Back Bay median real estate price is $1,729,921, which is more expensive than 92.6% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 96.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Back Bay is currently $4,726, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 88.6% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Back Bay is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Back Bay real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) apartment complexes/high-rise apartments and small apartment buildings. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Back Bay neighborhood are relatively historic, built no later than 1939, and in some cases, quite a bit earlier. A number of residences were also built between 1940 and 1969.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Back Bay. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 17.0%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 82.1% of all U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, most vacant housing here is vacant year round. This can sometimes be the case in neighborhoods dominated by new construction that is not yet occupied. But often neighborhoods with vacancy rates this high are places that can be plagued by a protracted vacancy problem. If you live here, you may find that a number of buildings in your neighborhood are actually empty.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
People
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the Back Bay neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the Back Bay community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, do you like to read, write, and learn? Are you curious about the world? If so, this neighborhood may be a good fit for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that a full 91.7% of the adults living in the Back Bay neighborhood have earned at least a bachelor's degree. This is a higher rate than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. In this way, this neighborhood truly stands out.
Also, if you're looking for an active nightlife with lots of opportunities to flirt and find romance, then you probably won't have to go too far from the Back Bay neighborhood to find it. Only 2.5% of the neighborhoods in the country have a larger proportion of young, single professionals. The nightlife may not be reminiscent of a "Sex and the City" episode, but the people who live here find friendship, romance, fun, and socializing readily available. In addition to being an excellent choice for young, single professionals, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates.
Finally, the types of households in a neighborhood can tell a lot about the character and lifestyle of those living here. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood, above nearly every neighborhood in America, has a greater percentage of its residents living alone: 51.8%. This is a higher percent living alone than we found in 96.5% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Often residents who live alone are new arrivals to an area who are single, and often senior citizens who have lost a spouse.
Modes of Transportation
In the Back Bay neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 39.1% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.5% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, in the Back Bay neighborhood, 16.0% of people ride the train to work each day. This is a very high percentage compared to most places. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this is a higher level of train ridership than in 96.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
Real Estate
The Back Bay neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 32,602 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.2% of the nation's neighborhoods. Even if you drive or take transit to your place of employment, many people enjoy being able to walk in their neighborhood. What many people don't realize is that most of America's premier vacation locations are also very walkable. The Back Bay neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, the Back Bay neighborhood is very unique in that it has one of the highest proportions of one, two, or no bedroom real estate of any neighborhood in America. Most neighborhoods have a mixture of home or apartment sizes from small to large, but here the concentration of studios and other small living spaces is at near-record heights. With 90.8% of the real estate here of this small size, this most assuredly is a notable feature that makes this neighborhood unique, along with just a handful of other neighborhoods in the U.S. that share this characteristic.
Furthermore, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Back Bay neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 79.2% of the residential real estate here is classified as such. This puts this neighborhood on the map as having a higher proportion of large apartment buildings than 96.6% of all neighborhoods in America.
Also of note, if you find historic homes and neighborhoods attractive, you love the details, the history, and the charm, then you are sure to be interested in this neighborhood. With 84.2% of the residential real estate in the Back Bay neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 99.8% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
Car Ownership
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Back Bay neighborhood buck this trend. 37.7% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.9% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Occupations
The Back Bay neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 97.2% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 73.6% of the employed people here make a living as an executive, a manager, or other professional. With such a high concentration, this truly shapes the character of this neighborhood, and to a large degree defines what this neighborhood is about.
Diversity
Did you know that the Back Bay neighborhood has more Greek and British ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.1% of this neighborhood's residents have Greek ancestry and 2.5% have British ancestry.
Back Bay is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.9% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Persian at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
Migration / Stability
Do you like to be surrounded by people from all over the country or world, with different perspectives and life experiences? Or do you instead prefer to be in a neighborhood where most residents have lived there for a long time, creating a sense of cohesiveness? NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood stands out among American neighborhoods for the uniqueness of the mobility of its residents. In the Back Bay neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 97.6% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the Back Bay neighborhood in Boston are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 92.5% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.
What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.
In the Back Bay neighborhood, 73.6% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 18.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (7.0%).
Languages
The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the Back Bay neighborhood is English, spoken by 85.7% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Chinese and French.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the Back Bay neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (19.1%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (12.7%), and residents who report Asian roots (10.9%), and some of the residents are also of German ancestry (7.5%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (6.8%), among others. In addition, 10.6% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in Back Bay neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (33.8% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (39.1%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (18.7%) and 16.0% of residents also take the train for their daily commute. This is a special neighborhood for the number of people who walk to work. Combining exercise, low cost, and reduced pollution, plus the chance to see your neighbors, walking to work is fairly uncommon in America but likely to increase as people try to reduce their dependence on automobiles, and this neighborhood offers that opportunity today.
