Best PlacesFairmount, Philadelphia, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fairmount, Philadelphia, 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.
Fairmount, Philadelphia ranks 579th 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 Fairmount, 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.
Fairmount, Philadelphia's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fairmount, Philadelphia ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Fairmount, Philadelphia ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Fairmount, Philadelphia
A household needs to earn about $140,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fairmount, Philadelphia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $131,951; 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 Fairmount, Philadelphia's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Fairmount, Philadelphia
Fairmount, 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 Fairmount, Philadelphia.
Who works in Fairmount, Philadelphia, and how
Work in Fairmount, Philadelphia centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 36%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 32%
Life in Fairmount, Philadelphia
Fairmount, Philadelphia has more parkland per resident than 81% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Fairmount, Philadelphia and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Fairmount, Philadelphia, month by month
Fairmount, 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 Fairmount, Philadelphia
Philadelphia International sits about 8 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 Fairmount, Philadelphia
Schools across Fairmount, Philadelphia average a C, better than 53% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Bache-martin SchB · 50% proficient
- Waring Laura W SchF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Amy At MartinD+ · 25% proficient
- Middle Years AlternativeD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Masterman Julia R Sec SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Science Leadership AcademyA · 75% proficient
- Arts Academy At Benjamin RushA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fairmount, Philadelphia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fairmount, 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 Fairmount, Philadelphia against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Fairmount, Philadelphia
Is Fairmount, Philadelphia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fairmount, Philadelphia ranks 579th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on health care access, population health, and an educated workforce, 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 Fairmount, Philadelphia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $525,027. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $131,951 median income, cost of living beats 91% of neighborhoods.
Is Fairmount, Philadelphia safe?
Fairmount, Philadelphia is safer than 25% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $540 per resident a year.
Compare Fairmount, Philadelphia with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fairmount, Philadelphia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fairmount, 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.
Fairmount, Philadelphia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fairmount, Philadelphia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fairmount, Philadelphia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fairmount, Philadelphia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fairmount, Philadelphia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fairmount, 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.