The 10 Cheapest Philadelphia, PA Neighborhoods To Live In For 2022


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in Philadelphia are the cheapest of the cheap.

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Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I'd much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I'd rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in Philadelphia might be more expensive than living in rural Pennsylvania, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

So what exactly are those Philadelphia neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further -- you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Philadelphia are the cheapest.

What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in Philadelphia for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Marconi Plaza-Packer Park looks to be the cheaptest Philadelphia neighborhood to live in.

At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for -- some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Philadelphia. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Philadelphia that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you're interested in the worst neighborhoods in Philadelphia.

Once you're done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.

For more Pennsylvania reading, check out:

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Philadelphia For 2022

1. Marconi Plaza-Packer Park

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 5,804
Cost Of Living Index: 94 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.5 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.006 (cheapest)
More on Marconi Plaza-Packer Park: Homes For Sale | Data

2. Eastwick

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 10,284
Cost Of Living Index: 94 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.7 (15th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (14th cheapest)
More on Eastwick: Homes For Sale | Data

3. Wissanoning

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 27,190
Cost Of Living Index: 96 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (17th cheapest)
More on Wissanoning: Homes For Sale | Data

4. Richmond

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 43,954
Cost Of Living Index: 96 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (25th cheapest)
More on Richmond: Homes For Sale | Data

5. Haddington-Carroll Park

Haddington-Carroll Park Philadelphia, PA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 35,068
Cost Of Living Index: 92 (7th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (39th cheapest)
More on Haddington-Carroll Park: Homes For Sale | Data

6. Oak Lane

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 42,412
Cost Of Living Index: 99 (24th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.2 (23rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (6th cheapest)
More on Oak Lane: Homes For Sale | Data

7. Morris Park

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 26,860
Cost Of Living Index: 95 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.8 (16th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (22nd cheapest)
More on Morris Park: Homes For Sale | Data

8. Tioga-Nicetown

Tioga-Nicetown Philadelphia, PA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 17,382
Cost Of Living Index: 89 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.028 (48th cheapest)
More on Tioga-Nicetown: Homes For Sale | Data

9. Alleghany West

Alleghany West Philadelphia, PA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 18,676
Cost Of Living Index: 91 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.031 (50th cheapest)
More on Alleghany West: Homes For Sale | Data

10. Elmwood

Elmwood Philadelphia, PA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 24,891
Cost Of Living Index: 95 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.5 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (32nd cheapest)
More on Elmwood: Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Philadelphia Hoods In 2022

In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Philadelphia, we had to determine what criteria defines "cheap".

Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 56 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the "Cheapest City Neighborhood In Philadelphia." We're lookin' at you, Marconi Plaza-Packer Park.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the cheapest places Philadelphia. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Philadelphia

If you're measuring the neighborhoods in Philadelphia where prices are low and it's cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Philadelphia aren't all cheap. City Center West takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Philadelphia.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more Pennsylvania reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Philadelphia For 2022

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Marconi Plaza-Packer Park 94
2 Eastwick 94
3 Wissanoning 96
4 Richmond 96
5 Haddington-Carroll Park 92
6 Oak Lane 99
7 Morris Park 95
8 Tioga-Nicetown 89
9 Alleghany West 91
10 Elmwood 95
11 Holmesburry-Torresdale 99
12 Harrowgate 91
13 Mayfield 100
14 Torresdale 104
15 Cedar Brook 100
16 Juniata Park-Feltonville 92
17 Strawberry Mansion 95
18 Academy Gardens 104
19 Hunting Park 92
20 Fairhill 88
21 Olney 95
22 Frankford 94
23 Fox Chase 109
24 Logan-Fern Rock 96
25 Byberry 110
26 Summerdale 99
27 Germantown 94
28 Hartranft 90
29 Roxborough 114
30 Oxford Circle 99
31 Girard Estates 103
32 Kensington 102
33 Fishtown 113
34 North Central 94
35 Bustleton 112
36 Grays Ferry 96
37 Manayunk 115
38 Wynnefield 100
39 Brewerytown 102
40 Mount Airy 113
41 Rhawnhurst 109
42 Belmont 96
43 Point Breeze 103
44 Pennsport-Whitman-Queen 111
45 South Philadelphia 106
46 Somerton 110
47 Chestnut Hill 139
48 Schuylkill Southwest 123
49 East Falls 112
50 Riverfront 133
51 Cobbs Creek 101
52 Poplar-Ludlow-Yorktowne 103
53 Fairmount-Spring Garden 127
54 Wharton-Hawthorne-Bella Vista 119
55 City Center East 144
56 City Center West 140

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our third time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Philadelphia.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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