The Bustleton section of Northeast Philadelphia, United States is located in the Far Northeast, north of Rhawnhurst and Fox Chase and south of Somerton; sitting between Roosevelt Boulevard to the east, the city boundary to the west, Red Lion Road to the north, and Pennypack Park to the south, it is centered at the intersection of Grant Avenue and Bustleton Avenue (PA-532) and is completely included in the 19115 postal ZIP code.

In the early history of the city, the neighborhood was centered on the Bustleton Tavern, a local bar established before the American Revolution. Pennypack Park is part of the Fairmount Park system and was the site of much industry, including mills. The area was a trading center and had hotels drawing farmers bringing goods for sale via horse and buggy. Much of the commerce was also conducted via small streams and rivers of the present-day Pennypack Watershed. The old Paul's Run waterway once provided navigation from the Bustleton Tavern all the way to the Delaware River.

Bustleton was originally part of Lower Dublin Township, also known as Dublin Township, a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The township ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854.

Bustleton is home to the Lower Dublin Baptist Church, one of the oldest churches in America. Its burial ground contains the remains of many notable Americans and Revolutionary War Soldiers. Another church is the Protestant Episcopal Church of Saint Luke The Beloved Physician. It is the only church in Philadelphia that was designed by the architect Richard Upjohn of New York. It is located on Welsh Road and has a burial ground, now home to the veterans from the Civil War to present. It was consecrated on August 30, 1861.

The 1870 Roman Catholic Church of Maternity, Blessed Virgin Mary on Old Bustleton Ave in Pennypack Park is the large Roman Catholic parish that served as a mother church for most of the parishes in the Northeast section of Philadelphia. Saint Katherine Drexel attended Mass in the Old BVM Church.

One of the early schools went by the name: Bustleton Academy, also known as The academy at Bustelton, not to be confused with Lower Dublin Academy which is an older school, located in the Holmesburg section of Lower Dublin.

In the present day, Bustleton is largely a residential community with major commercial areas on Roosevelt Boulevard, Bustleton Avenue, Grant Avenue, and Red Lion Road. It has minimal industrial presence. US Census Bureau data show that the community is home to an increasingly racially and ethnically diverse population with many immigrant groups represented; in particular one can see store-fronts, billboards, and newspapers in Russian (especially along Bustleton Avenue) from the many immigrants from Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet Republics.

According to the 2000 US Census, the total population was 31,853 of whom 45.9 percent were male, less than the 49.1 percent of the total US population who was male in 2000. Just less than 17 percent of area residents were under 18 years old, compared with over a quarter throughout the US. Nearly 27 percent were 65 years or older, well over twice the rate in the general population; four percent of the total Bustleton population was 85 years or older. Reflecting the large concentration of older citizens, the median age in Bustleton was 46.8 years compared with 35.3 years nationwide, and local residents were somewhat more likely to be disabled, 26.4 percent versus a national average of 19.3 percent.