Living in Lincoln Square: rent, commute and grades

Manhattan · Updated November 2026

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Rent in Lincoln Square

$3,465 a month

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

A+Overall

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

AWalkability
The average home has 4.9 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 448 places to eat or shop.
AFood and shopping
Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 126 places to eat, 29 kinds of cuisine, 7.3 large grocery stores and 299 open storefronts.
Residents: Memorable restaurants and cafes are hard to find. Former resident, Aug 2026
City data and 4 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.
A+Parks and green space
100% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park of an acre or more, with about 725 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 472 street trees within 300 m of the average home.
Residents: Central Park and Riverside Park South are both close by. Resident of 25+ years, Aug 2026
City data and 3 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.

B+Community
33% of households moved in since 2018, 9% are roommates sharing a home, 17% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 97 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: The area has a real neighborhood vibe. New resident, Aug 2026
A-Nightlife
About 74 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: Plenty of good bars within walking distance. Resident, May 2025
City data alone would give A; what residents say in 4 Reddit threads moves it to A-.

B+Safety
3.8 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (263 in all).
Residents: Very safe, clean and an easy neighborhood to live in. Resident, Aug 2026
A-Quiet
25 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: Does not feel like Midtown: much quieter and less crowded. Resident, May 2025
A+Building upkeep
3 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 2.5 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.
Residents: A shared three-bedroom apartment here was run-down with a mouse infestation. Shares a three-bedroom, Mar 2025

Building upkeepA shared three-bedroom apartment here was run-down with a mouse infestation. Shares a three-bedroom, Mar 2025
NightlifeThe area feels dead, with little going on compared with other places to live. Former resident, Aug 2026
CommunityThe area feels fairly commercial; more of a neighborhood feel comes further up the Upper West Side. Resident, May 2025

Show 16 moreShow less

Very safe, clean and an easy neighborhood to live in.
Resident, Aug 2026
Feels very safe to live in.
Resident of about 4 years, Aug 2026
Considered one of the safest neighborhoods in the city.
Not a resident, May 2026

The area does not have much of a neighborhood feel.
Resident of 1 year, May 2025

A great area, but not energetic enough for someone in their 20s looking for nightlife.
Not a resident, Jun 2025
A bit boring, but the livelier parts of Hell's Kitchen and the Upper West Side are within walking distance.
Not a resident, May 2025
No shortage of bars and things to do in and around the neighborhood.
Works in the neighborhood, Aug 2026

Does not feel like Midtown: much quieter and less crowded.
Resident, May 2025
A slower pace than most of Manhattan, less crowded and more residential.
Resident, Aug 2026
A little too busy for someone wanting a calmer place.
Not a resident, Aug 2026

Central Park and Riverside Park South are both close by.
Resident of 25+ years, Aug 2026
Walks along the Hudson at sunset and picnics in Central Park are part of daily life.
Resident, Aug 2026
Being so close to Central Park is great, especially with a dog.
Resident, May 2025

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

Residents: Easy to get around the city, with most destinations reachable on the 1 train. Resident of about 4 years, Aug 2026

Residents: Close enough to walk to work in Midtown. Former resident, May 2025

Lincoln Square is anchored by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, home to eleven resident organizations including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, the New York Philharmonic and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Source
Broadway is the spine of the neighborhood, with 10 planted center malls between 60th and 70th streets. Source
Two small parks on Broadway, Dante Park at West 63rd Street and Richard Tucker Park at West 66th Street, are kept up by the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District. Richard Tucker Park has a Greenmarket every Thursday and Saturday. Source
The name Lincoln Square, used since the early 1800s for the area around the meeting of Broadway and Columbus Avenue, does not refer to Abraham Lincoln but to a long-forgotten local landowner. Source
In the first half of the 20th century, the area around today's Lincoln Center was known as San Juan Hill, a lively cultural center whose theaters and dance halls nurtured ragtime, jazz, bebop and mambo musicians. Source
In the 1950s, the Lincoln Square urban renewal plan displaced more than 7,000 families and 800 businesses and replaced hundreds of buildings with superblocks: Fordham University, Lincoln Towers and Lincoln Center. Source
West 67th Street off Central Park West is lined with artists' studio cooperatives from the early 1900s, starting with the studio building at 23-27 West 67th Street, built in 1901-03 with double-height, north-lit studios attached to living quarters. Source