Living in Wakefield: rent, commute and grades

The Bronx · Updated October 2026

A stone arch viaduct over a railway line framed by green trees.
The elevated 233rd Street station with a glass-fronted entrance above the street and parked cars.
The red-roofed 241st Street station stairs at dusk on White Plains Road with a train passing.
A stone viaduct crossing wide railway tracks beside trees.
A red brick library with a green arched doorway and a street tree.
Photo credits

This guide also covers Woodlawn, which shares Wakefield’s official city boundaries.

Rent in Wakefield

$1,425 a month

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

Wakefield is cheaper with roommates

Find people looking in Wakefield
DOverall

Wakefield graded

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

Everyday life

  • CWalkability

    The average home has 4.1 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 112 places to eat or shop.

    Residents: You can live in Woodlawn without a car, but having one makes life noticeably easier. Resident, Feb 2026

  • C-Food and shopping

    Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 21 places to eat, 9 kinds of cuisine, 1.2 large grocery stores and 75 open storefronts.

    Residents: Katonah Avenue and McLean Avenue have nice places to eat. Former resident of 8 years, Oct 2025

    City data and 5 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.

  • DParks and green space

    63% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park of an acre or more, with about 193 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 323 street trees within 300 m of the average home.

People

  • B-Community

    19% of households moved in since 2018, 5% are roommates sharing a home, 20% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 6 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

  • C+Nightlife

    About 4 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

    Residents: Katonah Avenue and McLean Avenue have nice places to grab a drink. Former resident of 8 years, Oct 2025

    City data alone would give D; what residents say in 4 Reddit threads moves it to C+.

Home and safety

  • CSafety

    9.4 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (464 in all).

    Residents: Crime in Woodlawn has gone up compared with earlier years, though it is still a good area. Born and raised there, Feb 2026

    City data alone would give D; what residents say in 7 Reddit threads moves it to C.

  • B-Quiet

    38 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: Woodlawn is a quiet area. Resident, Apr 2025

    City data alone would give C+; what residents say in 3 Reddit threads moves it to B-.

  • FBuilding upkeep

    57.3 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 22.3 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.

    Residents: On a Wakefield block of houses, the neighbors are house proud and keep their homes up. Resident, Aug 2025

Who lives there

  • A mix of ages

What residents say

Residents like

Residents don’t like

Show 13 moreShow less

Safety

Community

  • For someone in their early twenties, there are not many people the same age; the social scene is neighborhood hangouts.

    Not a resident, Feb 2024

Food and shopping

Nightlife

Walkability

  • You can live in Woodlawn without a car, but having one makes life noticeably easier.

    Resident, Feb 2026

Quiet

Getting around from Wakefield

Map of New York City neighborhoods shaded by travel time by subway or bus from Wakefield
By subway or bus, arriving by 9:00 on a weekday:Under 30 min30 to 45 min45 to 60 minOver an hourWakefield
  • 233 St 25
  • Nereid Av 25
  • Wakefield-241 St 2

Residents: From near the Woodlawn Metro-North station, Grand Central is about 30 minutes door to door. Resident of 5 years, Jun 2025

Residents: Woodlawn is far from a subway line, and bus traffic makes a commute to Hell's Kitchen difficult. Resident, Feb 2026

What to know about Wakefield

  • Wakefield, in the northernmost part of the Bronx, is a residential neighborhood with a strong Caribbean identity. A 2023 city study found almost 40% of residents were born abroad, most often in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana or Nigeria. Source
  • Wakefield is named after George Washington's birthplace, a Virginia plantation. It was part of Westchester County until New York City annexed it in 1895. Source
  • The IRT subway line, built in the 1920s, brought Irish, Italian and Eastern European immigrants. After 1965 Caribbean families followed, and by the 1980s Wakefield had become a center of Caribbean life. Source
  • White Plains Road, served by the 2 and 5 trains, is the main shopping street, with more businesses along East 233rd Street. Beauty supply shops and salons lead, alongside grocery and specialty food stores and quick-service restaurants. Source
  • Wakefield is made up mainly of one- and two-family homes. Source
  • Shoelace Park, the northern section of Bronx Park, runs along the banks of the Bronx River and has a kayak launch at East 219th Street. Source
  • Woodlawn, at the Bronx's northern tip between Van Cortlandt Park and Woodlawn Cemetery, centers on Katonah Avenue, its main commercial street, a destination for its restaurants and specialty shops. Source
  • Woodlawn Cemetery, established in 1863, is a 400-acre non-sectarian cemetery that was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011. Source

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Sources

Facts about Wakefield:

Data behind the grades: