Best PlacesKensington, Philadelphia, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Kensington, 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.
Kensington, Philadelphia ranks 2,563rd 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 Kensington, 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.
Kensington, Philadelphia's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kensington, Philadelphia ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
Where Kensington, Philadelphia ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Short commute33.4 minutes each way, better than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Kensington, Philadelphia
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kensington, Philadelphia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,824, 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 Kensington, Philadelphia's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kensington, Philadelphia
Kensington, 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 Kensington, Philadelphia.
Who works in Kensington, Philadelphia, and how
Work in Kensington, Philadelphia centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 49%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in Kensington, Philadelphia
Kensington, Philadelphia has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Kensington, Philadelphia and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Kensington, Philadelphia, month by month
Kensington, Philadelphia sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 26° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Kensington, Philadelphia
Philadelphia International sits about 10 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 Kensington, Philadelphia
Schools across Kensington, Philadelphia average a C, better than 53% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Brown Henry A SchA+ · 75% proficient
- Hackett Horatio B SchA− · 60% proficient
- Moffet John SchD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Amy At MartinD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Arts Academy At Benjamin RushA− · 65% proficient
- Kensington HsD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kensington, Philadelphia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kensington, 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 Kensington, Philadelphia against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Kensington, Philadelphia suits
Common questions about living in Kensington, Philadelphia
Is Kensington, Philadelphia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kensington, Philadelphia ranks 2,563rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and big-city access, and lowest on taxes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kensington, Philadelphia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $326,592. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $84,824 median income, cost of living beats 62% of neighborhoods.
Is Kensington, Philadelphia safe?
Kensington, Philadelphia is safer than 10% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $781 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Kensington, Philadelphia?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of neighborhoods.
Is Kensington, Philadelphia good for families?
Schools beat 53% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $1,021 a month.
Compare Kensington, Philadelphia with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kensington, Philadelphia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kensington, 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.
Kensington, Philadelphia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kensington, Philadelphia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kensington, Philadelphia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kensington, Philadelphia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kensington, Philadelphia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kensington, 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.