Best PlacesSchuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Schuylkill Southwest, 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.
Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia ranks 491st 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 Schuylkill Southwest, 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.
Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia's strengths and weaknesses
Where Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
Where Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia
A household needs to earn about $148,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $132,340; 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 Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia
Schuylkill Southwest, 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 Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia.
Who works in Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia, and how
Work in Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 30%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 42%
Life in Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia.
What the weather is like in Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia, month by month
Schuylkill Southwest, 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 Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia
Philadelphia International sits about 6 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 Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia
Schools across Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia average a C, better than 53% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stanton Edwin M SchA+ · 75% proficient
- Arthur Chester A SchD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Amy At MartinD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Arts Academy At Benjamin RushA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Schuylkill Southwest, 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 Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia
Is Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia ranks 491st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on health care access, walkability, and an educated workforce, and lowest on taxes and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $559,505. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $132,340 median income, cost of living beats 92% of neighborhoods.
Is Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia safe?
Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia is safer than 25% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $542 per resident a year.
Compare Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Schuylkill Southwest, 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.
Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Schuylkill Southwest, Philadelphia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Schuylkill Southwest, 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.