Home prices, rents, commercial construction and salaries in the neighborhoods that comprise the University City District (UCD) continue to outpace the rest of the city, according to the annual “State of University City” report issued late last week amid increased concerns about federal policies that could slow down the growth of “Eds and Meds.”

Median home prices in the neighborhoods (including Cedar Park, Spruce Hill, Powelton Village and Walnut Hill), were down slightly in 2024, settling at about $375,000, but the number of home sales was up slightly. Median home prices in Cedar Park jumped about 35 percent compared to 2023 and Spruce Hill continued to have the highest home value at about $550,000.

The median home sale price in Philadelphia was about $200,000 last year.

The University City District covers an area west to 50th Street, east to the Schuylkill River, north to Market and Spring Garden Streets and south to Woodland Avenue. It includes about 53,000 residents.

Median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the area was about $1,500, with the highest rents near Penn and Drexel ($1,964) and in the Spruce Hill neighborhood ($1,476).

About 75 percent of jobs in the area are connected to “health care and social assistance” and “educational services,” according to the report, a reflection of the impact of the city’s larger private employer, the University of Pennsylvania. Penn, like many universities, is facing millions of dollars of funding cuts, and possible layoffs.

“After a sustained period of dramatic growth there are – to be sure – headwinds facing us in University City,” UCD President Matt Bergheiser wrote in the introduction to the report, which is released each spring and includes statistics and trends from the previous year. “Federal policies that have drastically scaled back or threatened support for basic research, the advancement of science, and higher education stand to impact communities like ours.”

One in five residents moved to the area from out of state within the last year, according to the report, which drew on U.S. Census Bureau data. Half of residents live alone, 10 percent higher than the Philadelphia average and only one in 10 households included a resident that was over 65, a third of the city average.

The report does not include a breakdown of UCD demographics by race or ethnicity and does not include data on who left the neighborhoods.

The 2025 State of University City Report can be viewed and downloaded here.