Living in Castle Hill: rent, commute and grades

The Bronx · Updated November 2026

Photo credits

This guide also covers Unionport, which shares Castle Hill’s official city boundaries.

Rent in Castle Hill

$1,495 a month, estimated

Type of homeA room in a 2-bedroom, shared by two

DOverall

Grades compare NYC neighborhoods with each other. How the grades work.

C-Walkability
The average home has 3.9 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 143 places to eat or shop.
Residents: Daily life here is easier with a car. Resident, Jun 2026
CFood and shopping
Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 32 places to eat, 13 kinds of cuisine, 3.3 large grocery stores and 90 open storefronts.
C-Parks and green space
84% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park of an acre or more, with about 169 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 378 street trees within 300 m of the average home.

DCommunity
13% of households moved in since 2018, 2% are roommates sharing a home, 17% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 10 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: Close-knit: neighbors know each other and are friendly, with schools and shops nearby. Lifelong resident, Nov 2025
CNightlife
About 7 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

C-Safety
8.2 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (293 in all).
Residents: Relatively safe on the residential blocks of houses near Unionport, with occasional incidents. Lifelong resident, Nov 2025
BQuiet
37 noise complaints to 311 per 1,000 residents in 2025, not counting helicopter complaints, and counting each address at most 12 days a year. That measures how often people complain, not how loud it is.
Residents: Quiet streets of houses near Unionport. Lifelong resident, Nov 2025
City data alone would give C+; what residents say in 3 Reddit threads moves it to B.
DBuilding upkeep
43.1 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 12.1 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.

SafetyRelatively safe on the residential blocks of houses near Unionport, with occasional incidents. Lifelong resident, Nov 2025
QuietA quiet neighborhood made up mostly of private houses. Resident, Jun 2026

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Safe day to day; the rough reputation applies to only a few blocks of a large neighborhood.
Resident, Jun 2026
Fine with ordinary street awareness, though it is worth checking the exact block before renting.
Not a resident, Jun 2026
A very nice and safe residential area.
Not a resident, Jun 2026

Close-knit: neighbors know each other and are friendly, with schools and shops nearby.
Lifelong resident, Nov 2025

Quiet streets of houses near Unionport.
Lifelong resident, Nov 2025
Unionport is much quieter and more residential than neighboring Soundview.
Not a resident, Nov 2024
Can be surprisingly quiet and laid back.
Not a resident, Jun 2026

By subway or bus, arriving by 9:00 on a weekday:Under 30 min30 to 45 min45 to 60 minOver an hourCastle Hill

Castle Hill Avenue, from Manning Street north to the Cross Bronx Expressway, and Westchester Avenue, from Olmstead Avenue to just past Glebe Avenue, are the neighborhood's shopping streets, covered by the Castle Hill Business Improvement District. Source
Around Castle Hill Avenue near Story Avenue, most buildings are one- to three-story one- and two-family houses, with two- and three-story buildings of shops and homes on Castle Hill Avenue itself, a 2021 City Planning Commission report found. Source
Unionport was its own village until it became part of New York in 1895. P.S. 36 on Castle Hill Avenue, standing since 1901, still has the old village street names Avenue C and 8th and 9th streets marked on its facade. Source
The neighborhood shares its name with Castle Hill Neck, the land between Pugsley's and Westchester creeks, which local histories say was named for a large stockade the Weckquaesgeek people kept on its high ground. A 1988 archaeology study found no firm evidence of the stockade itself. Source
The Castle Hill Library at 947 Castle Hill Avenue, open since 1981, is getting a $17 million renovation that began in December 2025 and is expected to finish in summer 2027. Source