Best PlacesPhiladelphia County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Philadelphia County, 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.
Philadelphia County ranks 1,236th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on taxes and noise. It does better on walkability, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Philadelphia County
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.
Philadelphia County's strengths and weaknesses
Philadelphia County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Walkability is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Transit and big-city access follow.
The one real hole is taxes, near the bottom of the country. Noise and crime also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Philadelphia County to another than it does between Philadelphia County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Philadelphia County ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of counties
- TransitBetter than 99% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of counties
- BikingBetter than 97% of counties
Where Philadelphia County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 1% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of counties
- Short commute31.7 minutes each way, better than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Philadelphia County
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Philadelphia County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $69,358; 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 Philadelphia County's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Philadelphia County
Philadelphia County 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 Philadelphia County.
Who works in Philadelphia County, and how
Work in Philadelphia County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 54%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 29%
Life in Philadelphia County
Philadelphia County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Philadelphia County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Philadelphia County growing, and who is moving in?
Philadelphia County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Philadelphia, PA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Philadelphia County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Philadelphia County, month by month
Philadelphia County sees roughly 63 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 Philadelphia County
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 Philadelphia County
Schools across Philadelphia County average a C, better than 54% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Meredith William M SchA+ · 95% proficient
- Cynwyd SchA+ · 89% proficient
- Greenfield Albert M SchA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bala-cynwyd MsA+ · 77% proficient
- Baldi C C A MsA+ · 75% proficient
- Science Leadership Academy MsD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Central HsA+ · 98% proficient
- Masterman Julia R Sec SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Lower Merion HsA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Philadelphia County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Philadelphia County 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 Philadelphia County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Philadelphia County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 18% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Philadelphia County
Is Philadelphia County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Philadelphia County ranks 1,236th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and big-city access, 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 Philadelphia County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $286,430. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $69,358 median income, cost of living beats 36% of counties.
Is Philadelphia County safe?
Philadelphia County is safer than 4% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $631 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Philadelphia County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 63 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of counties.
Is Philadelphia County good for families?
Schools beat 54% of counties, crime safety beats 4%, and childcare runs $1,021 a month.
Is Philadelphia County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 36% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 64% of counties. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Philadelphia County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Philadelphia County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Philadelphia County 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.
Philadelphia County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Philadelphia County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Philadelphia County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Philadelphia County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Philadelphia County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Philadelphia County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.