The 9 Best Neighborhoods to Live in New York City

New York, New York. What an amazing city you are. Not many other cities have had as many songs written about them as this one, and there's a reason for it. New York is the place where dreams are made, where rag to riches is real-life, and where the whole world gets together in one of the biggest cultural melting pots there is.

Moving to New York means becoming a resident in the heart of the world's business and entertainment scenes. Broadway and Wall Street coexist with the artists and creatives that run free and side-by-side in this city.

However, as diverse as this city is, and with the tons of fantastic opportunities there are, if you're planning to move here, you'll need to find the right area and price tag for you. New York is unique. However, it can be expensive and has some high-crime areas you'll want to avoid.

To help you find the perfect neighborhood–one where you can live your Big Apple dreams without having a shoebox for an apartment–we've put together a complete list of 9 top neighborhoods to consider. Even better, we've built a ranking system for each one to make your decision as easy as finding a pizza place in New York–and trust us with over 5,500 pizzerias, it couldn't be easier:

• Atmosphere: nightlife & entertainment, shopping & restaurants, and beauty & parks

• Amenities: schools, public transit, and points of interest

• Experience: safety, affordability, and walkability

The result is a prioritized list of the best places to move to in New York, New York.

Why should you listen to us? Our experience with top-ranked rentals across the US makes us a world-class rental place ready to help you out in your hunt for the perfect New York living.

Perfect for those looking for an affordable and quieter side of New York.

Fordham and University Heights are two neighborhoods that you’ll find in the Bronx–located on line four and D line. The Bronx is one of the five boroughs in New York City, and although it once had a bad reputation, it definitely has some nice areas, and is slowly improving.

The best thing about this neighborhood is how affordable it is. Keep in mind that your biggest expense will be your living arrangement when moving to NYC. You get loads of space in the Bronx, without breaking your piggy bank. This gives it a five out of five in Affordability.

Whether you're a young family, professional, or a student, you'll be happy to know that public transportation in this part of town is great–gets a four out of five–and will get you to Manhattan or any other borough in decent time.

There are also some great schools in the area, so this is an ideal neighborhood for young families wanting an excellent education, and a spacious condo for the kids.

In terms of food, shopping, and entertainment options, you'll have a few, especially international food like Asian or Latin American cuisine–this gives it a three out of five for Shopping and Restaurants.

However, if you want to dance your night away or experience some fine dining, your best bet is heading to Manhattan or Brooklyn. Not far from here, there's the Bronx's Little Italy if you feel like having some authentic New York-style pizza.

If you're looking for a way to destress and enjoy some nature, you're just a stone's throw away from the Bronx Zoo. Perfect for when the concrete jungle of New York gets too much. Plus, St. James Park and Poe Park are the perfect places to enjoy some greenery and ideal picnic spots for when the sun is out.

Despite its reputation, The Bronx is an enjoyable area to live. Not only is it affordable, but its people are much more laid back than other areas. Enjoy some authentic worldwide cuisine and wander through the same neighborhood that once was the home of Edgar Allan Poe!

Fordham and University Heights' Rankings:

Weighted rankings were determined by scoring neighborhoods on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories, with 5 being the best.

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍

• Walkability:🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️

Perfect for those looking for a hidden, affordable gem in New York.

Inwood is on the north end of Manhattan island. It isn't so well known yet, but it's starting to build some traction. We’ve no doubt that soon it will be an up-and-coming neighborhood of the Big Apple.

Although Inwood doesn't yet have all the buzzing and lively restaurants, stores, or bars that you can find on the southern end of Manhattan–it gets an average of three out of five for the entertainment categories. Thankfully, you're only one subway line away from all the fun–there's no need to switch lines or anything, all you need is to hop on line one and you’re there.

Some restaurants are already making a name for themselves, and it won’t be much longer until people from the south are subway-ing up to have a slice of Inwood—you heard it here first!

If living in the high-rise galore that is Manhattan doesn’t sound like your cup of coffee, Inwood zoning restrictions will brighten your day. The limit of most building heights is a maximum of 155 feet. This means this whole area maintains a low-key atmosphere and the streets can soak in the sun.

Living up to its name, there’s plenty of wood in Inwood. With Inwood Hill Park, you can enjoy 196-acres of the city's last natural salt marsh and natural forest.

If you enjoy a quieter area but like to be well connected to the hustle and bustle of the city, Inwood might be what you're looking for–you won’t think of leaf-ing anytime soon.

Inwood's Rankings:

Weighted rankings were determined by scoring neighborhoods on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories, with 5 being the best.

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍📍📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍

• Walkability:🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️

Perfect for the artsy folk that love murals, flea markets, and great beer.

Bushwick in Brooklyn, is affordable and grossly trendy. Located on the M and L subway line, you’ll be able to commute anywhere in the city pretty well.

If you're into street art, this is the place for you. Almost all of it is covered with colorful and eye-catching murals done by various artists from the city. Whether it’s a sunny day and you want to wander around or a cloudy day and you want to see some color, these murals give Bushwick a unique charm you’ll soon love.

Besides the impressive street art you'll find in Bushwick, there’s a good mix of independent and chain restaurants for you to choose from. You'll find these areas boast some great watering holes for you to give a little bit of spice to your weekends. The area gets a well-deserved four out of five in Shopping and Restaurants, and Nightlife and Entertainment.

Techno fans will be thrilled to know that Bushwick is considered the hub of the Brooklyn techno scene. Here, you'll get great music and some of the quirkiest people to dance with.

With great schools and a living price tag lower than Manhattan, you don't have to second-guess choosing Bushwick. Full of young, hip people, it is the perfect place to have fun and enjoy the more trendy, cool side of New York City.

Bushwick's Rankings:

Weighted rankings were determined by scoring neighborhoods on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories, with 5 being the best.

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

• Walkability:🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️

Perfect for singles that love the postcard New York-picture and to be at the center of the action.

East Village is one of the Newyorkers’ favorite neighborhoods. It's part of Manhattan, and the fact that it's in the south means it’s halfway between Central Park and the Statue of Liberty–basically, at the core of this Big Apple.

This area is perfect for those singles looking to capitalize on the bar and club scene. After all, it gets a shiny five out of five in all of our entertainment categories. Unlike other city areas, the perpetual celebration here is bound to help you find and meet new people–and live an authentic New York love story.

East Village only scores a three out of five in Public Transit because some parts of it are pretty far away from their closest Subway station–mainly west of 2nd Ave. However, with a short walk, you'll be connected to all that New York has to offer through the L line on 1st Ave.

You'll be delighted to know that not only is Central Park a Subway away from you, but you'll have plenty of pockets of green space throughout the neighborhood. The most important being the East River Park and the Tompkins Square Park. Both are perfect for a jog, a picnic, or some summer sunbathing. This greenery gives East Village a four out of five in Beauty and Parks.

Whether you work in the area or not, you'll be pleased to know that the area is very walkable. With walking paths all across and shops, restaurants, and bars in almost every corner.

If you're young, single, and ready to mingle, East Village is the place for you. You won't have a spacious apartment and might be better off sharing with flatmates. However, it's a lively part of town you won't regret living in your 20s and early 30s. After that, how noisy and partying East Village is might get to you.

East Village's Rankings:

Weighted rankings were determined by scoring neighborhoods on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories, with 5 being the best.

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍📍📍📍📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

• Walkability:🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️

Perfect for singles and young professionals wanting an open-minded, lively part of town–but love some extra space.

Greenwich Village is in our top three neighborhoods to live in New York City thanks to its score. How could it not when it's in Manhattan. It's safe, has plenty of restaurants and shops, and it's home to the Friends apartment building! Just don't get drunk and start shouting 'Rachel!' in the middle of the night Ross Geller-style–your neighbors won't be happy.

Greenwich Village is New York's most bohemian area. It's full of artists, musicians, and creatives that like to express themselves and share their art at the iconic Washington Square Park. It's also one of New York's most open-minded nieghborhoods and where LGBTQ rights had some big historical moments.

It is a hub of hipster cafés, bars, and eateries. There's Jazz clubs and off-Broadway theaters to be found amid the New York University students. New York is the world's melting pot, but Greenwich Village is its spicy side sauce.

Greenwich Village gets a perfect score in Public Transit thanks to the many bus lines it has, and the two subway stations on 14th Ave and Christopher St. on lines one and L of the subway.

Greenwich Village only gets a four out of five in Nightlife and Entertainment, because if you're looking for some wild partying or want to hop on a TikTok dance trend, you're better off heading to East Village or other areas. Greenwich is more for going out with friends and the family for a chill night out, have some beers, and give your taste buds a treat or two.

If you're interested in living in a picturesque neighborhood where you'll find tons of artsy folk, and like the idea of being where Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and others began their career, Greenwich Village is waiting for you.

Greenwich Village's Rankings:

Weighted rankings were determined by scoring neighborhoods on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories, with 5 being the best.

• Affordability: 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍📍📍📍📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

• Walkability:🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️

Perfect for young professionals that want to live just streets away from Chinatown and Downtown New York.

The Lower East Side is in our joint top two positions. It’s located on the south of Manhattan–on lines B, D, F, M of the subway–where gritty streets and tenement-style buildings hold hands with luxury apartments and chic boutiques.

Thanks to the area's famous bars, restaurants, and music venues–for example, the Rockwood Music Hall, live music heaven–all the party-goers are drawn to this neighborhood at night.

This neighborhood's long Jewish heritage lives on through The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, old fabric stores, and traditional, much-loved delis gracing most corners. You’ve got Russ & Daughters and Katz's. Katz's is best known for its pastrami sandwich, which is deliciously pricey–around $25 per sandwich! However, if you live here, it's a must that you try it at least once after you can live off the fantastic $1 pizza slices you can find, and save some dough.

If you're looking for your grocery heaven here on the Lower East Side, you'll find the Essex Street Market. It's like an open-air market, but indoors, and you'll find all the meat, cheese, and produce that you can think of.

Besides its authentic New York vibe, you'll also be just a few streets away from Chinatown, great if you're looking for some delicious Chinese food or just want to feel like Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black III–but don’t go fighting inside tiny restaurants, please!

You'll never get bored or hungry in the Lower East Side.

Lower East Side's Rankings:

Weighted rankings were determined by scoring neighborhoods on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories, with 5 being the best.

• Affordability: 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍📍📍📍📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

• Walkability:🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️

Perfect for young professionals who want to live close to Prospect Park, and on a more affordable side of New York: Brooklyn.

Park Slope is another of our top two neighborhoods in New York. It’s situated in Brooklyn, however, it's well connected through lines B, F, G and Q to the other boroughs in case you need to go somewhere else.

Park Slope has some of the most beautiful brownstone buildings in New York, and at fall time, it looks good enough to eat. Truly, the views you'll get in this neighborhood will remind you of any residential New York City postcard you've seen–this gives it a perfect score in Beauty and Parks.

Prospect Park is one of the highlights of this neighborhood. It's the biggest park in Brooklyn and one of the biggest ones in New York. Not only does it offer acres and acres of trees and grass, but you'll find the Prospect Park Zoo–guaranteed for a pawsome day!

By living here, you'll have amazing international cuisine restaurants and shops to visit, as well as the huge farmers market held on Saturday at Grand Army Plaza. This gives it a five in our Shopping and Restaurant Categories.

If you've ever wanted to live in a typical Brooklyn neighborhood, with great schools, beautiful tree-lined streets, and a place with restaurants to feed your every craving, Park Slope is worth checking out. Especially since in the early 1980s, former president Barack Obama lived here. You can't go wrong by choosing this place as your next home.

Park Slope's Rankings:

Weighted rankings were determined by scoring neighborhoods on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories, with 5 being the best.

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍📍📍📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

• Walkability:🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️

Perfect for young professionals with a soft spot for the movies, and those wanting to see some amazing Manhattan skyline views.

Astoria is the last one of our top-two neighborhoods in New York. It's actually the only neighborhood on our list that's in the Queens borough–connected through subway lines N, Q, R, and M. Astoria is a multicultural neighborhood, with plenty of things to see, eat and do, and just a great find thanks to its affordable prices.

Astoria is laid-back and offers amazing multicultural vibes. This low-rise neighborhood boasts so many different small businesses, ethnic restaurants, and trendy shops that you're sure to find a surprise in.

One of the biggest appeals in this neighborhood is the Kaufman Studios–original East Coast place of Paramount pictures–and the super entertaining Museum of the Moving Image. It’s definitely a great place to visit when you want a break from the hustle and bustle of New York.

Queens, especially Astoria, is known for its Greek tavernas and cafés. Get your craving for Moussaka and Baklava satisfied by the mouth-watering Greek eateries you'll find here.

Besides the thriving restaurant scene, you also get some tremendous open-air activities. There is the Bohemian Beer Garden and Astoria Park. At Astoria Park, you'll get great biking and jogging areas, as well as a fantastic skate park with jaw-dropping views of the Manhattan skyline. There, you'll also find the largest swimming pool in New York City.

Astoria has something for everyone–it gets a perfect score in Shopping and Restaurants and Nightlife and Entertainment. Whether you want cool museums, large parks, or delectable restaurants, you'll find a way to be entertained in Astoria.

The best of it all is that it's well-connected to the town, and you'll be able to afford a nice apartment without touching those hard-earned savings–we know how many oat milk lattes you said no to.

Astoria's Rankings:

Weighted rankings were determined by scoring neighborhoods on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories, with 5 being the best.

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍📍📍📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

• Walkability:🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️

Perfect for singles looking for a laid-back, carefree vibe just a bridge away from the heart of New York.

Williamsburg is the trendy area to be in New York. With its many communities, you'll find the artistic hipster vibe, the Puerto Rican vibe, and the orthodox Jewish vibe–a real taste of the melting pot that New York is.

It was initially an industrial part of the city, and in 1970, it was pretty run down and unsafe. However, thanks to its affordable prices, the 90s brought it new life, and it's now home to artists, hipsters, and young people with a carefree, Williamsburg-esque attitude.

The J, M, and Z subway lines will serve you well in this part of the city, but a bike over the Williamsburg Bridge from the Lower East Side is unmissable on a sunny day. You'll get the absolute best views of New York–plus, a little exercise is never a bad shout.

Williamsburg is known for its trendy and up-and-coming vibes. It has street art that you can’t miss throughout the neighborhood and the best vintage and sustainable shops in New York. This gives Williamsburg a perfect score in all of our entertainment categories.

Thanks to gentrification and the great community feel, its safety has gone way up, hitting a four out of five in our Safety category. Of course, you'll find some small, petty crime, but nothing major.

There are so many options we can't name them all in terms of things to do in this part of town. There's the Museum of Pizza–everyone's favorite type of museum–the City Reliquary, Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, plenty of art galleries, and many other fun, curious museums to visit.

Its proximity to the south of Manhattan gives Williamsburg the very best skyline views of New York. The Bushwick Inlet Park is the perfect spot for a soccer game with a view.

Truly, Williamsburg is the best neighborhood in New York for us. If you're single, young, and want to live in a laid-back area, but with a quick commute to the hectic business life of New York, this is the perfect place for you.

Williamsburg's Rankings:

Weighted rankings were determined by scoring neighborhoods on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories, with 5 being the best.

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍📍📍📍📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

• Walkability:🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️

Time to look at the numbers of our top neighborhoods in New York City, New York.

Let's look at the lower numbers first. Affordability and Safety do a pretty average of 3.2 and 3.7, respectively. As one of the world's biggest cities, expecting higher prices and not the idyllic safety some might wish for is normal. However, this is still a world-class city whose prices are worth it when thinking about the sea of opportunities in these islands.

Now, let's look at the highlights. All the other categories did an impressive average above 3.9. Walkability and Public Transport are heading the list with 4.7 and 4.6 average respectively.

New York averaged at 40.3/50 on our best cities to live in the USA ranking.

Few cities in the world offer as much as the Big Apple. Not only is it super multicultural–with over 800 languages being spoken–but it is a heaven for business, arts, and dining.

Some of the best restaurants and shows in the world are right here in New York. Boredom in New York City does not exist. After all, it's the City that Never Sleeps—both thanks to its entertainment and its hard-work attitude.

If you've ever wanted to live in one of the world's most iconic cities, here you’ll have opportunities rising in every corner–and 13,000 colorful Bodegas waiting for you to pick as a favorite on each of these corners.

If you want to take the same metro as some of the world’s greatest billionaires. Or, if you like the idea of living in a movie (set). Consider the city that has more songs written about it, than the US has had presidents. Come to New York. If you can make it here, you’ll make it anywhere…

New York, New York