The 9 Best Neighborhoods to Live in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, also known as the City of Brotherly Love, or cutely nicknamed Philly, is famous for many things. It has the Eagles–and its rabid fanbase–the Philadelphia Art Museum, and it's an overall crucial historical place where you can find the Liberty Bell and the Independence Hall.

However, you might also know it thanks to the movie Rocky, the famous Philadelphia Cheesesteak, or even the spreadable deliciousness that is Philadelphia's cream cheese–lots of cheese to go with your favorite beer.

Running up the Rocky steps is not the only good thing you can do in Philly. Once you become a local, you'll realize that Philadelphia is a wonderful place to call home. The job market is booming with 13 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the area–like Campbell's South Company, Comcast Corp, Universal Health Services, DuPont, and plenty of others. There are also some millennials favorites like ​​Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters HQing in this beautiful city.

To help you find the hip neighborhood that matches your vibe, serves the beer that you like, and isn't outside of your budget, we've compiled a list of Philadelphia's top nine lively and charming neighborhoods.

We've built a ranking system for each one to help you make this big decision.

We're ranking:

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

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

• Experience: safety, affordability, and walkability

The end result is a prioritized list of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's best places to move to.

Why listen to us? We may not have as many green spaces as Philly, but we’ve got plenty of top rental experiences across the USA, and we've made choosing the right neighborhood for you as easy as a walk through the park.

Perfect for those looking to be in an up-and-coming neighborhood that won't make them use up their savings.

Grays Ferry is continuously expanding and developing. It has become one of the hottest zip codes for house-flipping. Of course, you'll only be renting a place here, but this tells you everything you need to know about this promising neighborhood.

One of the reasons why Grays Ferry is seeing some incredible growth in the last few years is thanks to the University of Pennsylvania, which is expanding its campus into the neighborhood. Additionally, the boardwalk expansion project made it possible for Grays Ferry and Center City to be connected through a beautiful trail on the banks of the Schuylkill River.

The Schuylkill Boardwalk is also a great place to walk, jog, or bike all those cheesesteak calories away. It's also the ideal place to de-stress from the week with a donation-based yoga class over the river banks.

Grays Ferry's independently owned restaurants and cafes are hip places to have a warm dish with a cold beer. Thanks to the wide selection of cuisines and atmospheres, you'll get to take your tastebuds on a world trip without ever leaving the neighborhood. This gives it a four out of five in our Shopping and Restaurants category.

As Grays Ferry continues to expand and get fresh new neighbors and establishments, you'll have to be quick and check it out while it's still affordable. Otherwise, you might regret it in a few years when it's the trendiest and most fun neighborhood in Philly, but at a cost that might make you break a few of your piggy banks.

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

Here's how Greys Ferry scored:

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍 📍 📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

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

Perfect for the hipster and creative types looking for a vibrant nightlife.

Fishtown is where Philadelphia's gastronomy, art, and music trends shoot up to the sky. Thanks to this, it's a magnet for hipsters and those with a creative side to them.

Every first Friday of the month, you'll have a chance to check out all the galleries and studios along Frankford Avenue–perfect idea for a date night? You tell us!

If you're single and ready to mingle, we have great news. Thanks to the vibrant nightlife in these neighborhoods, full of beer gardens, a retro arcade, and independently-owned fantastic restaurants, you'll meet your other half as quickly as you can say 'Fish.'

For those into music, you have the landmark Johnny Brenda's, a famous and highly praised music venue where indie bands play. There is also the Fillmore Philadelphia and the Penn Treaty Park, which is not only excellent for outdoor exercising and picnicking, it's also an ideal spot for summer outdoor concerts.

For those feeling a little bit of luck, there is the Rivers Casino. It’s situated right next to the river, so that you can get a rewarding view, even if you don't have a big win on the night.

What this neighborhood lacks in parks and schools; it makes up for in entertainment, gastronomy, and shopping possibilities. Bring your creative soul to this neighborhood and watch it find its artsy tribe.

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

Here's how Fishtown scored:

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍 📍 📍 📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

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

Perfect for those looking for a hip and trendy shop-until-you-drop experience right on their doorstep.

There are plenty of up-and-coming residential neighborhoods in Philadelphia–after all, the whole city is seeing a new boom in its economy and an influx of Millennials–but none compare to Passyunk Square.

Passyunk Square–pronounced "pashunk"–is a buzzing area with spacious homes, modern buildings, and attractive new stores. Its trend-setting boutiques, thriving restaurant scene, and hip food markets give this area a shiny perfect score in Shopping and Entertainment.

A little trivia for you: a few years ago, East Passyunk Avenue was named the "10 Best Foodie Streets in America" by the Food & Wine magazine–not bad, Passyunk, not bad.

Another great thing about this neighborhood is its location. It's near the Broad Street subway line and offers easy access to I-95. It's located to the south of Center City and will take you less than 15-minutes to get to it by car, or 30-minutes on foot.

Besides the stores and restaurants, there's Columbus Square Park for you to take your furry four-legged friends for a stroll.

One thing that this part of town is still missing is some great nightlife. However, thanks to the proximity to Center City, you'll be able to have a wild night out and come back to a much quieter area where you can sleep off your hangover.

Hip Passyunk is a great place to have fantastic food options, like the sizzling grills of cheesesteak rivals Gino's and Pat's King of Steaks. You can also find anything you need in all the shops available. Best of all, you'll be able to enjoy all of this in a safe, family- and budget-friendly neighborhood.

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

Here's how Passyunk Square scored:

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍 📍 📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

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

Perfect for single, young professionals that are history nerds and farmers market fans.

Queen Village and Society Hill are two neighborhoods that are indeed fit for royalty. The culture and history that oozes out of these cobblestone streets, combined with the incredibly diverse vibes of their communities, will make you want to stay here forever.

A little fun fact for those that enjoy some trivia: Society Hills is the largest historic colonial neighborhood in the country. Sorry Boston, but Philly beats you here. Thanks to its large concentration of original 18th and early 19th-century architecture, it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Another fun fact: Queen Village is named after the Queen of Sweden!

History is not the only thing that this part of Philly offers. Headhouse Market–the country's oldest functioning marketplaces–is still running, providing you everything you need from over 50 rotating vendors to make your favorite recipes at home.

If there's something you still can't find, don't stress. The famous Italian Market on 9th Street is only a 10-minute walk away. In it, you'll find ten city blocks featuring some of the best food and produce you can buy in Philly–probably what gave Rocky all his energy.

One of the best things about these two neighborhoods is the community. Fully diverse with people from all walks of life and plenty of community activities for you to find your next bestie–or life-long partner. Join the annual block parties, block clean-ups, and other events to quickly feel right at home with this fun bunch.

Consider Queen Village & Society Hill if you'd like to live close to downtown, in an area that takes you back to the 18th century thanks to its architecture. Here you'll find the best farmer markets to satisfy your hipster's heart. Oh, and thanks to its great schools and dog parks, you'll have everything you need if you decide to be a human-parent or a dog-parent.

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

Here's how Queen Village & Society Hill scored:

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍 📍 📍 📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

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

Perfect for the artsy folks that feel at home where there are murals, trendy coffee shops, and an art gallery to suit your every mood.

Northern Liberties used to be an industrial area. However, thanks to its revitalization by the hand of artists in the 90s, it's now a major hipster hotspot brimming with art galleries and trendy boutiques.

Pet-friendly dining areas are pretty popular in this neighborhood, so you'll meet as many friendly dogs as pedestrians here–need more?

One of the main hubs of Northern Liberties is The Piazza, a shopping and dining complex located under luxury condos. It was built on the site of an old brewery, and now it offers plenty of new and tasty breweries for you to soak your hipster beard in some fantastic Philly beer. The Urban Village Brewing Company is perfect for a night out with your friends.

The community of Northern Liberties–or NoLib, as some residents call it–is very active and caring of each other. They hold events throughout the year like the 2nd Street Festival, weekly farmers markets, and family-friendly concerts at the Liberty Lands Park.

The events, shops, and restaurants that you’ll find in this neighborhood give it a well-deserved perfect score in all entertainment categories.

If what's on offer is not enough, you're always a quick stroll to the north from Fishtown and a short walk to the south from Chinatown and all the delicious Asian food they serve–who says Philly is only cheesesteaks and beer?

If you're into craft beers, dog parks, and a whole lot of friendly and artsy people, Northern Liberties is powdering your name with cocoa on the top of an almond milk vanilla latte–enjoy!

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

Here's how Northern Liberties scored:

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍 📍 📍 📍 📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

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

Perfect for those that love museums, parks, world-class historical attractions, and hard-core Rocky fans.

We've finally arrived at a neighborhood that's important for two reasons: it's in the top three of our ranking of Philly, and it's the home of the Rocky steps–play 'Gonna Fly Now' and enjoy the adrenaline kick.

Fairmount, or Art Museums, as some of the locals call it, is the cultural hub of Philadelphia. In it, you'll find world-class museums and historical attractions that will make you feel like a posh, refined person–so much so, that wine will start tasting better.

Inspired by the Champs-Élysées, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway attracts plenty of foot traffic to the Philadelphia Museum of Art from locals and tourists alike. The museum is surrounded by urban parks that make up Fairmount Park, the largest urban park in the country. So you'll never be far from some greenery in Fairmount.

Fairmount achieves a perfect score in all entertainment categories, Walkability, and Beauty and Parks. Whenever you're tired from all that enjoyment and need to refuel, visit Sabrina's Cafe for some scrumptious breakfasts, or visit Jack's Firehouse for some delicious BBQ.

Besides the many museums and art galleries, you can also visit the Philadelphia Zoo, just across the river. Perfect place to spend a paw-some day out with your date or with your family when they visit.

Fairmount is a great place to call home with all that it offers. You'll be able to switch from gym-rat to brunch-bunch, from cultured tourist to expert local in just minutes. You'll be living the best of all worlds in this beautiful neighborhood.

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

Here's how Fairmount scored:

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍 📍 📍 📍 📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

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

Perfect for students and young professionals looking for a peaceful and picture-perfect neighborhood.

Rittenhouse Square & Filter Square are some of Philadelphia's most picture-perfect spots, and our joint second place winners. Their old-school charm comes from their history of being a fashionable home base for Philadelphia's Victorian aristocracy. Beautiful and majestic 19th and 20th-century townhomes make this neighborhood pure eye-candy.

The Rosenbach Museum & Library houses Lewis Carroll's copy of "Alice in Wonderland." There are also plenty of art galleries, small cafés, and hip wine bars for you to enjoy a very cultured evening.

In terms of nature and greenery, you'll have two beautiful gems: The Schuylkill River Park and the Rittenhouse Square Park–where you'll find bronze turtle sculptures and a Victorian-era fountain. There's also farmers markets and live music events held in both these parks every year.

Students from nearby University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University will rejoice knowing that they are just a bridge cross from their universities and a short walk from Center City. Perfect place to live, study, and party at the best places in the city.

The excellent restaurant and shopping experience you can get in these neighborhoods, combined with being by the river bank and having great schools and incredible walkability, make this neighborhood a perfect place for young families and young professionals. The only downside is that it does come at a price, but it's worth it for what you're getting!

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

Here's how Rittenhouse Square & Fitler Square scored:

• Affordability: 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍 📍 📍 📍 📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

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

Perfect for young professionals and history nerds who will appreciate all of the stories this neighborhood has to tell.

We've arrived at our other joint second place and the birthplace of American Independence: Old City, Philadelphia. Old City is located east of Chinatown and Center City. This neighborhood holds all the historical importance that is given to Philadelphia.

Looking for a cultural outing during the weekend? Take your pick: there is the National Liberty Museum, the Museum of American Revolution, the National Constitution Center, or the Benjamin Franklin Museum. If you have enough time–and are such a history nerd–why not visit them all? After all, they're only a few minutes away from each other.

However, once you become a full-time resident, you might not need to visit the museums too often, but don’t worry, you'll have plenty more to do. The Franklin Square Park is centered on a historic fountain and offers mini-golf, a classic carousel, and a burger joint for you to refuel and keep going. The Museum of Illusions is perfect for a fun date with your new Bumble love.

Enjoy a quality evening with your friends by going to the Franklin Social. This restaurant prides itself on its Philadelphia-old-time vibes, exquisite American cuisine, and a wide selection of craft beers and award-winning wines. Or, have some New American cuisine at the famous brunch from Fork.

Old City has charming cobblestone streets, the oldest continuously inhabited road in America, and museums for days on end. Living here, you'll have a peaceful home with a history-rich backdrop.

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

Here's how Old City scored:

• Affordability: 💸 💸 💸

• Beauty & Parks: 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳

• Nightlife & Entertainment: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

• Points of Interest: 📍 📍 📍 📍 📍

• Public Transit: 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃 🚃

• Safety: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

• Schools: 🍎 🍎 🍎

• Shopping & Restaurants: 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍 🛍

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

Perfect for those wanting to live close to everything Philly has to offer, yet have some quiet and peaceful nights.

We've finally arrived at the top of the top. The best neighborhood in Philadelphia for young professionals is–drum rolls, please–Washington Square West!

This neighborhood is beautiful, safe, and has all the entertainment you could need. Located just south of Center City, it enjoys excellent amenities without the crazy noise levels of the nightlife from other parts of the city.

It's sometimes referred to as Gayborhood and Midtown Village by the locals. Washington Square West is a trendy neighborhood that truly has something for everyone with its endless line-up of exquisite restaurants, artisanal cafes, boutique shops, and lively bars.

The Washington Square West Historic District, including the Clinton Street Historic District, the Roberts-Quay House, and Portico Row, has been part of the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.

History is vital in Philly, but so are the vibrant shopping districts that you can find in Washington Square. Vintage boutiques and galleries fill Jewelers Row, America's oldest diamond district and Pine Street has a section filled with small delightful antique shops called Antique Row.

In this superb neighborhood, you'll also find the oldest hospital in the country, the Pennsylvania Hospital–now part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. There is also Thomas Jefferson University, with its educational and medical facilities.

The residents of this area have developed a tight-knit community that has initiatives like street clean-ups, community gardening, block parties, and other volunteer and community-building activities.

This neighborhood captures Philly's personality like few places do. If you're looking to experience Philadelphia like a true local, know it inside out, and have the best it offers at your doorstep, consider Washington Square West your next home.

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

Here's how Washington Square West scored:

• 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 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The City of Brotherly Love, Philly, sweet Philly, has an average of almost perfect scores in both Walkability and Shopping and Restaurants. This historical place knows how to make its residents happy, delicious food, and the pedestrian ways to burn those extra calories.

Nightlife and Entertainment and Safety scored pretty high with a 4.5 and 4.6 each. You'll have ways to have fun, and you won't have to be looking over your shoulder all the time. Of course, it's always good to have some street smarts and still be careful.

Now, let's look at the lower numbers. Affordability and Schools averaged at 3.3 and 3.4. There are good schools to be found in Philadelphia, but those are in the most family-friendly areas of the city, not so much in the areas suited for young professionals.

Philadelphia averaged at 41.8/50 on our best neighborhoods to live in the USA ranking.

Living in the city that is the actual birthplace of American Independence, with all the new amenities it offers and the beautiful green parks, is genuinely worth the price tag.

If you've ever wanted to live in one of America's most iconic cities, find out if it's truly 'Always Sunny in Philadelphia' and would love to feel like you're inside a history book, then Philly might be the next stop for you.