Where to live in Essen as a student

Ranking of Essen's 58 areas with CityPulse's “Student” profile. What matters most: services on foot, protected cycle lanes, public green space and tree canopy. Preferred density: high.

What is the best area of Essen to live in as a student?

According to CityPulse: Frohnhausen (87), Borbeck-Mitte (86) and Pestalozzidorf "Im Grund" (86).

Essen areas ranked

#	Area	Score	Strength
1	Frohnhausen	87 · excellent	Services on foot
2	Borbeck-Mitte	86 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
3	Pestalozzidorf "Im Grund"	86 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
4	Überruhr-Hinsel	85 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
5	Altenessen	84 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
6	Altendorf	84 · excellent	Public green space
7	Stoppenberg	84 · excellent	Public green space
8	Bergeborbeck	84 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
9	Schonnebeck	84 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
10	Altenessen-Nord	83 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
11	Rüttenscheid	83 · excellent	Public green space
12	Eltingviertel	83 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
13	Karnap	82 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
14	Bochold	82 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
15	Großenbruch	82 · excellent	Public green space
16	Segeroth	82 · excellent	Protected cycle lanes
17	Katernberg	80 · excellent	Public green space
18	Kettwig vor der Brücke	80 · excellent	Public green space
19	Bredeney	80 · excellent	Public green space
20	Sternviertel	80 · excellent	Public green space
21	Gerschede	80 · excellent	Public green space
22	Schönebeck	80 · excellent	Public green space
23	Altenessen-Süd	79 · good	Public green space
24	Kettwig	79 · good	Public green space
25	Holsterhausen	78 · good	Services on foot
26	Dellwig	78 · good	Protected cycle lanes
27	Krupp-Gürtel	77 · good	Protected cycle lanes
28	Rellinghausen	77 · good	Protected cycle lanes
29	Überruhr-Holthausen	77 · good	Public green space
30	Haarzopf	77 · good	Public green space
31	Margarethenhöhe	76 · good	Public green space
32	Fulerum	76 · good	Public green space
33	Kolonie Hegemannshof	76 · good	Protected cycle lanes
34	Steele	75 · good	Public green space
35	Bedingrade	75 · good	Public green space
36	Bergerhausen	75 · good	Public green space
37	Heisingen	75 · good	Public green space
38	Südviertel	74 · good	Public green space
39	Frintrop	73 · good	Public green space
40	Dilldorf	72 · good	Protected cycle lanes
41	Freisenbruch	71 · good	Public green space
42	Leithe	71 · good	Public green space
43	Kray	70 · good	Public green space
44	Vogelheim	68 · good	Protected cycle lanes
45	Huttrop	68 · good	Public green space
46	Horst	67 · good	Public green space
47	Dilldorfer Höhe	66 · good	Tree canopy
48	Frillendorf	63 · good	Tree canopy
49	Stadtwald	62 · good	Public green space
50	Burgaltendorf	58 · fair	Tree canopy
51	Fischlaken	56 · fair	Public green space
52	Kettwig auf der Höhe	32 · poor	Public green space
53	Kupferdreh	26 · poor	Tree canopy
54	Werden	25 · poor	Tree canopy
55	Hinninghofen	25 · poor	Tree canopy
56	Heidhausen	22 · poor	Tree canopy
57	Byfang	22 · poor	Tree canopy
58	Volkeskotten	10 · poor	Tree canopy

What it does not consider

The ranking does not account for rents and house prices, noise, safety, or distance from university or work. Use it to decide where to look, then check the individual address.

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Other profiles in Essen

Areas are named after OpenStreetMap neighbourhoods and have approximate boundaries: each hexagon goes to the nearest name. Values are residents' medians. Data updated on 2026-11-05. Method and sources