Housing in Upper Northwest at a glance
- Population
- about 91,924
- Housing units
- about 43,900
- Median value, owner-occupied homes
- $316,000Philadelphia: $243,100 (+30%)
- Median gross rent
- $1,220 a monthPhiladelphia: $1,397 (-13%)
- Owner-occupied homes
- 49.6%Philadelphia: 51.8%
- Homes built before 1980
- 89.9%
- Median year built
- 1939 or earlier
Upper Northwest is one of the higher-valued districts of Philadelphia: $316,000, third-highest of ten and 30% above the city's $243,100. Rent behaves differently, since $1,220 is 13% below $1,397 and ranks sixth. Owners and renters balance almost evenly, with 49.6% owning, 2.2 points under the city, and 20,381 renting households slightly outnumbering 20,063 owning ones. The stock is old: pre-1980 homes account for 89.9%, and the midpoint is 1939 or earlier. On the north-west side of the centre, Upper North is worth $181,000 and North $106,000, while Lower North reaches $227,000, so Upper Northwest stands above all of its neighbours on value. Its rent sits just under Lower North's $1,260 and above Upper North's $1,160 and North's $1,140. Its population is 91,924 in 43,900 homes. Upper North has far more owners, 66%, and Lower North far fewer, 36.4%, so Upper Northwest falls between them on tenure.
Questions about Upper Northwest
What is the median home value in Upper Northwest, Philadelphia?
$316,000 for owner-occupied homes, against $243,100 for Philadelphia as a whole (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary). It is the owners' own estimate of their home's value, not a sale price.
What is the median rent in Upper Northwest?
$1,220 a month in gross rent (rent plus utilities paid by the renter), against $1,397 in Philadelphia (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Do most people in Upper Northwest own or rent?
Most rent: 49.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, against 51.8% in Philadelphia (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Data and method
Data as of: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (retrieved 2026-11-02).
Estimate from the 27 census tracts whose internal point lies within the official boundary: counts are summed, and each median is recomputed from the summed value, rent and year-built brackets (grouped median, linear interpolation). The gap with the city is measured with the same method on the whole city.
Upper Northwest is one of the 10 most populous of 18 planning districts of Philadelphia: estimated population about 91,924 (Payotte estimate: Census ACS 2020-2024 populations of the census tracts whose internal point lies inside the boundary; boundaries from City of Philadelphia, Planning Districts (OpenDataPhilly), consulted 2026-11-02).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B01003, B25001, B25003, B25034, B25063, B25064, B25075, B25077; U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer files (census tract internal points). City figures: the same survey, published for Philadelphia as a whole. Home values are owners' estimates, not sale prices.
Near Upper Northwest
The closest sectors of Philadelphia, by distance between population centres.
Other sectors of Philadelphia
All of Philadelphia · Professionals in Pennsylvania · All states
Five trades, one spot each
Payotte lists one professional per trade in Upper Northwest. No one is listed yet: every spot is open.
- Real estate agentOpen spot
- Mortgage loan officerOpen spot
- Home inspectorOpen spot
- Real estate attorneyOpen spot
- AppraiserOpen spot
Work in one of these trades in Upper Northwest? Ask for your spot.