Best PlacesElmwood, Philadelphia, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elmwood, 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.
Elmwood, Philadelphia ranks 5,422nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on big-city access.
The best neighborhoods in Elmwood, 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.
Elmwood, Philadelphia's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elmwood, Philadelphia ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,021 a month, better than 63% of neighborhoods
Where Elmwood, Philadelphia ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Household income$42,478 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Short commute34.4 minutes each way, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Elmwood, Philadelphia
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elmwood, Philadelphia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $42,478, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Elmwood, Philadelphia's effective rate of 0.83%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Elmwood, Philadelphia
Elmwood, 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 Elmwood, Philadelphia.
Who works in Elmwood, Philadelphia, and how
Work in Elmwood, Philadelphia centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 31%
Life in Elmwood, Philadelphia
Elmwood, Philadelphia has more parkland per resident than 72% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Elmwood, Philadelphia and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Elmwood, Philadelphia, month by month
Elmwood, 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 Elmwood, Philadelphia
Philadelphia International sits about 3 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 Elmwood, Philadelphia
Schools across Elmwood, Philadelphia average a C, better than 53% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Philadelphia Montessori CsC · 32% proficient
- Morton Thomas G SchD+ · 25% proficient
- Catharine Joseph SchD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Amy At MartinD+ · 25% proficient
- Tilden William T MsD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Arts Academy At Benjamin RushA− · 65% proficient
- Bartram John - MainD+ · 25% proficient
- Motivation HsF · 6% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elmwood, Philadelphia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elmwood, 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 Elmwood, Philadelphia against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Elmwood, Philadelphia suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Elmwood, Philadelphia
Is Elmwood, Philadelphia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elmwood, Philadelphia ranks 5,422nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and transit, and lowest on taxes and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elmwood, Philadelphia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $137,048. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $42,478 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Elmwood, Philadelphia safe?
Elmwood, Philadelphia is safer than 13% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $684 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Elmwood, Philadelphia?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 27. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 18% of neighborhoods.
Is Elmwood, Philadelphia good for families?
Schools beat 53% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 13%, and childcare runs $1,021 a month.
Compare Elmwood, Philadelphia with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elmwood, Philadelphia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elmwood, 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.
Elmwood, Philadelphia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elmwood, Philadelphia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elmwood, Philadelphia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elmwood, Philadelphia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elmwood, Philadelphia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elmwood, 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.