83% proficient
Top high schools
- Manhattan Village AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
- Nyc Lab High School For Collaborative StudiesA+ · 98% proficient
- High School Of Fashion Industries (the)A+ · 95% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chelsea, Manhattan school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chelsea, Manhattan 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 Chelsea, Manhattan against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Chelsea, Manhattan suits
Common questions about living in Chelsea, Manhattan
Is Chelsea, Manhattan a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chelsea, Manhattan ranks 638th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and big-city access, and lowest on taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chelsea, Manhattan expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,238,330. The overall cost of living runs about 147% above the national average. Set against a $147,967 median income, cost of living beats 35% of neighborhoods.
Is Chelsea, Manhattan safe?
Chelsea, Manhattan is safer than 48% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $503 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Chelsea, Manhattan?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 28. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of neighborhoods.
Is Chelsea, Manhattan good for families?
Schools beat 99% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 48%, and childcare runs $1,344 a month.
Compare Chelsea, Manhattan with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chelsea, Manhattan. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chelsea, Manhattan 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.
Chelsea, Manhattan detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chelsea, Manhattan: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chelsea, Manhattan: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chelsea, Manhattan: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chelsea, Manhattan: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chelsea, Manhattan 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.