Best PlacesChinatown, Manhattan, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chinatown, 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.
Chinatown, Manhattan ranks 3,473rd 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 Chinatown, 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.
Chinatown, Manhattan's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chinatown, Manhattan ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of neighborhoods
Where Chinatown, Manhattan ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Chinatown, Manhattan
A household needs to earn about $174,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chinatown, Manhattan home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $55,131, 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 Chinatown, Manhattan's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 Chinatown, Manhattan
Chinatown, Manhattan runs older than the country, 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 Chinatown, Manhattan.
Who works in Chinatown, Manhattan, and how
Work in Chinatown, Manhattan centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 9%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 76%
Life in Chinatown, Manhattan
Chinatown, Manhattan has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 93% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 11 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Chinatown, Manhattan and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Chinatown, Manhattan, month by month
Chinatown, 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 Chinatown, Manhattan
Laguardia sits about 8 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 Chinatown, Manhattan
Schools across Chinatown, Manhattan average an A+, better than 99% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Brooklyn School Of InquiryA+ · 93% proficient
- Ps 124 Yung WingA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mark Twain Is 239 For The Gifted And TalentedA+ · 83% proficient
- Ms 131B− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Emma Lazarus High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Pace High SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
- Professional Pathways High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chinatown, Manhattan school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chinatown, 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 Chinatown, Manhattan against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Chinatown, Manhattan
Is Chinatown, Manhattan a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chinatown, Manhattan ranks 3,473rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and transit, and lowest on taxes and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chinatown, Manhattan expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $644,992. The overall cost of living runs about 134% above the national average. Set against a $55,131 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Chinatown, Manhattan safe?
Chinatown, Manhattan is safer than 38% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $600 per resident a year.
Compare Chinatown, Manhattan with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chinatown, Manhattan. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chinatown, 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.
Chinatown, Manhattan detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chinatown, Manhattan: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chinatown, Manhattan: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chinatown, Manhattan: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chinatown, Manhattan: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chinatown, 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.