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

Manhattan · Updated October 2026

A row of brownstones with stoops and leafing street trees on West 80th Street in spring.

Cafe tables on the sidewalk under an awning beside a prewar building on West 67th Street.

A row of brownstone townhouses with stoops and street trees on West 69th Street.

A wide paved promenade beside the Hudson River with benches, a marina and the New Jersey shore in sun.

The gabled, turreted Dakota apartment building on Central Park West on a bright day.

Photo credits

Photo: Epicgenius, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Jim.henderson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rent on the Upper West Side

$3,465 a month

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

The Upper West Side is cheaper with roommates

Find people looking on the Upper West Side

A+Overall

Upper West Side graded

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

Everyday life

AWalkability
The average home has 5 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 393 places to eat or shop.
Residents: Columbus Square at 97th Street puts Whole Foods, Target and HomeGoods in one quick shopping stop. Resident, Aug 2026
City data and 7 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.
AFood and shopping
Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 110 places to eat, 29 kinds of cuisine, 6.8 large grocery stores and 262 open storefronts.
Residents: Saiguette at 106th and Columbus is excellent for takeout, though it has no seating. Resident, Aug 2026
City data and 11 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 518 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 640 street trees within 300 m of the average home.
Residents: Dog owners gather off leash before 9 am near the Great Hill in Central Park, entering at 103rd Street. Resident, Aug 2026
City data and 9 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.

People

A-Community
30% of households moved in since 2018, 9% are roommates sharing a home, 20% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 78 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: The walk from Riverside Boulevard toward Lincoln Center and the subway is pleasant, with neighbors met along the way. Resident, Feb 2025
BNightlife
About 61 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: Less foot traffic and fewer late-night stores than in the early 2010s; summer nights are much quieter than a decade ago. Resident since 1993, Sep 2026
City data alone would give A; what residents say in 8 Reddit threads moves it to B.

Home and safety

B+Safety
4 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (874 in all).
Residents: Overall a good, safe neighborhood with most of the services and stores you need. Resident, Jul 2026
City data and 9 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.
C+Quiet
32 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: Military jets pass apartments near the Hudson often, usually in pairs. Resident, Oct 2026
City data alone would give B; what residents say in 11 Reddit threads moves it to C+.
A-Building upkeep
10.3 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 5.9 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.
Residents: Building quality on West 67th is much better than in Greenpoint. Resident, May 2026
City data alone would give B; what residents say in 5 Reddit threads moves it to A-.

Who lives there

Older residents

What residents say

Residents like

SafetyOverall a good, safe neighborhood with most of the services and stores you need. Resident, Jul 2026
CommunityThe walk from Riverside Boulevard toward Lincoln Center and the subway is pleasant, with neighbors met along the way. Resident, Feb 2025
Food and shoppingSaiguette at 106th and Columbus is excellent for takeout, though it has no seating. Resident, Aug 2026
WalkabilityColumbus Square at 97th Street puts Whole Foods, Target and HomeGoods in one quick shopping stop. Resident, Aug 2026
Parks and green spaceFrom Amsterdam and 108th, Central Park, Riverside Park and Morningside Park are all within walking distance. Former resident, Aug 2025
Building upkeepBuilding quality on West 67th is much better than in Greenpoint. Resident, May 2026

Residents don’t like

NightlifeLess foot traffic and fewer late-night stores than in the early 2010s; summer nights are much quieter than a decade ago. Resident since 1993, Sep 2026
QuietMilitary jets pass apartments near the Hudson often, usually in pairs. Resident, Oct 2026
Building upkeepIn older buildings near 69th Street, old radiators can overheat apartments enough that windows stay open at night in December. Resident, Dec 2023
SafetyQuiet blocks get desolate at night; even two blocks from the subway, a cab home after 10pm on weeknights feels necessary. Resident and real estate agent, Aug 2026
Food and shoppingGood coffee is thin in the 80s and 90s; the best espresso is at Solid State on 71st and Plowshares on 104th. Resident, Aug 2025
WalkabilityRiverside Boulevard is far from everything; winter wind makes going out a chore and an Uber downtown costs at least $30. Former resident of 4 years, Feb 2025

Show 22 moreShow less

Safety

Riverside Boulevard between 68th and 69th Streets always felt safe.
Former resident of 4 years, Feb 2025
Walking down Columbus Avenue late at night feels safe, even for a woman out alone.
Resident, Aug 2026
On West End Avenue and Riverside Drive, plenty of doorman buildings make walking home late from the subway feel comfortable.
Resident, Aug 2026

Community

Near the park, running, biking and tennis are easy ways to stay active and meet people.
Not a resident, Aug 2026

Food and shopping

Around Amsterdam and 108th, West Side Market, H Mart and Chick Chick cover groceries, Asian goods and great chicken sandwiches.
Former resident, Aug 2025
Frame cafe on 91st and Broadway serves consistently good coffee and food with friendly service.
Resident, Sep 2025
Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues hold most of the restaurants, though places to eat are spread throughout.
Former resident, Jul 2024

Nightlife

Sleepier and less trendy than Brooklyn; for a night out, residents take the train downtown.
Resident of 3 years, May 2026
Going out in the 80s has felt almost dead since a popular spot moved to Columbus.
Resident, Oct 2026
The Throwback near 95th is a friendly local sports bar that runs events.
Not a resident, Aug 2026

Walkability

Around Lincoln Center most of the everyday services and stores you need are close by.
Resident, Jul 2026
From the 60s near the West Side Highway you can walk to Times Square, Hell's Kitchen, Central Park, museums and Lincoln Center.
Resident, Aug 2026
Around 95th Street and Columbus Avenue, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Target, gyms and many restaurants are within a short walk.
Resident, Oct 2024

Quiet

West 95th has little going on, which makes it a very quiet pocket.
Resident, Aug 2026
The neighborhood feels residential and peaceful, never hectic.
New resident, Jul 2024
Near 69th Street, loud trucks, apparently oil deliveries, and alarms are heard around 4am several times a week.
Resident, Dec 2023

Parks and green space

Dog owners gather off leash before 9 am near the Great Hill in Central Park, entering at 103rd Street.
Resident, Aug 2026
Ultimate frisbee, football and kickball games run in Riverside and Central Parks, and the park suits running.
Resident, Aug 2026
Riverside Boulevard is next to an underrated Riverside Park and has easy access to the Hudson River Greenway.
Former resident of 4 years, Feb 2025

Building upkeep

Shared basement laundry rooms work fine; in-unit washers are rare, especially in prewar buildings.
Renter and owner, Oct 2026
Private rentals west of Broadway in the 100s are mostly in owner-occupied buildings, so they are well maintained.
Former resident, Oct 2024
Many listings cost far more than a year or two ago with no upgrades, still with dated bathrooms and old appliances.
Not a resident, Mar 2026

Getting around from the Upper West Side

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

103 St 1
59 St-Columbus Circle 1ABCD
66 St-Lincoln Center 1
72 St 123
79 St 1
86 St 1
96 St 123
Cathedral Pkwy (110 St) 1

Residents: The 1 train at 110th Street often has weekend service problems; buses are a mostly reliable alternative. Resident, Aug 2025

Residents: Around 103rd to 105th, the subway often skips the closest local stop, so a cab is sometimes needed. Resident, Aug 2026

What to know about the Upper West Side

Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue and Columbus Avenue are the Upper West Side's three commercial corridors, and NYC City Planning notes they serve a large residential population. Source
Riverside Park and Riverside Drive, built in the 1870s north of West 72nd Street along the Hudson River, are a designated New York City Scenic Landmark. Source
Strawberry Fields, Central Park's five-acre memorial to John Lennon with the Imagine mosaic, sits by the park's West 72nd Street entrance. Source
The American Museum of Natural History stands on the west side of Central Park, between 77th and 81st streets. Source
The Upper West Side switched from single-family row houses to flats and apartment buildings after 1900, when rising building costs ended row house construction and the 1904 opening of the IRT subway made the area easier to reach. Source
On West End Avenue, Riverside Drive and West 86th Street, row houses and small flats were torn down and replaced with apartment buildings of 12 to 15 stories, a change the Landmarks Preservation Commission calls rare for how fast it happened. Source