Can’t Swing the Price of a Home in Your Dream Philly Neighborhood? Consider These Excellent Alternatives

From the city to the burbs to South Jersey, here’s the rundown on your dream neighborhoods — and their more affordable counterparts.

If You Like Queen Village, Try Fishtown

Queen Village

Queen Village began as part of Philadelphia’s first “suburb” — Southwark, the city’s oldest residential neighborhood, settled by the Swedes as part of their New Sweden colony in the 1650s. In the late 1960s, city planners eager to revive and upgrade working-class Southwark split the neighborhood in two and named its eastern half for the queen of Sweden. Here you’ll find some of the city’s oldest wood-frame rowhouses, dating to the 1700s, and Fabric Row, long home to the city’s fabric merchants and now best known for the Famous 4th Street Deli. (Neighboring Bella Vista, another ’hood that was revitalized in the ’60s, is almost as historic and just as pretty — and home to the famed Italian Market.) South Street, which runs along the neighborhood’s northern edge, has long been a center of entertainment and nightlife, and intimate restaurants dot its streets.

Claim to fame: Queen Village is home to Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church, the oldest church building in the city.

Facts & Figures

Median house value: $524,900

Median household income: $104,190

Homeownership rate: 54.7%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 93.1%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 35.7%

Median age: 36

Average household size: 2

Neighborhood public schools: William M. Meredith and George W. Nebinger, both K-8. These feed Horace Furness High School in Pennsport.

Figures are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-23, for zip code 19147 (Bella Vista/Queen Village).

A 2,700-square-foot home in Queen Village

Sale price: $920,000
Asking price: $900,000
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 half

Fishtown

Fishtown shares a working-class heritage with Queen Village. It was settled in the 1720s — the oldest part of Kensington — and welcomed waves of immigrants from Germany, Poland, and Ireland in the 19th century. The once-insular (and almost totally white) neighborhood underwent a transformation as young artists and professionals moved in starting in the early 2000s. Today, Fishtown is one of the city’s hippest — and busiest — neighborhoods. Its two main drags, Girard and Frankford avenues, are lined with restaurants, bars, and one-of-a-kind shops — one of which is Harriett’s, a Black-owned progressive bookstore that would not have been possible in the Fishtown of days gone by.

Claim to fame: The neighborhood gets its name from the Delaware River fisheries in which most of its men worked in the early 19th century.

Facts & Figures

Median house value:  $373,600

Median household income: $110,842

Homeownership rate: 60%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 94%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 36.4%

Commute

• 25.4% work from home
• 45.9% commute to work by car
• 16.5% use public transportation
• 4.1% bike to work
• 6.9% walk to work

Median age: 35

Average household size: 2.09

Neighborhood public schools: Alexander Adaire (K-8); Penn Treaty High School.

Figures are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-23, for zip code 19125 (Fishtown).

A 2,700-square-foot home in Fishtown

1133 East Montgomery Avenue
A new modern rowhouse next to rebuilt neighbors

Sale price: $620,000
Asking price: $629,000
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 half

---

If You Like Chestnut Hill, Try Mount Airy

Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill sits atop the heap of Philadelphia neighborhoods, literally: Not only does the leafy neighborhood contain the city’s highest point, but it’s also home to the highest median house values in the city. Henry Howard Houston, the Pennsylvania Railroad baron who made Chestnut Hill’s west side the address of choice for Philadelphia’s moneyed folk in the late 1800s, wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Its business district along Germantown Avenue sports a diverse array of independent shopkeepers, some of whom live on its not-as-tony east side. But many of their customers, as well as the diners in its restaurants, come from just down the hill in Mount Airy, and from even farther-flung locales in the city.

Claim to fame: Chestnut Hill is home to Woodmere Art Museum, which features Philly artists, and the Morris Arboretum, the state’s official arboretum.

Facts & Figures

Median house value: $688,000

Median household income: $105,667

Homeownership rate: 50%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 98.1%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 28.7%

Commute

• 29.9% work from home
• 47.2% commute to work by car
• 14.6% use public transportation
• 0.3% bike to work
• 6.9% walk to work

Median age: 47

Average household size: 1.96

Neighborhood public schools: John Story Jenks Academy of Arts and Sciences (K-8), which feeds Roxborough High School.

Figures are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-23, for zip code 19118 (Chestnut Hill).

A 2,700-square-foot home in Chestnut Hill

151 West Gravers Lane
A modern twin designed by prominent local architect William McDowell

Sale price: $860,000
Asking price: $885,000
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2 full, 2 half

Mount Airy

Mount Airy is one of only a few Philly neighborhoods to have a song written about it (Pieces of a Dream’s “Mt. Airy Groove”), and fair enough: It has a funkier reputation than its uphill neighbor. It made a name for itself when its white residents decided to welcome their new Black neighbors in the 1950s instead of fleeing from them, and that integrated, warm, and progressive spirit still permeates the neighborhood today. With two art centers, plenty of green space and nature, a theological seminary, and an Irish-American club all within its borders, residents tend to take pride in the neighborhood’s eclectic nature.

Claim to fame: Residents decided to fight “blockbusting” and white flight in the 1950s at a meeting at the Allens Lane Art Center, still a neighborhood institution.

Facts & Figures

Median house value: $326,600

Median household income: $81,609

Homeownership rate: 64.6%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 95.7%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 22.5%

Commute

• 26.9% work from home
• 52.2% commute to work by car
• 16.6% use public transportation
• 0.9% bike to work
• 1.7% walk to work

Median age: 42

Average household size: 2.13

Neighborhood public schools: Eleanor C. Emlen (K-5); Charles W. Henry and Henry H. Houston (K-8) feed Roxborough High School.

Figures are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-23, for zip code 19119 (Mount Airy).

A 2,700-square-foot home in Mount Airy

6647 Lincoln Drive
A classic stone twin near Carpenter Train Station

Sale price: $565,000
Asking price: $564,900
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 half

---

If You Like Haddonfield, Try Collingswood

Haddonfield

If you think Chestnut Hill and the Main Line are tony, you should visit Haddonfield sometime. House values in South Jersey’s most affluent suburb put those in all but one or two Main Line communities to shame. (So do its huge, freestanding houses and sprawling yards on tree-lined streets.) And its charming main street, Kings Highway, has high-end boutiques that rival those in Wayne and Chestnut Hill — even the local thrift shops are classy affairs. One of the notable annual events in this historic community is the reenactment of the June 1778 battle when Continental Army troops confronted British forces; meanwhile, natural history lovers flock to see the place where Hadrosaurus foulkii, the first nearly complete dinosaur fossil ever to be unearthed, was discovered. A sculpture of the beast graces Kings Highway.

Claim to fame: The state Assembly approved the Declaration of Independence at the Indian King Tavern, Jersey’s oldest state historic site.

Facts & Figures

Median house value: $708,800

Median household income: $90,882

Homeownership rate: 83%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 98.5%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 37.7%

Commute

• 26.3% work from home
• 63.9% commute to work by car
• 7.9% use public transportation
• 0.1% bike to work
• 1.5% walk to work

Median age: 39

Average household size: 2.94

Neighborhood school district: Haddonfield.

Figures are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-23, for the borough of Haddonfield.

A 2,700-square-foot home in Haddonfield

730 West Redman Avenue
A post-WWII center-hall colonial with a backyard pool

Sale price: $999,000
Asking price: $995,000
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 half

Collingswood

In contrast to nearby Haddonfield, Collingswood is more of a rags-to-riches story. Its revival began when a local realtor and some of her neighbors organized a farmers market beneath the PATCO tracks in 2000. The modest market has grown into one of the region’s biggest and best, running from May to Thanksgiving, and has helped spark a downtown renaissance along Haddon Avenue. That street now buzzes with activity thanks to its slew of shops, family-friendly eateries, and South Jersey’s best fine-dining scene — which is easier on the wallet than you might guess because all the restaurants are BYOBs. So are Haddonfield’s, for that matter: Both were founded by Quakers and are thus nominally dry towns. But don’t worry — you can find a craft brewery in both.

Claim to fame: Collingswood is home to one of South Jersey’s largest performing arts venues, the 1,050-seat Scottish Rite Auditorium.

Facts & Figures

Median house value: $346,300

Median household income: $83,917

Homeownership rate: 54.1%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 94.4%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 27.3%

Commute

• 19.9% work from home
• 65.4% commute to work by car
• 11.7% use public transportation
• 0.6% bike to work
• 1.5% walk to work

Median age: 40

Average household size: 2.1

Neighborhood school district: Collingswood.

A 2,700-square-foot home in Collingswood

426 West Collings Avenue
Another center-hall colonial, sans pool but facing Knight Park

Sale price: $635,000
Asking price: $575,000
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 half

---

If You Like Wayne, Try Ardmore

Wayne

Truth to tell, in just about every Main Line community, you can pay a fortune for a house or you can pay a relative pittance. But the bargains are more plentiful in some places than others. So it is with Wayne and Ardmore. Wayne, Radnor Township’s commercial crossroads and one of the Main Line’s pricier and most sought-after communities, offers an impressive lineup of restaurants and convivial bars, plus art galleries, charming boutiques that draw shoppers from all over the Main Line, and much more. It’s all arrayed around a picturesque main drag surrounded by streets lined with everything from modest colonials to Gilded Age manors. Residents love its small-town walkability, and — as the demographic stats show — it’s also known as a family-friendly town, thanks in part to its highly regarded school district.

Claim to fame: Wayne is home to both Valley Forge Military Academy and the Chanticleer pleasure garden.

Facts & Figures

Median house value: $664,900

Median household income: $143,981

Homeownership rate:59.6%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 92.6%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 36.9%

Commute

• 19.1% work from home
• 66% commute to work by car
• 6.7% use public transportation
• 0% bike to work
• 7.1% walk to work

Median age: 44

Average household size: 2.53

Neighborhood school district: Radnor Township.

Figures are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-23, for Wayne CDP (Census-Designated Place). 

A 2,700-square-foot home in Wayne

229 East Beechtree Lane
A mid-century center-hall colonial with a backyard gazebo

Sale price: $1,353,000
Asking price: $1,275,000
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 half

Ardmore

Ardmore’s downtown is the Main Line’s biggest and busiest, with scores of locally owned shops both along Lancaster Avenue and adjacent streets and across the tracks in Suburban Square. You can also catch live music in multiple spots (among them, Ardmore Music Hall) and find plenty of other dining and entertainment options. Like Wayne, this town is a longtime Main Line favorite for families; unlike Wayne, median house values are — for now — still under half a million bucks. It also has a top-flight school district that is the Main Line’s most diverse (which, admittedly, may not be saying much), partly due to the presence of the Main Line’s oldest and largest Black community.

Claim to fame: In Ardmore, you’ll find the east course of the Merion Golf Club, one of the 10 best golf courses in the country, according to Golf Digest.

Facts & Figures

Median house value: $446,300

Median household income: $115,273

Homeownership rate: 62.1%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 98.5%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 33.7%

Commute

• 28% work from home
• 56.8% commute to work by car
• 8.6% use public transportation
• 0.9% bike to work
• 5.4% walk to work

Median age: 39

Average household size: 2.18

Neighborhood school district: Lower Merion.

Figures are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-23, for Ardmore CDP (Census-Designated Place).

A 2,700-square-foot home in Ardmore

12 Schoolhouse Lane
An updated traditional twin near Lower Merion High

Sale price: $655,000
Asking price: $667,500
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 half

---

If You Like Doylestown, Try Media

Doylestown

The Philadelphia region is blessed with several attractive county courthouse towns. Doylestown and Media are the smallest, and both exude small-town homeyness. Picture-perfect Doylestown in Bucks County — known for its relaxed vibe and colonial charm — features a lively downtown with lots of history, including the building that once was William Doyle’s 1745 tavern at its center (now it’s a Starbucks) and streets lined with 18th- and 19th-century houses. The County Theater is a landmark Art Deco movie palace, and local shopkeepers and innkeepers offer a wide range of goods and fare. In fact, it was the town shopkeepers who kept Doylestown from being urban-renewed into oblivion in the 1960s. Today, while subdivisions sprout like crabgrass in neighboring Doylestown Township, the borough still has the air of a country-crossroads market town.

Claim to fame: Henry Mercer’s reinforced-concrete attractions, Fonthill Castle, the Mercer Museum, and Tile Works, are all located here, as is the Michener Art Museum.

Facts & Figures

Median house value: $491,700

Median household income: $93,672

Homeownership rate: 49.9%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 98%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 38%

Commute

• 18% work from home
• 73% commute to work by car
• 0.2% use public transportation
• 0% bike to work
• 8.3% walk to work

Median age: 52

Average household size: 1.92

Neighborhood school district: Central Bucks.

Figures are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-23, for the borough of Doylestown.

A 2,700-square-foot home in Doylestown

11 Timothy Drive
A renovated mid-century center-hall colonial within walking distance of State and Main

Sale price: $922,000
Asking price: $937,000
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 half

Media

Media’s throwback is the trolley that runs down the middle of its main street (maybe the last of its kind in a U.S. suburb), passing a classic five-and-dime store along the way. (That said, like Doylestown, Media is highly walkable.) America’s first Fair Trade town takes pride in its socially conscious businesses, and on summer Wednesday nights, State Street turns into a giant outdoor café as the town’s scores of restaurants take it over. You’ll find everything from modest brick rowhouses to big modern contemporary (and traditional) stand-alones on Media’s tranquil streets, but if you’re looking to buy, chances are you may end up living outside the borough, as most of the properties in Media itself are rentals these days. But don’t fret: There are lots of appealing properties in surrounding Upper Providence and Nether Providence townships.

Claim to fame: Media’s retro movie palace, the Media Theatre, was converted to a live theater in 1994 and is home to Delco’s only professional theater company.

Facts & Figures

Median house value: $398,700

Median household income: $86,219

Homeownership rate: 38.1%

Education

• Residents with a high school diploma or higher: 97.6%
• Residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 28.7%

Commute

• 19.6% work from home
• 69.9% commute to work by car
• 6.6% use public transportation
• 0.3% bike to work
• 3.7% walk to work

Median age: 43

Average household size: 1.85

Neighborhood school district: Rose Tree Media.

Figures are from the Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2019-23, for the borough of Media.

A 2,700-square-foot home in Media

14 Pembroke Drive
A renovated mid-century rancher near Elwyn Station in Middletown Township

Sale price: $625,000
Asking price: $599,000
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 1 full, 1 half

Published as “Neighborhood Watch” in the March 2025 issue of Philadelphia magazine.

---