Neighborhoods by affluence (Philadelphia, Blue Bell: renters, condo, home)

[Indigolights]

Does anyone know if there is an up-to-date ranking of neighborhoods by median income/home price in the city? Someone had told me that it was Rittenhouse, but when I looked at Pew data (now seven years old), the ranking was done by zip code and there wasn't a clear delineation between neighborhoods.

[briantroutman]

That’s a feature available on the interactive data map on the main page of city-data.com. It’s about halfway down the page. By default, the data set displayed is median household income, but you can select median house/condo value as well as countless other variables regarding cost of living, public health, educational attainment, etc. You can click on any block on the map to get a popup of the numerical value within that specific census tract.

[cpomp]

I don't have any up to date lists, but I know Chestnut Hill, Society Hill, Rittenhouse, Fitler Square, Logan Square, Graduate Hospital and Northern Liberties are consistently at the top.

I think Graduate Hospital actually surpassed Chestnut Hill as "wealthiest" Philadelphia neighborhood last year. This is ranked by median/household incomes. I am sure if you measure which neighborhood has the most high net-worth residents, it would be Society Hill or Rittenhouse.

[Indigolights]

@Brian, thank you for this reference. I noticed, however, that these census tracts don't necessarily correlate with the neighborhoods and are instead broken into much smaller entities.

@cpomp, do you know where I could find that?

For example, when I use IncomeByZipCode, which is based on the US Census American Community Survey 5-year estimate, it shows:
- 19106 (Society Hill and Old City) with a median household income (MHI) of $109,393
- 19118 (entirely coterminous with Chestnut Hill) with an MHI of $85,437
- 19103 (Rittenhouse, Fitler Square, and Logan Square) with an MHI $73,611
- 19146 (Graduate Hospital and Devil's Pocket) with an MHI of $63,524

Now the limitation with this is the fact that it's by zip code and some are an amalgamation of different neighborhoods unfortunately. I can't seem to find one solely based on neighborhoods. I'm also shocked at how low the MHI in 19103 (Rittenhouse + Fitler + Logan Square) appears to be.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by Indigolights

I'm also shocked at how low the MHI in 19103 (Rittenhouse + Fitler + Logan Square) appears to be.

Well you do have a lot of renters in 19103 so that may be a factor.

[Indigolights]

Originally Posted by Indigolights

@Brian, thank you for this reference. I noticed, however, that these census tracts don't necessarily correlate with the neighborhoods and are instead broken into much smaller entities.

@cpomp, do you know where I could find that?

For example, when I use IncomeByZipCode, which is based on the US Census American Community Survey 5-year estimate, it shows:
- 19106 (Society Hill and Old City) with a median household income (MHI) of $109,393
- 19118 (entirely coterminous with Chestnut Hill) with an MHI of $85,437
- 19103 (Rittenhouse, Fitler Square, and Logan Square) with an MHI $73,611
- 19146 (Graduate Hospital and Devil's Pocket) with an MHI of $63,524

Now the limitation with this is the fact that it's by zip code and some are an amalgamation of different neighborhoods unfortunately. I can't seem to find one solely based on neighborhoods. I'm also shocked at how low the MHI in 19103 (Rittenhouse + Fitler + Logan Square) appears to be.

Addendum: 19146 also includes Point Breeze and Gray's Ferry

[Indigolights]

@Finding Zen: I would assume those other neighborhoods also have a lot of renters, no?

[rowhomecity]

Rittenhouse, Society Hill and Chestnut Hill definitely are home to the highest conglomerate of high net earners. Rittenhouse though is also home to a fairly large percentage of students, especially grad students, therefore the average income is scaled down.

[selhars]

I knew a few old money penthouse retiree types in Rittenhouse, also. But all the high income/net worth (which of course aren't the same thing) neighborhoods must have that also, to varying degrees.

[rowhomecity]

Originally Posted by selhars

I knew a few old money penthouse retiree types in Rittenhouse, also. But all the high income/net worth (which of course aren't the same thing) neighborhoods must have that also, to varying degrees.

Philadelphia has I believe the 4th highest net of old money individuals in the country. The difference with old money is its not flashy, so you would never know it. But yes Rittenhouse, Society Hill, Fitler Square and Chestnut Hill have a high percentage of old money. Along with the Main Line and Bucks County and parts of Blue Bell.