Best PlacesCity Center West, Philadelphia, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around City Center West, Philadelphia, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
City Center West, Philadelphia ranks 641st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in City Center West, Philadelphia
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.
City Center West, Philadelphia's strengths and weaknesses
Where City Center West, Philadelphia ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
Where City Center West, Philadelphia ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in City Center West, Philadelphia
A household needs to earn about $185,000 a year to comfortably buy the median City Center West, Philadelphia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $115,510, 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 City Center West, Philadelphia's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 City Center West, Philadelphia
City Center West, Philadelphia runs younger 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 City Center West, Philadelphia.
Who works in City Center West, Philadelphia, and how
Work in City Center West, Philadelphia centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 22%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 48%
Life in City Center West, Philadelphia
City Center West, Philadelphia has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 79% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of City Center West, Philadelphia and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in City Center West, Philadelphia, month by month
City Center West, Philadelphia sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of City Center West, Philadelphia
Philadelphia International sits about 7 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 City Center West, Philadelphia
Schools across City Center West, Philadelphia average a C, better than 53% of neighborhoods.
Top middle schools
- Amy At MartinD+ · 25% proficient
- Middle Years AlternativeD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Arts Academy At Benjamin RushA− · 65% proficient
- Philadelphia Electrical & Tech ChsD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every City Center West, Philadelphia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
City Center West, Philadelphia 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 City Center West, Philadelphia against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in City Center West, Philadelphia
Is City Center West, Philadelphia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, City Center West, Philadelphia ranks 641st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on health care access, transit, and population health, 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 City Center West, Philadelphia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $689,576. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $115,510 median income, cost of living beats 86% of neighborhoods.
Is City Center West, Philadelphia safe?
City Center West, Philadelphia is safer than 16% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $666 per resident a year.
Compare City Center West, Philadelphia with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to City Center West, Philadelphia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in City Center West, Philadelphia 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.
City Center West, Philadelphia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for City Center West, Philadelphia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in City Center West, Philadelphia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of City Center West, Philadelphia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in City Center West, Philadelphia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
City Center West, Philadelphia 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.