Frequently Asked Questions

What is the least I should expect to pay for rent in Philadelphia? Which neighborhoods are the best bets?

On the 4 Walls site, apartments can be found starting from the following prices.

Philadelphia County
$400-450 for a studio apartment
$550-600 for a 1 bedroom apartment
$650-700 for a 2 bedroom apartment
Germantown, East Mount Airy, West Mount Airy, the Northeast, South Philly, University City, West Philly and Roxborough have lower cost apartment listings.

Center City
$550-600 for a studio apartment
$750-800 for a 1 bedroom apartment
$1100-1200 for a 2 bedroom apartment
Washington Square West, Avenue of the Arts and the Art Museum area are the best places to look for budget apartments. Also look in our “Other Philadelphia” section. Our classifieds for these areas are the best source of budget apartments.

I can’t afford these prices. Do you have any additional advice for renters on a very tight budget?

The tighter the budget, the more time and energy it will take for you to find a good rental housing option. The lowest cost and best value apartments are hard to find because they are rented very quickly.

Many low cost rentals are not advertised. Those that are placed on www.4WallsInPhilly.com, usually rent very quickly. If you would like to examine other resources for finding suitable rental options, we suggest that you consult your local newspaper. In our neighborhood profiles, we have links to the local newspapers we know that have online versions. If you already live in the area, pick up a copy of your neighborhood paper and look for bargains in the classified section.

Although there are no truly crime-free neighborhoods, some areas are safer than others. Before you sign a lease, carefully investigate the neighborhood. Although crime exists in every Philadelphia neighborhood, including the most upscale suburban ones, there is a tremendous difference in the crime rate neighborhood by neighborhoods. If the rent seems too good to be true, it might be a rare bargain or a problem rental. Proceed with caution.

By the way, you can research crime statistics for Philadelphia by neighborhood at www.phila.gov.

Pricing for some landlords varies depending on the time of the year. During the “busy season” – March – October, you will pay the most for a rental apartment and will find that landlords are likely not to negotiate. From November-February, you are more likely to find discounts and special pricing.

If you still can’t find anything in your budget, consider finding a roommate. A number of services including www.easyroommate.com are available online.

Over 12,000 people visited 4WallsInPhilly.com in December, 2003. These are the neighborhoods that they browsed the most often. Not surprisingly, these neighborhoods also command higher rents.

Rittenhouse Square
Manayunk

Montgomery County was the most popular suburban destination.

While all neighborhoods have local restaurants, the following neighborhoods are nightlife and dining destinations:

Old City, Manayunk, South Street, Avenue of the Arts

These neighborhoods have a high density of restaurants and local bars:

Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square West, Chestnut Hill

Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, Washington Square West, Avenue of the Arts, Society Hill, Old City, Graduate Hospital, South Street and parts of The Parkway are in the heart of Center City.

Neighborhoods that are adjacent or very close to this core area include the Art Museum, Northern Liberties, University City, Powelton Village, South Philadelphia, Queens Village and Bella Vista. As rental housing prices have risen, many people have chosen to move to these neighborhoods which offer a city living experience (e.g. densely populated areas with neighborhood restaurants/bars/bus service) but aren’t an easy walk to the downtown area.

Fitler Square and Society Hill are filled with lovely brownstones and dotted with local restaurants and shops and tend to be quieter than other neighborhoods.

People vary widely in what they define as a good school. The good news is that there is a lot of data to help you decide. The PA Department of Education web site http://www.pde.state.pa.us provides some useful statistics. The PSK12 web site ranks individual Pennsylvania schools based on standardized test scores results. http://www.psk12.com/rating/index.php

The Philadelphia Parking Authority issues low cost parking permits, so it is possible to park on city streets. Further, unlike other major cities (e.g. New York City), Philadelphia doesn’t have alternate side of the street parking regulations.

While it is possible to obtain street parking, it can take 15-20 minutes (and sometimes longer) to find a parking spot in Center City neighborhoods at night.

Paid parking lots are widely available and vary in cost and quality. Plan on spending $150-225 on a monthly parking spot.

Parking in Philadelphia neighborhoods outside of the core Center City neighborhoods is much easier. The one exception is Manayunk which has a dining, shopping and bar scene that attracts thousands of people at night and during the weekends.

Most suburban rental properties have free parking lots.

4WallsInPhilly.com was created to supplement the resources that are out there to help people who need to move into a rental home or apartment in the Philadelphia region.

We are building this site in response to our own personal experiences helping our employees, friends and families find apartments and rentals homes. Our research confirmed that there is a need for a site for Philadelphians, by Philadelphians that will reduce the time and stress involved in finding an apartment or rental home.

We make money by offering cost-effective advertising opportunities to property owners, property management companies and local merchants. We sell enhanced listings which offer more information than our basic listings including detailed descriptions of apartment features, the rental community, and pictures and floor plans.

On the other hand, we WILL NOT use our site to make money in any way that compromises your privacy or diminishes your search experience. For instance, WE WON'T sell e-mail addresses or information about our customers to any third party and WE WON'T sell annoying pop-up advertisements.