Chelsea vs. DUMBO: Which NYC Neighborhood Scores Higher?
By Sharon Ben-Moshe · June 19, 2026
DUMBO (11201) scores 60/100 and Chelsea (10001) 38 on NeighborScore — a 22-point gap driven by DUMBO's stronger schools and safety.
NeighborScore rates DUMBO / Downtown Brooklyn (11201) at 60/100 and Chelsea / Hudson Yards (10001) at 38 — a 22-point gap. DUMBO leads on both counted dimensions. NeighborScore's overall score blends safety (53%) and schools (47%); home value is shown separately as an affordability signal and does not change the overall. Safety is FBI Part I violent crime per resident vs the ZIP's county; schools blend grade coverage with NCES math/reading proficiency.
Schools: DUMBO 76 vs Chelsea 53
DUMBO's schools reach about 61% math / 69% reading across ~20 schools, with Brooklyn Tech as an anchor; Chelsea reaches about 44% math across only a couple of in-ZIP schools. DUMBO leads by 23 points — the biggest gap between them.
Safety: DUMBO 45 vs Chelsea 25
On violent crime per resident, DUMBO lands mid-range (45) while Chelsea, in Manhattan's busy west side, sits in the lowest band (25). That 20-point safety edge is the second driver of DUMBO's lead.
Price: Chelsea is far more expensive
Chelsea's typical home (~$2.64M, affordability 14) runs well above DUMBO's (~$1.75M, affordability 17). Neither is cheap, but Chelsea costs more for the lower scores — affordability is shown as context and not part of the overall.
Bottom line
DUMBO (60) outscores Chelsea (38) on schools and safety and costs less at the median. For families weighing the two, the data clearly favors DUMBO.