Housing in West at a glance
- Population
- about 113,438
- Housing units
- about 57,194
- Median value, owner-occupied homes
- $156,000Philadelphia: $243,100 (-36%)
- Median gross rent
- $1,180 a monthPhiladelphia: $1,397 (-16%)
- Owner-occupied homes
- 47.7%Philadelphia: 51.8%
- Homes built before 1980
- 89.1%
- Median year built
- 1939 or earlier
West lies south-west of Philadelphia's population centre and pairs low values with old housing. The typical home is valued at $156,000, ninth of ten and 36% below the city's $243,100, and 89.1% of the stock is pre-1980, the midpoint being 1939 or earlier. Rent is $1,180, 16% under $1,397. Ownership stands at 47.7%, 4.1 points below the city, though 25,265 renting households do outnumber the 23,073 owning ones. The contrast with its neighbours is steep. A home in Central is valued at $570,000, one in South at $326,000, and one in Lower North at $227,000, so West costs less than each of them by a wide margin on value, and its rent is well under Central's $1,940 and South's $1,550. West counts 113,438 residents and 57,194 homes. Owners are far more numerous in South, 59.4%, and fewer in Central, 36.5%, and Lower North, 36.4%.
Questions about West
What is the median home value in West, Philadelphia?
$156,000 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 West?
$1,180 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 West own or rent?
Most rent: 47.7% 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 26 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.
West is one of the 10 most populous of 18 planning districts of Philadelphia: estimated population about 113,438 (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 West
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 West. 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 West? Ask for your spot.