Although NYU sold the campus to the City University of New York to house Bronx Community College in 1973, the neighborhood name has endured.

[5] With the opening of the New York City Subway's IRT Jerome Avenue Line in 1917, the neighborhood began a rapid transition from a one-time farm community that had become a place where wealthy people had their mansions and suburban villas, to an urban neighborhood built almost entirely of low-rise apartment buildings housing the prosperous middle classes.

[8] The demographics are 23.0% African American, 2.0% White, 3.4% Asian or Pacific Islander and 72.6% Hispanic or Latino, the majority of which are of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent.

[14] In 2018, an estimated 34% of University Heights and Fordham residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City.

Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], University Heights and Fordham are considered low-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

University Heights and Fordham are patrolled by the 46th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 2120 Ryer Avenue.

[11]: 14 The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in University Heights and Fordham is 0.0083 milligrams per cubic metre (8.3×10−9 oz/cu ft), more than the city average.

[11]: 13  In University Heights and Fordham, 34% of residents are obese, 16% are diabetic, and 27% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.

[23] The United States Postal Service operates the Morris Heights Station post office at 2024 Jerome Avenue.

[24] University Heights and Fordham generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018[update].

[11]: 6  The percentage of University Heights and Fordham students excelling in math rose from 19% in 2000 to 43% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 24% to 28% during the same time period.

[25] University Heights and Fordham's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is more than the rest of New York City.

[12]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [11]: 6  Additionally, 66% of high school students in University Heights and Fordham graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%.

In the early- to mid-20th century, University Heights had a significant Jewish population, with a number of large synagogues.

University Heights Bridge connects the neighborhood to Inwood, Manhattan over the Harlem River to the west.