East Hillside, Duluth, Minnesota
The Hillside's residential half: a walkable co-op, a neighborhood school, and a harbor view most of the city cannot afford.
East Hillside is the residential half of Duluth's Hillside: nine avenues wide, running the full height of the hill from London Road to Skyline Parkway, with Chester Creek's gorge along its eastern edge. It has the two things Central Hillside next door does not, a neighborhood elementary school inside its boundary and a genuine residential middle, and it shares the thing that makes both work, a full co-op grocery on a level cross-slope street. Prices sit well below the citywide median. The hill is the price you pay, and in February it is a real one.
Everything about East Hillside
Each part of the East Hillside guide has its own page. Start anywhere.
LISC Duluth defines East Hillside as running between Sixth and Fifteenth Avenue East, from the lake up to Skyline Parkway. That shape matters more than the acreage: this is a tall, narrow neighborhood, only nine avenues across but climbing roughly 535 vertical feet from London Road at about 602 feet to Skyline Parkway at about ...
HistoryEast Hillside was built for the same reason and in the same decades as Central Hillside next door. Duluth's commercial core took the flat shelf by the water, and housing went up the hill because the hill was what was left. The stock dates mostly from about 1885 to 1940 and it went up close ...
CharacterEast Hillside feels like an ordinary older city neighborhood that happens to be tilted, which is a genuinely different experience from Central Hillside's density or Congdon's grandeur.
Who lives hereEast Hillside's household mix follows its housing, which is mixed. In the best-fit tract 24.1 percent of occupied units are owner-occupied and 75.9 percent are rented, with a median gross rent of $976 against a citywide $1,037.
HousingEast Hillside housing is late nineteenth and early twentieth century stock on steep, narrow lots, with more of it intact as single-family houses than anywhere else in the central corridor.
SchoolsEast Hillside has the strongest elementary claim of any neighborhood in Duluth's central corridor, and a genuinely unresolved answer above that.
Parks & recreationEast Hillside is bracketed by green space at both ends of its slope, which is the best structural argument for buying here.
Restaurants & diningEast Hillside's eating is split between what is inside it, which is modest and walkable, and what is a mile downhill, which is the entire downtown range.
Churches & worshipThe rule for East Hillside is the same as for the rest of the Hillside and it is worth internalising before you tour: move along the contour, not up it.
Safety & feelEast Hillside reads as an ordinary older residential neighborhood through most of its middle, and the honest guidance is the same as for its western neighbor: read the block and read the elevation rather than the neighborhood name.
Daily lifeDaily life here works better than the price band implies, for one specific reason and several general ones.
Local loreThe co-op is the anchor of both Hillsides. The Whole Foods Co-op at 610 East 4th Street sits just inside East Hillside on the boundary line, and it is the reason people from both neighborhoods walk east and west rather than driving up the hill. First Lutheran holds its summer Sunday services outdoors in Leif ...
Is it right for you?You will love East Hillside if you want an ordinary walkable neighborhood at an extraordinary price. This is the address where a modest budget buys a house with a yard, a school your children can walk to, a co-op grocery on the level, a creek gorge with waterfalls at the end of the street, the ...
How East Hillside scores
Is East Hillside right for you?
You'll love it if
- The elementary school is inside the neighborhood, at 1027 North 8th Avenue East, which is the clearest practical advantage over Central Hillside for a family.
- A full co-op grocery on the cross-slope main street at 610 East 4th Street, walkable on the level, at a price point where that is close to unheard of in Duluth.
- Chester Creek and its 60-acre gorge form the eastern boundary, with the Superior Hiking Trail and the Duluth Traverse along the ridge at the top.
- Leif Erikson Park, the Rose Garden and the Lakewalk are directly downhill, which gives the lower blocks a lakefront park as a front lawn.
- More intact single-family stock and more actual yards than Central Hillside, particularly toward Chester Creek, at prices still well below the citywide median.
- Quieter than Central Hillside, with no hospital campus inside the boundary and a real residential middle.
Look elsewhere if
- Steep. The neighborhood climbs the full height of the hill and the numbered avenues ice hard; winter tires and off-street parking are requirements.
- About three quarters of occupied units in the best-fit tract are rented, and student and small-landlord demand this close to the campuses means owner-occupants often bid against rental underwriting.
- No published sale median at this geography, and the two tracts covering the neighborhood disagree by more than $20,000 on median value, so pricing needs close comparables on the same avenues.
- The middle and high school assignment is genuinely unresolved at the neighborhood level and must be confirmed per address.
- Condition varies widely and unpermitted unit splits are common enough that legal use needs checking on anything that looks like a duplex.
- Very little new construction and almost nothing single-level or low-maintenance.
If you like East Hillside, also look at
West across Sixth or Seventh Avenue East, the other half of the Hillside: denser, cheaper, closer to downtown and the hospitals, and noisier.
Chester ParkEast across Chester Creek, the university-side hillside neighborhood with a much higher owner-occupancy share and higher prices.
East End / EndionBelow and east along the lake, historic housing with lake views at meaningfully higher prices.
Downtown DuluthAbout a mile downhill southwest, with the transit hub, the library, the theaters and most of the region's restaurants.
Congdon ParkEast along the hill, the city's benchmark historic neighborhood, at roughly three times the price.
WoodlandUp the hill to the northeast, near UMD and St. Scholastica with newer stock and easier grades.
Common questions about East Hillside
Where is the East Hillside in Duluth?
It runs between Sixth and Fifteenth Avenue East, from the lake up to Skyline Parkway, which makes it a tall narrow neighborhood covering the full height of the hill. That definition comes from LISC Duluth, which treats the Hillside as one of its two focus areas. Chester Creek forms the eastern edge and Central Hillside lies west.
What is the difference between East Hillside and Central Hillside?
They share a slope and a name but they are distinct neighborhoods. East Hillside has the elementary school inside it, more intact single-family housing, more yards, higher owner-occupancy and no hospital campus, so it is quieter and somewhat more expensive. Central Hillside is denser, cheaper, closer to downtown and the medical district, and has more duplex and apartment stock.
How much do homes cost in the East Hillside?
No sale median is published at this boundary, and this guide will not invent one. The neighborhood spans two Census tracts that were measured separately: median owner-occupied value was $154,400 in the tract covering roughly Seventh to Eleventh Avenue East and $177,000 in the tract covering Eleventh to Fifteenth. Against Lincoln Park's $165,000 sale median and a citywide $290,000 to $310,000, roughly $150,000 to $230,000 is a fair working band, with the upper end toward Chester Creek.
What schools serve the East Hillside?
Duluth Public Schools (ISD 709). Myers-Wilkins Elementary is inside the neighborhood at 1027 North 8th Avenue East, enrolling about 329 students from prekindergarten through grade 5, and is walkable for much of the area. The middle and high school assignment is genuinely unresolved at this location: the central-corridor boundary runs through the Hillside, Ordean East and Lincoln Park are the two middle schools either side, and Denfeld and East are the two high schools. Confirm your specific address with the district.
Is there a grocery store in the East Hillside?
Yes. The Whole Foods Co-op's Hillside store at 610 East 4th Street sits between Sixth and Seventh Avenue East, open daily 7am to 9pm (confirmed 2026-08-14). It is on the cross-slope street, so you can walk there on the level from most of the neighborhood, which is unusual at this price anywhere in Duluth.
Is the East Hillside walkable?
In one direction. The cross-slope streets, East 3rd, 4th, 6th and 8th, are level and connect the school, the co-op, the bakery and the bus routes. The numbered avenues climb the full height of the hill, so downtown and the Lakewalk are an easy walk out and a serious climb home. Plan errands along the contour rather than by map distance.
What is Chester Creek?
The stream that forms the East Hillside's eastern boundary, dropping through about 60 acres of city park with waterfalls, hiking trails, a sledding hill and the ground once used for Duluth's ski jumps. It is the same idea as Congdon Park further east: a creek ravine kept public while the neighborhood built around it.
Where these facts come from
- US Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2023 estimates, Census Tracts 12 and 13, St. Louis County, Minnesota (tenure, rent, units in structure, median value, income) accessed 2026-08-14
- US Census Bureau geocoder, eight East Hillside addresses to 2020 Census tracts accessed 2026-08-14
- LISC Duluth, Hillside focus area (the boundary definition used on this page, plus the 4th Street and Sixth Avenue East commercial corridors) accessed 2026-08-14
- Redfin, Lincoln Park neighborhood housing market (the closest published comparable geography) accessed 2026-08-13
- Redfin, Duluth MN housing market (citywide) accessed 2026-08-13
- Whole Foods Co-op Duluth, store locations and hours (Hillside store, 610 E 4th Street, open daily 7am to 9pm) accessed 2026-08-14
- Chester Bowl Improvement Club (ski hill, chalet, summer camp and Fall Fest, confirmed operating 2026) accessed 2026-08-14
- ELCA Northeastern Minnesota Synod membership directory, First Lutheran Church Duluth accessed 2026-08-14
- First Lutheran Church, Duluth (identity and currency check: names 1100 E. Superior St., Duluth, with a bulletin dated 2026-08-16) accessed 2026-08-14
- Peace United Church of Christ, Duluth (identity check: names 1111 N 11th Ave E, Duluth; first-party only, no UCC directory reachable) accessed 2026-08-14
- ELCA Northeastern Minnesota Synod membership directory, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Duluth accessed 2026-08-14
- Wikipedia, Fitger's (1881 brewery, closed 1972, NRHP 1984, current uses) accessed 2026-08-14
- Duluth Transit Authority, routes and schedules (104 E 4th Local, 105 E 9th Local, 103 cross-city, 112 Woodland-UMD) accessed 2026-08-14
- NCES Common Core of Data 2024-2025 via the Urban Institute Education Data API, Duluth ISD 709 (leaid 2711040) accessed 2026-08-14
- Inline restaurant, park, trail and worship rows on this page carry the source URL held by the guide's own amenity record for that place, so the citation matches where the fact came from accessed 2026-08-14
- USGS Elevation Point Query Service, spot elevations at geocoded points in and around this area accessed 2026-08-14
- COGGS, Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores, trails overview (Duluth Traverse spine about 40 miles, wider network exceeding 90 miles) accessed 2026-08-14
- NWS Duluth, seasonal snowfall records and normals accessed 2026-08-14
- Duluth Police Department 2025 Annual Report accessed 2026-08-14
Last reviewed 2026-08-14 by Guide editorial.