Is Prospect Heights Safe? Brooklyn Livability, Crime & Rent
Prospect Heights is a financially stable, transit-rich neighborhood with strong cultural anchors but low unit-feature and outdoor scores—a 6.8 median score that rewards commuters and Park-adjacent life.
Prospect Heights at a glance
- Borough
- Brooklyn
- Livability score
- 6.8/10
- Borough rank (listing-scored guides)
- #1 of 11
- Safety verdict
- Much Safer Than Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 816
- Median listing
- $899K
- Subway stations
- 4 (Eastern Pkwy-Brooklyn Museum, Grand Army Plaza, Clinton-Washington Avs)
- Active listings
- 35
- Data updated
- 2026-04-04
Is Prospect Heights Safe?
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn scores 6.8/10 for overall livability, ranking #1 of 11 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from for-sale listings. Prospect Heights is a financially stable, transit-rich neighborhood with strong cultural anchors but low unit-feature and outdoor scores—a 6.8 median score that rewards commuters and Park-adjacent life.
The livability score is the median DwellScore of 35 for-sale listings scored as of 2026-04-04. It does not include crime; NYPD complaint and shooting figures are on the Prospect Heights safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Prospect Heights 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
Prospect Heights sits at the intersection of cultural anchor and residential calm, anchored by the expanse of Prospect Park and the gravity of the Brooklyn Museum. You'll walk tree-lined blocks with roughly 200 trees per 200 meters, though canopy density lags at 5.3/10—enough green to feel neighborhood-scale, not quite forest-dense. The area's transit spine runs strong: the 2 and 3 lines at Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum, the 2 and 3 at Grand Army Plaza, plus the C at Clinton-Washington and the B/Q at 7th Avenue. This redundancy means you're never more than a 10-minute walk from multiple train lines. The scored for-sale listings are predominantly condos (83%), with townhouses and two-family homes filling pockets of the residential blocks. Prospect Park's perimeter defines the eastern edge—1,456 meters away on average from listing locations—creating a gravitational pull toward green space without absorbing the neighborhood entirely.
Analysis based on 35 properties scored across 30+ data points
Livability & Restoration
Tree Canopy
200 trees
Avg within 200m of listings | Density: 5.3/10
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 1456m from listings to the nearest major park | Park proximity score (listing average): 4.7/10
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
10/10
Enclosure: 10/10
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 35 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.
Meaningfully more restorative than the Brooklyn median — expect lower sensory load and better access to restorative zones than most of the borough.
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
9.2/10
Borough median: 8/10
Walk Score Proxy
10/10
Based on street geometry analysis
Financial Landscape
Median Price
$899K
Price per Sq Ft
$1211
Price Distribution
Scored Listings by Building Type
Investment Indicators
Avg Days on Market
114
Market velocity signal
Multi-Family Stock
14%
2-4 family buildings
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
200
Within 200m of listings
Canopy Density
5.3/10
Average canopy-density score of the scored listings
Nearest Major Parks
- Fort Greene Park
- Prospect Park
Listings average 1456m to their nearest major park.
Outdoor Space Types
Practical Living
Practical (unit features): 3.6/10 (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 35 scored for-sale listings, not of all buildings.
Bedroom Distribution
Laundry Availability
Who Prospect Heights Is For
Commuters prioritizing transit access
Commute score of 9.2 (well above borough median of 8) with four subway lines within reach and short distances to major hubs
Financially-minded buyers and renters
Financial score of 7.6 versus borough median of 5.7; median price $899k with $1,211/sqft signals a stabilized market relative to Brooklyn's volatility
Art and culture consumers
ART/Livability score of 6.7 (above borough median of 5) anchored by Brooklyn Museum, Barclays Center, and Vanderbilt Avenue restaurant corridor
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Top-tier transit connectivity
Commute score of 9.2; four subway lines (2, 3, C, B, Q) within walking distance; Eastern Parkway and Grand Army Plaza stations offer 2/3 redundancy
Stronger financial stability than borough average
Financial score 7.6 vs. Brooklyn median 5.7; median listing price $899k with consistent pricing at $1,211/sqft
Established cultural infrastructure
Brooklyn Museum, Barclays Center, and established dining scene on Vanderbilt Avenue anchor neighborhood identity
Condo-dominant market offers clarity
83% of listings are condos, reducing variability from single-family complications and board approval uncertainty
Trade-offs
Weak outdoor/park accessibility relative to Brooklyn
Outdoor score of 3.5 versus borough median of 4.6; limited immediate green space despite proximity to Prospect Park and Fort Greene Park
Low practical (unit features) score
Practical score of 3.6 (borough median: 6.4): listings score low on in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age
Slow market absorption
Average days on market at 114; listings sit longer than ideal, signaling either slower demand or pricing friction
No development upside
Unused FAR averaging 0 sqft; neighborhood is fully built-out with no zoning room for new construction or rental conversion
Score Any Address in Prospect Heights
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in Prospect HeightsFrequently Asked Questions about Prospect Heights
1Is Prospect Heights safe?
By NYPD data, Prospect Heights is rated "Much Safer Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 81% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 816 crime incidents and 1 shooting incident over the past 12 months. See the safety page for the full breakdown.
2What is the average rent in Prospect Heights?
Rents in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn vary significantly by building and apartment type. The median listing price is $899K. Use DwellCheck to research specific addresses.
3How is transit access in Prospect Heights?
Prospect Heights has a commute score of 9.2/10. 4 subway stations serve the area: Eastern Pkwy-Brooklyn Museum, Grand Army Plaza, Clinton-Washington Avs.
4What are the best streets in Prospect Heights?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Prospect Heights known for?
Prospect Heights sits in Brooklyn and ranks #1 of 11 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from for-sale listings on DwellCheck's livability score (6.8/10). It's served by 4 subway stations (Eastern Pkwy-Brooklyn Museum, Grand Army Plaza, Clinton-Washington Avs), with a median listing price of $899K. Prospect Heights is a financially stable, transit-rich neighborhood with strong cultural anchors but low unit-feature and outdoor scores—a 6.8 median score that rewards commuters and Park-adjacent life.
6What is it like to live in Prospect Heights?
Prospect Heights's scores are medians across 35 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 6.8/10. Prospect Heights is a financially stable, transit-rich neighborhood with strong cultural anchors but low unit-feature and outdoor scores—a 6.8 median score that rewards commuters and Park-adjacent life. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Prospect Heights address through DwellCheck.
7Is Prospect Heights expensive?
Median listing price in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn is $899K based on 35 active listings as of 2026-04-04. 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.
8Where is Prospect Heights?
Prospect Heights is in Brooklyn, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK0801), which falls in the Census tabulation area that approximates Brooklyn Community District 8 (Crown Heights (North)). Its main ZIP codes are 11238 and 11217. Subway stations in the neighborhood include Eastern Pkwy-Brooklyn Museum, Grand Army Plaza and Clinton-Washington Avs.
9What ZIP code is Prospect Heights in?
Prospect Heights spans ZIP codes 11238 (86% of residential units) and 11217 (14%). Shares are of the 12,707 residential units in the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK0801), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records.
10Can you walk around Prospect Heights at night?
Prospect Heights is classified as "Much Safer Than Average" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 1 shooting incident and 816 total crime incidents. Walking at night carries the same risk profile as anywhere in NYC: stay on commercial corridors with foot traffic, avoid empty side streets after midnight, and prefer subway lines that run 24/7.
11Is Prospect Heights dangerous?
By NYPD data, Prospect Heights is rated "Much Safer Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 81% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 816 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
12What parts of Prospect Heights should I avoid?
NYPD complaint records carry approximate incident coordinates, but a neighborhood total can't tell you which blocks drive it, so we don't publish an "avoid this street" list. For a specific block, use DwellCheck's address-level safety score, which counts NYPD crime complaints within a 300m radius of the building over the latest 12 months of published data and compares that count with the borough average.
13Is Prospect Heights a good place to live?
Prospect Heights scores 6.8/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 81% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. Prospect Heights is a financially stable, transit-rich neighborhood with strong cultural anchors but low unit-feature and outdoor scores—a 6.8 median score that rewards commuters and Park-adjacent life. Whether it's a good fit depends on what you weight: families, solo renters, and remote workers each prioritize different factors (noise, transit access, parks, building quality).
14What is the average DwellScore in Prospect Heights?
The median composite score is 6.8 (interquartile range 5–7.1). Commute (9.2) and Financial (7.6) are standout categories; Outdoor (3.5) and Practical (3.6) lag significantly below borough medians, pulling the composite down.
15Why is the Practical score so low?
Practical scores rate the unit features of listings for sale: in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age. Prospect Heights scores 3.6 vs. borough median 6.4, so its listings score low on those features.
16Is this a good investment neighborhood?
Investment score of 6.3 (above borough median 5.8) is supported by stable pricing, strong commute access, and cultural amenities. However, zero unused FAR eliminates development upside, and 114-day average time on market suggests modest demand volatility.
17How green is Prospect Heights?
You'll find ~200 trees per 200 meters, but canopy density is 5.3/10—moderate coverage. Despite Prospect Park's proximity (scored listings average 1,456m to their nearest major park), immediate block-level greenery is moderate, and the Outdoor score of 3.5 reflects limited pocket parks and green infrastructure.
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