Where to Live in Singapore: Every HDB Town Compared on Price, Rent, MRT and Schools
There is no single best place to live, only trade-offs. Here is how Singapore's HDB towns compare on what a flat costs to buy and rent, how close the blocks are to an MRT station and a primary school, and how condo prices and rents vary by postal district.
There is no single best place to live in Singapore; it depends on your budget and what you need nearby. Over the 12 months to August 2026 the median 4-room HDB resale ran from $535,000 in Jurong West to $1,025,500 in Queenstown (national median $630,000), and 4-room rents from $3,000 in Bukit Panjang to $4,400 in Central Area a month. Only 31.4% of HDB blocks are within 500 m of an MRT station, from 89% in Bukit Timah to 0% in Tengah. Private homes are dearest in the Core Central Region: districts 9, 10 and 11, the Downtown Core and Sentosa.
Asking for the best place to live in Singapore is really asking which trade-off suits you: a cheaper flat further out, or a pricier one near the MRT; a quiet estate, or the city fringe. This guide puts the trade-offs side by side for every HDB town, using a year of HDB resale and rental records and PropKaki's distances from each block to the nearest MRT stations and primary schools, and for private homes by postal district, from URA caveats and rental contracts. It also explains how Singapore's districts and regions are defined, where the high-end areas are, and which new neighbourhoods are planned.
What are the best places to live in Singapore?
There is no single best place: it depends on what you pay and what you want close by. Over the 12 months to August 2026, 4-room HDB flats resold for a median of $535,000 in Jurong West at the low end and $1,025,500 in Queenstown at the top. Towns with more blocks near an MRT station tend to cost more, with exceptions such as Marine Parade.
The honest answer is a trade-off, not a ranking. PropKaki compared every HDB town on four things a household weighs, and no town comes top on all of them:
- Price. The median 4-room resale over Sep 2025 to Aug 2026 was lowest in Jurong West ($535,000), Jurong East ($548,000) and Woodlands ($550,000), and highest in Queenstown ($1,025,500), Central Area ($1,020,000) and Toa Payoh ($1,000,000), against $630,000 nationally.
- Rent. 4-room rents were lowest in Bukit Panjang ($3,000), Sembawang ($3,100) and Choa Chu Kang ($3,100) and highest in Central Area ($4,400), Queenstown ($4,100) and Clementi ($4,000) (national median $3,300 a month).
- MRT access. Just 31.4% of residential HDB blocks are within 500 m of an MRT station. The best-served towns were Bukit Timah (89%), Marine Parade (86%) and Central Area (78%); the least, Tengah (0%), Bukit Panjang (13%) and Jurong East (14%).
- Schools. In most towns nearly every block is within 1 km of a primary school; the lowest shares were in Jurong East (77%), Kallang / Whampoa (77%) and Central Area (78%).
So the useful question is not "where is best?" but "what will you pay for?" In Queenstown, Central Area and Toa Payoh, the three dearest towns for a 4-room flat, over half the blocks are within 500 m of an MRT station (55% in Queenstown, 78% in Central Area, 53% in Toa Payoh). In Jurong West, Jurong East and Woodlands, the three cheapest, the shares are 22%, 14% and 37%. Across towns, price and MRT access tend to go together, but not always: Marine Parade has one of the highest MRT shares (86%) at a mid-table price ($663,333).
The full town-by-town table is below, followed by the districts, the high-end areas, and a checklist for choosing.
How do Singapore's HDB towns compare on price, rent, MRT and schools?
The table lists all 27 HDB towns by their median 4-room resale price over Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, with the median 4-room rent, the share of residential blocks within 500 m of an MRT station and the share within 1 km of a primary school.
| HDB town | Median 4-room resale | Median 4-room rent | Blocks within 500 m of an MRT | Blocks within 1 km of a primary school | Residential blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queenstown | $1,025,500 | $4,100 | 55% | 90% | 242 |
| Central Area | $1,020,000 | $4,400 | 78% | 78% | 79 |
| Toa Payoh | $1,000,000 | $3,700 | 53% | 100% | 386 |
| Bukit Merah | $933,000 | $3,900 | 41% | 99% | 426 |
| Bukit Timah | too few | $3,650 | 89% | 100% | 27 |
| Kallang / Whampoa | $905,000 | $3,800 | 55% | 77% | 310 |
| Clementi | $849,888 | $4,000 | 33% | 82% | 206 |
| Bishan | $788,000 | $3,675 | 32% | 82% | 234 |
| Geylang | $730,000 | $3,600 | 70% | 100% | 310 |
| Punggol | $681,444 | $3,250 | 16% | 100% | 557 |
| Marine Parade | $663,333 | $3,500 | 86% | 100% | 59 |
| Tampines | $662,000 | $3,400 | 29% | 100% | 919 |
| Serangoon | $660,000 | $3,400 | 38% | 100% | 232 |
| Sengkang | $640,000 | $3,200 | 23% | 100% | 669 |
| Pasir Ris | $636,888 | $3,300 | 24% | 99% | 441 |
| Bukit Batok | $630,000 | $3,300 | 30% | 100% | 435 |
| Hougang | $618,888 | $3,200 | 16% | 100% | 602 |
| Ang Mo Kio | $615,000 | $3,400 | 36% | 100% | 392 |
| Sembawang | $601,250 | $3,100 | 48% | 85% | 281 |
| Bedok | $600,000 | $3,300 | 31% | 100% | 530 |
| Bukit Panjang | $571,000 | $3,000 | 13% | 100% | 346 |
| Choa Chu Kang | $555,000 | $3,100 | 28% | 100% | 529 |
| Yishun | $555,000 | $3,100 | 25% | 100% | 702 |
| Woodlands | $550,000 | $3,100 | 37% | 96% | 733 |
| Jurong East | $548,000 | $3,500 | 14% | 77% | 234 |
| Jurong West | $535,000 | $3,500 | 22% | 97% | 744 |
| Tengah | too few | too few | 0% | 91% | 127 |
Sources: HDB resale records and HDB rental approvals (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026); PropKaki's straight-line distances from each residential HDB block to MRT stations and primary schools (OneMap points), as of 26 Sep 2026. "Too few" = fewer than 20 transactions in the window. Towns are HDB's own town names.
How to read it:
- Price and access often go together, but not always. Geylang and Marine Parade have high MRT shares at mid-table prices, while Punggol and Sengkang score low: most of their blocks sit more than 500 m from an MRT station, and their LRT stations are not counted.
- Rents are flatter than prices. The gap between the cheapest and dearest towns is much narrower for renting a 4-room flat than for buying one.
- A town's median mixes old and new flats. A town whose resales are mostly recently completed flats shows a higher median than one full of older flats, so compare flats of similar age before you compare towns. Our HDB resale prices by town league table uses a half-year window, so its medians can differ markedly from these 12-month ones, especially in towns with few sales.
To check the MRT, schools and amenities around a particular block, use PropKaki's amenities finder.
What are the residential districts and regions in Singapore?
Singapore is divided three ways: 28 postal districts (used for private property), 55 URA planning areas in 5 regions (used in the Master Plan), and HDB's own towns (used for public housing). URA also groups private homes into three market segments: the Core Central Region, Rest of Central Region and Outside Central Region.
The same street can sit in a postal district, a planning area and an HDB town at once, and each system is used for something different:
| System | How many | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Postal districts (D01 to D28) | 28 | Private property listings and prices |
| URA planning areas | 55, in 5 regions | The Master Plan and land-use planning |
| HDB towns | 27 town names in HDB's records | HDB flats, resale and rental data |
| URA market segments | 3: CCR, RCR, OCR | Private property price statistics |
Counts from URA's Master Plan 2025 boundaries and HDB's resale and rental records, as of 26 Sep 2026.
URA's definition of the top segment: "The Core Central Region is made up of postal districts 9, 10, 11, Downtown Core Planning Area and Sentosa." For what the three segments mean for buyers, see our CCR, RCR and OCR buying guide.
What are the high-end residential areas in Singapore?
By URA's definition, the Core Central Region: postal districts 9, 10 and 11, the Downtown Core and Sentosa, where the median condo and apartment caveat over the past year was $2,730 psf. For landed homes, the top tier is URA's 39 Good Class Bungalow Areas.
By URA's definition, the prime segment is the Core Central Region. Its median condo and apartment price over Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, against the other two segments:
| Segment | Median $psf | Caveats |
|---|---|---|
| CCR | $2,730 | 4,166 |
| RCR | $2,341 | 6,767 |
| OCR | $1,837 | 9,561 |
Source: URA caveats (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026), condos and apartments, one caveat per unit.
By price, the dearest postal districts over the same year were D02 ($2,944), D09 ($2,858) and D03 ($2,802) psf (districts with at least 30 sales). A district's median moves with what happens to sell in it, so a run of expensive new launches can lift it. The five dearest and five cheapest districts are tabled further down.
For landed homes, the top tier is URA's 39 Good Class Bungalow Areas, such as White House Park and Nassim Road, Chatsworth Park, and Holland Park and Ridout Park. Only bungalows may be built there, on plots of at least 1,400 sqm (see our guide to URA's landed housing rules).
Which HDB towns have the best MRT access?
Measured as the share of residential blocks within 500 m of an MRT station, Bukit Timah (89%), Marine Parade (86%) and Central Area (78%) lead, and Tengah (0%), Bukit Panjang (13%) and Jurong East (14%) trail. Across Singapore, 31.4% of HDB blocks are that close to a station.
From the town table, sorted by MRT access:
| HDB town | Blocks within 500 m of an MRT | Median 4-room resale |
|---|---|---|
| Bukit Timah | 89% | too few |
| Marine Parade | 86% | $663,333 |
| Central Area | 78% | $1,020,000 |
| Geylang | 70% | $730,000 |
| Queenstown | 55% | $1,025,500 |
| Kallang / Whampoa | 55% | $905,000 |
| Toa Payoh | 53% | $1,000,000 |
| Sembawang | 48% | $601,250 |
| Bukit Merah | 41% | $933,000 |
| Serangoon | 38% | $660,000 |
| Woodlands | 37% | $550,000 |
| Ang Mo Kio | 36% | $615,000 |
| Clementi | 33% | $849,888 |
| Bishan | 32% | $788,000 |
| Bedok | 31% | $600,000 |
| Bukit Batok | 30% | $630,000 |
| Tampines | 29% | $662,000 |
| Choa Chu Kang | 28% | $555,000 |
| Yishun | 25% | $555,000 |
| Pasir Ris | 24% | $636,888 |
| Sengkang | 23% | $640,000 |
| Jurong West | 22% | $535,000 |
| Punggol | 16% | $681,444 |
| Hougang | 16% | $618,888 |
| Jurong East | 14% | $548,000 |
| Bukit Panjang | 13% | $571,000 |
| Tengah | 0% | too few |
Share of each town's residential HDB blocks within a straight-line 500 m of an MRT station's point, as of 26 Sep 2026.
Three things to know about this measure:
- It is straight-line distance to the station, not a walk to the nearest exit. A block 450 m away across an expressway may be a longer walk than one 600 m away along a covered path.
- LRT stations don't count. In Punggol, Sengkang and Bukit Panjang many blocks are served by LRT; their shares count only blocks near an MRT station. The source list records four MRT interchanges only as LRT stations (Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Punggol, Sengkang); we count them as MRT.
- Unconfirmed stations are left out. Tengah reads 0%: no MRT station in our list is within 500 m of its blocks. We left out Bedok South, Sungei Bedok, Xilin, which the source list includes but whose opening we could not confirm from an official source.
If you commute daily, a 500-metre walk to the MRT is worth more than a slightly bigger flat; if you drive or work locally, it may be worth much less.
Which areas suit families with young children?
On primary schools, most HDB towns are well served: in all but a few, nearly every block is within 1 km of a primary school. The lowest shares were in Jurong East (77%), Kallang / Whampoa (77%) and Central Area (78%). A school nearby is not a place in it, so check the school's own admission rules.
Primary schools are the amenity families ask about first. The share of each town's residential blocks within a straight-line 1 km of at least one primary school, lowest first:
| HDB town | Blocks within 1 km of a primary school |
|---|---|
| Kallang / Whampoa | 77% |
| Jurong East | 77% |
| Central Area | 78% |
| Clementi | 82% |
| Bishan | 82% |
| Sembawang | 85% |
| Queenstown | 90% |
| Tengah | 91% |
The remaining towns are at 96% or higher. Source: PropKaki's distances from each block to primary schools (OneMap points), as of 26 Sep 2026.
Two cautions:
- Distance is not admission. This 1 km is PropKaki's straight-line measure from block to school, not the distance MOE uses for Primary One registration, and a school nearby is not a place in it. Check the school's own registration rules and past results before you buy for a school.
- Other family needs vary more than schools do. Childcare, parks and clinics are listed for any address in the amenities finder.
How do private condo prices and rents differ by district?
By a wide margin. Over Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, median condo and apartment prices ran from $1,278 in D17 psf in the cheapest district to $2,944 in D02 psf in the dearest, and median 2-bedroom rents from $3,200 in D28 to $6,500 in D01 a month.
Prices, the five dearest and five cheapest districts:
| District | Area | Median $psf | Caveats |
|---|---|---|---|
| D02 | Anson / Tanjong Pagar | $2,944 | 345 |
| D09 | Orchard / Cairnhill / River Valley | $2,858 | 1,281 |
| D03 | Queenstown / Tiong Bahru | $2,802 | 1,784 |
| D01 | Raffles Place / Cecil / Marina | $2,774 | 416 |
| D10 | Ardmore / Bukit Timah / Holland Road / Tanglin | $2,744 | 1,606 |
| … | … | … | … |
| D28 | Seletar / Yio Chu Kang | $1,552 | 225 |
| D18 | Tampines / Pasir Ris | $1,524 | 885 |
| D27 | Yishun / Sembawang | $1,466 | 504 |
| D25 | Kranji / Woodgrove | $1,295 | 115 |
| D17 | Loyang / Changi | $1,278 | 289 |
Source: URA caveats, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, condos and apartments (executive condominiums excluded), one caveat per unit; districts with at least 30 sales. Our private property prices by district page uses a trailing window to July 2026 and its own filters, so some districts differ between the two.
Rents for a 2-bedroom condo or apartment, the five cheapest and five dearest districts:
| District | Median rent (month) | Contracts |
|---|---|---|
| D28 | $3,200 | 363 |
| D17 | $3,300 | 596 |
| D27 | $3,350 | 526 |
| D25 | $3,400 | 135 |
| D19 | $3,500 | 2,363 |
| … | … | … |
| D07 | $5,100 | 669 |
| D04 | $5,300 | 561 |
| D02 | $5,300 | 755 |
| D09 | $5,400 | 2,755 |
| D01 | $6,500 | 764 |
Source: URA rental contracts, Aug 2025 to Jul 2026, non-landed homes with two bedrooms; districts with at least 30 contracts. By segment: CCR $5,300, RCR $4,300, OCR $3,600 a month.
For rents across all home types, see our Singapore rental market overview.
Which new neighbourhoods are planned in Singapore?
Announced plans include a public housing estate with space for 14,000 homes on the former Kranji racecourse, close to 10,000 homes at Sembawang North and about 4,000 at Woodlands North Coast, all in the North, and a new neighbourhood at Bukit Timah Turf City.
If you are choosing for the long run, where the new homes and transport go matters as much as today's prices:
- Kranji. The Prime Minister said at the 2025 National Day Rally that the former racecourse land has "space for 14,000 new homes", something to "look forward to in about 10 years' time".
- Sembawang North and Woodlands North Coast. HDB announced in October 2024 that Sembawang North "will deliver close to 10,000 housing units" and that Woodlands North Coast will yield "about 4,000 new homes", with the first BTO projects launched from 2025. See our North Region plans.
- Sembawang Shipyard. Operations wind down in 2028 and the area becomes a waterfront district with homes; no home count has been published.
- Bukit Timah Turf City. Vacated at the end of 2023 for a new neighbourhood. SLA said agencies were "studying the possibility of introducing a good mix of both public and private housing", with a Turf City MRT station on the Cross Island Line due in 2032.
- Government Land Sales. Private housing sites the Government sells become the next condo launches; see GLS sites and tender results for the pipeline.
How should you choose where to live in Singapore?
Start from your budget and your daily trips, then check the specific block, not just the town.
- ✓Set the budget first: price or rent, plus what you can borrow; the [financial planner](/property-financial-planner) shows the numbers.
- ✓List the trips you make most days (work, school, parents) and time them from each shortlisted town.
- ✓Check the actual walk to the MRT or bus interchange from the block, not the town's average.
- ✓For school-age children, check the schools near the block and their Primary One registration history.
- ✓Compare flats of similar age and lease across towns, not town medians alone.
- ✓Look at what is planned nearby on URA's Master Plan: new estates, MRT lines and land sales change a neighbourhood.
- ✓Visit at the hours you would live there: rush hour, evenings and weekends.
What is the biggest mistake people make choosing where to live?
Choosing by a town's or district's median alone. A median mixes old and new homes and every street in the area, so a 'cheap' town may be cheap because its flats are older, and a 'central' district may have blocks a long walk from any station. Compare like with like, block by block.
Area medians are a starting point, not an answer. They blend new and old flats, high and low floors, and blocks next to the station with blocks far from it. Two traps follow:
- Cheap because old. A town with many older flats shows a lower median than a town of recently completed ones, even if like-for-like flats cost much the same. Check the lease left on the flat you are comparing.
- Central on paper, far on foot. A prestige postal district tells you nothing about the walk from your door to the MRT.
Choose the block, not the postcode.
The cheapest and priciest places to live in Singapore, side by side
For a 4-room HDB flat, the cheapest towns to buy were Jurong West ($535,000), Jurong East ($548,000) and Woodlands ($550,000), and to rent Bukit Panjang ($3,000), Sembawang ($3,100) and Choa Chu Kang ($3,100); the dearest to buy were Queenstown ($1,025,500), Central Area ($1,020,000) and Toa Payoh ($1,000,000).
From the tables above, over the 12 months to August 2026 (private rents to July 2026):
| Cheapest | Priciest | |
|---|---|---|
| Buy a 4-room HDB flat (median) | Jurong West ($535,000), Jurong East ($548,000) and Woodlands ($550,000) | Queenstown ($1,025,500), Central Area ($1,020,000) and Toa Payoh ($1,000,000) |
| Rent a 4-room HDB flat (median, month) | Bukit Panjang ($3,000), Sembawang ($3,100) and Choa Chu Kang ($3,100) | Central Area ($4,400), Queenstown ($4,100) and Clementi ($4,000) |
| Buy a condo or apartment (median psf) | D17 ($1,278), D25 ($1,295) and D27 ($1,466) | D02 ($2,944), D09 ($2,858) and D03 ($2,802) |
| Rent a 2-bedroom condo or apartment (median, month) | D28 ($3,200), D17 ($3,300) and D27 ($3,350) | D01 ($6,500), D09 ($5,400) and D02 ($5,300) |
For what homes of each type and size cost across Singapore, see how much homes cost in Singapore; for renting out a flat by town, see renting out an HDB flat or room.
Official sources
URA's, HDB's and SLA's data, definitions and announcements behind this page.
Methodology and sources
Where every figure comes from, and what we deliberately did not claim.
What we used.
- HDB prices and rents: HDB resale records (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026) and HDB rental approvals (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026) for 4-room flats, medians by HDB town. Towns with fewer than 20 transactions show "too few". HDB's rental records call the Central Area "Central"; we use one name for both.
- MRT and schools: straight-line distances from each of 10,752 residential HDB blocks to MRT stations and primary schools, from OneMap points. 143 MRT stations are counted, including the four interchanges the source list records only as LRT (Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Punggol, Sengkang); Bedok South, Sungei Bedok, Xilin are left out because their opening could not be confirmed from an official source. Each block is assigned to its HDB town from HDB's own rental records.
- Private homes: URA caveats for condos and apartments (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026), one caveat per unit, and URA rental contracts for 2-bedroom non-landed homes (Aug 2025 to Jul 2026), by postal district and URA market segment.
- Definitions and plans: URA's glossary, bungalow guidelines and Master Plan 2025 boundaries; the Prime Minister's 2025 National Day Rally; HDB's October 2024 announcement; SLA's Turf City release.
What we did not claim. We do not rank places to live or combine the measures into a score: the weights would be ours, not yours. We make no claim about crime, happiness, noise or future prices. A school within 1 km is not a place in it, and a straight-line distance is not a walking route.
Figures are as of 26 Sep 2026 and move with the market. Read more about how PropKaki works with data on our methodology page. This page is for information only; it is not legal or financial advice.
Got a question this raised? Ask PropKaki.
Take any point from this analysis and apply it to your own project, budget or decision.
PropKakiFor most buyers this year, staying well within budget beats trying to time the market.