Is Boerum Hill Safe? Brooklyn Livability, Crime & Rent
Choose Boerum Hill if your commute to Manhattan or your work-from-home routine is non-negotiable and you prioritize restaurant access over parks; otherwise, compare to neighborhoods with stronger outdoor infrastructure at the same transit tier.
Boerum Hill at a glance
- Borough
- Brooklyn
- Livability score
- 5.5/10
- Borough rank (listing-scored guides)
- #7 of 11
- Median listing
- $965K
- Subway stations
- 7 (Nevins St, High St, Borough Hall/Court St)
- Active listings
- 73
- Data updated
- 2026-04-05
Is Boerum Hill Safe?
Boerum Hill, Brooklyn scores 5.5/10 for overall livability, ranking #7 of 11 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from for-sale listings. Choose Boerum Hill if your commute to Manhattan or your work-from-home routine is non-negotiable and you prioritize restaurant access over parks; otherwise, compare to neighborhoods with stronger outdoor infrastructure at the same transit tier.
The livability score is the median DwellScore of 73 for-sale listings scored as of 2026-04-05. It does not include crime; NYPD complaint and shooting figures are on the Boerum Hill safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Boerum Hill address below for a block-level breakdown.
Score Overview
Vertical line = borough median. Scale: 0-10.
Practical measures unit features of the listings: in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age. Scores and borough medians come from for-sale listings, so they are not comparable with the NYC Open Data guides.
Neighborhood Character
Boerum Hill is a transit powerhouse masquerading as a neighborhood. You're buying proximity to Manhattan—five subway lines within walking distance, including the 2/3/4/5 corridor that defines commuter convenience. The streets themselves are atmospheric: cobblestone blocks, century-old brownstones, and Atlantic Avenue's dense cluster of restaurants and antique dealers create texture that newer Brooklyn developments can't replicate. But the tradeoff is real. You get 132 trees per 200m (decent density), yet only 2/10 canopy coverage, meaning summer heat radiates off pavement. Fort Greene Park is nearly a kilometer away. This is a neighborhood optimized for people who spend their waking hours elsewhere—either commuting into the city or working from home—and need walkable restaurants and reliable transit more than they need green space.
Analysis based on 73 properties scored across 30+ data points
Livability & Restoration
Tree Canopy
132 trees
Avg within 200m of listings | Density: 2/10
In Toronto, 10 more trees on a city block went with a rise in self-rated health comparable to being 7 years younger (Kardan et al., 2015, Scientific Reports). In a cross-sectional study of London boroughs, each additional street tree per km of street went with 1.18 fewer antidepressant prescriptions per 1,000 residents (Taylor et al., 2015, Landscape and Urban Planning).
Park Access
Fort Greene Park
Avg 913m from listings to the nearest major park | Park proximity score (listing average): 7.3/10
Acoustic Quality
5/10
Noise proxy score (higher = quieter)
Environmental noise exposure increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease; WHO's night-noise guidelines call average outdoor night noise above 55 dB increasingly dangerous for public health (Basner et al., 2014, The Lancet).
Street Character
2.2/10
Enclosure: 2.2/10
What is the ART Score?
ART stands for Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989) — the framework environmental psychologists use to measure whether a place helps your brain recover from mental fatigue, or pushes it deeper into overload. Cities deplete directed attention (the effortful focus you use at work); exposure to restorative environments replenishes it.
DwellCheck uses the idea in two separate places, and they measure different things. The neighborhood ART score below is the median of DwellScore’s ART scores across 73 for-sale listings in the neighborhood. An address report has no ART score. It runs the Wellness checks below, and their points go into the address’s overall score.
Within a point of the Brooklyn median.
What an address report checks instead (Wellness)
- ±Sensory environment. A calm score minus a busy score, each starting at 50. Busy: a firehouse within 100m (+15) or 200m (+8), and 311 noise complaints within 200m over 6 months (15+ adds 5, 40+ adds 12, 80+ adds 20, and 3 more at 20+ complaints that include vehicle or street noise). Calm: a library (+15), community garden (+12) or public plaza or atrium (POPS; +15 indoor, +8 outdoor) within 200m, and a park within 300m (+10; +15 at 1+ acre; +20 at 5+ acres). A difference of +20 or more adds 8 points; −10 to −29 costs 2; −30 or less costs 4. Bars, museums, tourists and foot traffic are not counted.
- +Third places (Oldenburg, 1989). Public libraries, public plazas and atriums (POPS) and community gardens within 400m: 1–2 add 5 points, 3 or more add 10. Cafés and community centers are not counted. In a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies, loneliness or social isolation went with a 29% higher risk of incident coronary heart disease (Valtorta et al., 2016, Heart).
- 0Street vitality (Jacobs, 1961). Permitted block parties, farmers markets and similar community events in the borough over the past 12 months. The event data has no coordinates, so this is a borough-wide count shown for context. It doesn’t change the score.
Health mechanism. The theory holds that natural settings let directed attention recover. The evidence is mixed: a systematic review of 31 studies (Ohly et al., 2016, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B) found that time in natural environments improved 3 of 13 pooled attention measures (Digit Span Forward, Digit Span Backward and Trail Making Test B) and showed no marked benefit on the other 10.
Theoretical foundations. Kaplan & Kaplan (1989), The Experience of Nature; Jacobs (1961), The Death and Life of Great American Cities; Oldenburg (1989), The Great Good Place.
Transit & Commute
Subway Stations
Commute Score
9.6/10
Borough median: 8/10
Walk Score Proxy
2.2/10
Based on street geometry analysis
Financial Landscape
Median Price
$965K
Price per Sq Ft
$1283
Price Distribution
Scored Listings by Building Type
Investment Indicators
Avg Days on Market
97
Market velocity signal
Multi-Family Stock
0%
2-4 family buildings
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
132
Within 200m of listings
Canopy Density
2/10
Average canopy-density score of the scored listings
Nearest Major Parks
- Fort Greene Park
- McCarren Park
Listings average 913m to their nearest major park.
Outdoor Space Types
Practical Living
Practical (unit features): 5.9/10 (Brooklyn median 6.4). It measures unit features of the listings: in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age.
Scored Listings by Building Type
Share of the 73 scored for-sale listings, not of all buildings.
Bedroom Distribution
Laundry Availability
Who Boerum Hill Is For
Manhattan commuters
Commute score 9.6/10 with direct 2/3/4/5 lines to Midtown and Lower Manhattan. Cost-of-living lower than Park Slope or Williamsburg with equivalent transit access.
Food-focused professionals
Atlantic Avenue restaurant and antique corridor is your primary neighborhood amenity. High walkability for dining and shopping compensates for limited parks.
Young families with urban flexibility
Brownstone character appeals to families; practical score 5.9/10 reflects mid-range unit features in its listings (laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms, building age). Transit access offsets limited playgrounds.
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Exceptional commute infrastructure
Subway lines A, C, F, R, 2, 3, 4 and 5 stop nearby; commute score 9.6/10.
Walkable restaurant and retail corridor
Atlantic Avenue's antique and dining cluster creates neighborhood character without relying on parks or public spaces.
Historic architecture and tree-lined blocks
Brownstone streetscape with 132 trees per 200m provides aesthetic appeal and some summer cooling.
More affordable than peer neighborhoods
Similar transit access to Park Slope and Prospect Heights with lower rental/purchase premiums.
Trade-offs
Minimal green space and poor canopy coverage
Outdoor score 2.5/10; only 2/10 canopy density despite 132 trees per 200m means limited shade and cooling.
Listings average 913 meters to the nearest major park
Scored listings average 913m to their nearest major park (Fort Greene Park is the one listed); no neighborhood-scale parks for daily recreation.
Below-median practical (unit features) score
Practical score 5.9/10 vs. borough median 6.4: listings score lower on in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age.
Neighborhood identity is transit-dependent
Composite score 5.5/10 reflects that walkability and character are concentrated on Atlantic Avenue; side blocks lack neighborhood draw if you're not commuting.
Score Any Address in Boerum Hill
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in Boerum HillFrequently Asked Questions about Boerum Hill
1Is Boerum Hill safe?
Boerum Hill safety varies by block. DwellCheck provides detailed safety data including NYPD crime statistics, arrest data, and 311 complaints. Check the Boerum Hill safety page for full details.
2What is the average rent in Boerum Hill?
Rents in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn vary significantly by building and apartment type. The median listing price is $965K. Use DwellCheck to research specific addresses.
3How is transit access in Boerum Hill?
Boerum Hill has a commute score of 9.6/10. 7 subway stations serve the area: Nevins St, High St, Borough Hall/Court St.
4What are the best streets in Boerum Hill?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Boerum Hill known for?
Boerum Hill sits in Brooklyn and ranks #7 of 11 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from for-sale listings on DwellCheck's livability score (5.5/10). It's served by 7 subway stations (Nevins St, High St, Borough Hall/Court St), with a median listing price of $965K. Choose Boerum Hill if your commute to Manhattan or your work-from-home routine is non-negotiable and you prioritize restaurant access over parks; otherwise, compare to neighborhoods with stronger outdoor infrastructure at the same transit tier.
6What is it like to live in Boerum Hill?
Boerum Hill's scores are medians across 73 for-sale listings scored by DwellScore on six dimensions: practical (unit features of the listings: in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age), commute, ART/livability, outdoor, financial and investment. Its composite is 5.5/10. Choose Boerum Hill if your commute to Manhattan or your work-from-home routine is non-negotiable and you prioritize restaurant access over parks; otherwise, compare to neighborhoods with stronger outdoor infrastructure at the same transit tier. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Boerum Hill address through DwellCheck.
7Is Boerum Hill expensive?
Median listing price in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn is $965K based on 73 active listings as of 2026-04-05. Whether that reads "expensive" depends on the comparison and varies considerably by building. That median is a sale price, not a rent. For rents, the city's 2023 Housing and Vacancy Survey put the citywide median at $1,500 a month for rent-stabilized apartments and $2,000 for market-rate rentals (NYC HPD, 2023 NYCHVS Selected Initial Findings, Table 6); it publishes no neighborhood breakdown, so check DHCR rent history for any specific address.
8How is the transit actually distributed?
You have two clusters: Nevins St/Hoyt St (2, 3, 4, 5 lines) on the east side and Borough Hall/Jay St (2, 3, 4, 5, R, A, C, F) on the west. DeKalb Av (B, Q, R) fills the north. Worst-case walk is 5-7 minutes to a line with Manhattan express service.
9Is the tree count actually good?
132 per 200m is above NYC median, but 2/10 canopy density reveals the problem: most are young or small. You'll see sidewalk trees; you won't get the continuous shade of Park Slope or Prospect Heights.
10What does 'practical' 5.9/10 actually mean?
It is the median DwellScore practical score of the neighborhood's listings, which rates unit features: in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age. At 5.9 it sits below the Brooklyn listing median.
11Who actually lives here vs. passes through?
Residents tend to be young professionals and small families using transit daily for work. Atlantic Avenue crowds on weekends are often visitors. The neighborhood rewards commuters; casual strollers find it thin outside restaurants.
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