Living on the Upper East Side: rent, commute and grades

Manhattan · Updated October 2026

Sidewalk tables outside Lusardi's on Second Avenue, Upper East Side.

Brick row houses with stoops and street trees on East 78th Street, Upper East Side.

Tree-lined Park Avenue looking south from East 64th Street, Upper East Side.

Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side.

Howell House on Park Avenue at East 64th Street in autumn colour, Upper East Side.

Photo credits

Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: smilly, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Patrick Nouhailler's…, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rent on the Upper East Side

$2,891 a month

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

The Upper East Side is cheaper with roommates

Find people looking on the Upper East Side

A+Overall

Upper East Side graded

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

Everyday life

A+Walkability
The average home has 4.9 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 788 places to eat or shop.
Residents: Yorkville is quite walkable, with Citi Bike as a backup. Resident, Oct 2025
City data alone would give A; what residents say in 4 Reddit threads moves it to A+.
AFood and shopping
Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 199 places to eat, 35 kinds of cuisine, 9.7 large grocery stores and 551 open storefronts.
Residents: Nightly's is considered by some residents the best restaurant in the neighborhood. Resident, Oct 2025
City data and 8 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 102 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 568 street trees within 300 m of the average home.
Residents: Near York Avenue, Carl Schurz Park makes for a special morning spot. Resident, Oct 2025
City data alone would give A-; what residents say in 7 Reddit threads moves it to A+.

People

A-Community
32% of households moved in since 2018, 9% are roommates sharing a home, 24% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 136 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: Living alone at 94th Street felt isolating even next to the Q; moving to the low 80s made a big difference. Former resident, Sep 2025
ANightlife
About 108 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: The neighborhood bars are mostly dive bars. Resident, Feb 2025
City data and 5 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.

Home and safety

A-Safety
3.2 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (655 in all).
Residents: Around 80th Street and First Avenue is a very safe area. Former resident, Sep 2025
City data and 4 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.
C+Quiet
28 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: Around 82nd Street and Lexington, new high rises have gone up and the area has become much busier in recent years. Resident, Oct 2026
City data alone would give B; what residents say in 8 Reddit threads moves it to C+.
ABuilding upkeep
5.8 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 3.7 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.
Residents: An updated, spacious prewar walkup with a good landlord, though without laundry in the building. Parent, moved in last year, Aug 2026
City data alone would give A-; what residents say in 4 Reddit threads moves it to A.

Who lives there

Older residents
Recent grads and young professionals

What residents say

Residents like

Food and shoppingNightly's is considered by some residents the best restaurant in the neighborhood. Resident, Oct 2025
NightlifeThe neighborhood bars are mostly dive bars. Resident, Feb 2025
Quiet78th Street between First and Second Avenues is incredibly quiet and peaceful. Resident, Sep 2025
Parks and green spaceNear 89th and First, both Carl Schurz Park and the upper part of Central Park are great. Resident, Sep 2025
Building upkeepAn updated, spacious prewar walkup with a good landlord, though without laundry in the building. Parent, moved in last year, Aug 2026
SafetyFeels safe to come home to late after nights out downtown or in Brooklyn and Queens. Resident, Aug 2024

Residents don’t like

CommunityLiving alone at 94th Street felt isolating even next to the Q; moving to the low 80s made a big difference. Former resident, Sep 2025
QuietAround 82nd Street and Lexington, new high rises have gone up and the area has become much busier in recent years. Resident, Oct 2026
Food and shoppingMom and pop shops and restaurants in avenue walk-ups are disappearing as new development makes the area more generic. Resident, Feb 2025
Building upkeepA first floor apartment near 78th Street had a serious rat problem in the building. Former resident, Sep 2025
NightlifeCalm, with decent restaurants and bars but no real scene; people in their twenties head downtown for fun. Resident, Aug 2024
Food and shoppingIndian, pizza, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern options are mostly weak or very expensive. Resident, Aug 2024

Show 23 moreShow less

Safety

Around 80th Street and First Avenue is a very safe area.
Former resident, Sep 2025
Carl Schurz Park feels safer than Riverside Park on the Upper West Side.
Not a resident, Oct 2026
First Avenue can feel sketchy.
Not a resident, Sep 2025

Community

Some buildings are full of friendly young renters on hybrid work schedules.
Older resident, Aug 2024
Carl Schurz Park has free pickleball courts with long waits but a lively social scene.
Not a resident, Sep 2024

Food and shopping

Grocery options near East 83rd Street are excellent, Trader Joe's included.
Resident since 2020, Sep 2025
Plenty of decent restaurants, but almost none show up on citywide best restaurant or best bar lists.
Resident, Aug 2024
78th Street has several great coffee shops, restaurants and grocery stores within walking distance.
Former resident, Sep 2025

Nightlife

Has plenty of piano and jazz bars, such as Café Carlyle and Brandy's.
Not a resident, Jul 2025
Above 88th Street the neighborhood gets fairly dead at night.
Lifelong resident, Sep 2025
Second Avenue in the mid 80s has become a party strip that is too touristy and rowdy for some residents.
Resident for a decade, Sep 2025

Walkability

Yorkville is quite walkable, with Citi Bike as a backup.
Resident, Oct 2025
Near 96th Street and Lexington everything needed day to day is close by.
New resident, Sep 2025
In the 90s everything is within walking distance.
Resident of almost 4 years, Sep 2025

Quiet

A corner apartment on a main avenue was so noisy that sleeping was hard for a whole year.
Former resident, Feb 2025
A third floor walk-up at 88th Street and Second Avenue is quiet, with lovely neighbors.
Resident, Nov 2024
A quiet place to come home and sleep after going out elsewhere.
Resident, Aug 2024

Parks and green space

Near York Avenue, Carl Schurz Park makes for a special morning spot.
Resident, Oct 2025
Living half a block from Central Park is worth paying more for.
Resident, Nov 2024
Carl Schurz Park near Gracie Mansion is a decent substitute for Riverside Park, and Asphalt Green is a big plus for kids.
Parent, Oct 2026

Building upkeep

A building at 78th Street and First Avenue had mice even on the fourth floor.
Former resident, Sep 2025
A ground floor apartment on 73rd Street near York has never had a rat inside in about five years.
Resident of about 5 years, Sep 2025
A luxury doorman building with a pool and gym still has poor management.
Resident, Nov 2024

Getting around from the Upper East Side

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

59 St 456NRW
68 St-Hunter College 6
72 St Q
77 St 6
86 St 456
86 St Q
96 St 6
Lexington Av/63 St MQ
Roosevelt Island M

Residents: Yorkville has the Second Avenue Q and the Lexington Avenue 4, 5 and 6, plus crosstown and avenue buses. Resident, Oct 2025

Residents: From East 83rd Street, the Second Avenue Q reaches the World Trade Center in about 40 minutes door to door. Resident since 2020, Sep 2025

What to know about the Upper East Side

The Upper East Side is known for Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue, home to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Neue Galerie, and the Frick Collection, along with luxury boutiques and high-end department stores. Source
Park Avenue from 79th to 91st Street is a landmarked corridor of about 64 buildings, mostly apartment houses built after 1907, with planted malls down the middle over the railroad tunnel. Source
By 1900 Yorkville, the area around Third Avenue and East 86th Street, was the center of German-American New York, and East 86th Street from Lexington Avenue to Carl Schurz Park was its main street. Source
Other immigrant groups settled here around 1900 too: Hungarians formed an enclave along East 79th Street between First and Second avenues, and Czechoslovaks settled between 71st and 75th streets east of Second Avenue. Source
Carl Schurz Park is a 15.2-acre park along the East River from East 84th to East 90th Street, east of East End Avenue. Its conservancy, founded as a neighborhood association in 1974, says it is the oldest park conservancy in the city. Source
Gracie Mansion, in Carl Schurz Park, was built in 1799 by the Scottish shipping merchant Archibald Gracie. The city took over the house in 1896, and the park was renamed for the German-born statesman Carl Schurz in 1910. Source