Chelsea is a vibrant neighborhood from humble origins located on the west side of Manhattan between 14th and 34th street. With a ton of things to do, places to see, and some of the most luxurious apartments in the city, Chelsea is a neighborhood that's always looking for the next cool thing to add to the vibe of the area.
Chelsea originally started out as farmland, specifically the farmland of British Major Thomas Clarke. Clarke named his estate “Chelsea” after a district in London and the name stuck ever since. In the early 1800’s Clark’s daughter sold the land to the city, and Chelsea became an industrial neighborhood.
With industrialization came working class immigrants, who worked the piers and helped build the row houses and low rise apartment complexes that are still around to this day. Thanks to its surplus of industries and piers, Chelsea soon became a slightly wealthy neighborhood. It was even the sight of the new theater district before Times Square and Broadway were fully formed. Taller, art deco buildings, like London Terrace built in the 1930’s, were constructed to house all the people who suddenly wanted to move to the area.
There was a slight decrease in demand for Chelsea during WWII when tons of uranium was stored there for the Manhattan Project (Which is partially where the project got its name). The neighborhood was decontaminated and quickly became a popular spot again.
In recent history, Chelsea experienced a construction boom of high rise apartment complexes, shopping centers, as well as the development of the High Line, due to the neighborhood’s popularity. One of the wealthier areas in Manhattan, Chelsea is still on the rise, with new apartments and businesses coming in every year.
Chelsea is a mix of pre-war row houses, art deco skyscrapers, and modern luxury high rises. As a result, the Chelsea skyline is a mix of flat and tall buildings. The neighborhood truly has every type of structure Manhattan has to offer.
The neighborhood is largely residential, with a mix of single family row and townhouses, luxury high rise apartments, and public housing complexes. That said, the area is also full of commercial enterprises like gyms, specialty grocers, bars, and restaurants. The arts scene in this neighborhood is also enormous with well over 200 galleries and performance venues.
Chelsea is a vibrant and energetic place. While it’s not the most packed place in the city, it almost always has a crowd of locals and tourists alike. While there’s always people around, the area doesn’t feel busy. Rather, Chelsea has a recreational vibe to it, catering to folks who want something to do in the city that doesn’t involve being out too late.
Chelsea is an extremely safe neighborhood with little to no violent crime to speak of. The town and row houses in the area are perfect for families, as are many of the units in the new luxury buildings. The area is also close to many hospitals. All in all, while the neighborhood doesn’t have a vibe that screams “children welcome” it’s not a bad area for families. You just might need to travel a bit for child friendly activities.
Chelsea has a decent number of subway lines that can land you close to anywhere you need to go. The L train takes you through the southern border of the area along 14th street while the 1, 2, 3, A, C, and E trains travel straight through the neighborhood itself. To access Hudson Yards, simply take the 7 train.
Biking is pretty popular in Chelsea due to the large number of Citi Bike docking stations as well as the many easy to navigate bike lanes. Traffic can be pretty heavy in this area, especially given it’s access to the West Side Highway, so drivers and cyclists alike should proceed with caution.
Bedrooms | Rent | Rent / sqft |
---|---|---|
Studio | $3,925 | $9.00 |
1 BR | $5,660 | $8.50 |
2 BR | $7,987 | $8.05 |
3 BR | $12,748 | $7.99 |
4+ BR | $12,000 | $5.83 |
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Chelsea is located within 10011. This area currently has 50,404 residents in 28,738 households. Out of the total population, 40.12% of the residents speak another language at home instead of English. The majority of the inhabitants in this zipcode are currently unmarried and have a median age of 40.
When looking at residents older than 25, around 6.47% have graduated from high school, 39.63% have a bachelor's degree, and 38.02% have obtained their master's degree or above. Employment rate is typically around 73% and the median income in this zipcode is $114,134.
At least 64.45% of those living in this zipcode are renting their homes. Most residents will commute to work by public transportation with an average commute time of 25 minutes.
Geographically, 10011 is a part of New York County, New York. This county is currently home to 1,634,989 residents, or 753,385 households with a median income of $75,513. New York County, New York residents have a median age of 37 and 76.86% are currently renting their homes in the area.
Finally, New York County, New York is a part of the greater New York - Newark, NY - NJ - CT Urban Area. For those unfamiliar with the area, The New York - Newark, NY - NJ - CT Urban Area is currently home to a population 18,812,161 across 6,707,347 households. Those living in this urban area have a median income of $68,319 and median age of 38. In general, at least 50.07% of the residents are currently renting their homes in this area.