What do we mean by a neighborhood?
NeighborhoodScout® uses the official government designation for neighborhoods - the census tract.
Census tracts are small, relatively permanent subdivisions of a county that are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau in conjunction with local authorities all across the country to define real neighborhoods that are bounded to contain areas with homogeneous population characteristics (including economic status, lifestyle, and living conditions). Census tracts usually have 4,000 persons, but can range between 1,500 and 8,000 persons. This is the most fine-grained area for which detailed information is made available from the government, to protect the individual privacy of each of us. Because census tracts are based on population, they vary in size depending on the density of settlement. In urban areas, they are small, and in rural areas they can cover an entire small town or even a few small towns in very rural areas.
Since census tracts are subdivisions of a county, we did a spatial overlay of the census tracts onto city and town boundaries using a geographic information system to properly assign each census tract to its appropriate city or town. Then we named each census tract to the local colloquially recognized neighborhood name for that spot (e.g., Boston, MA (Dorchester). If there was not a name available, we named the census tract by the largest street intersection in the census tract (e.g., Worcester, MA (Lincoln St/Plantation St)
Why we don't use Zip Codes as neighborhoods
Zip codes were developed by the Postal Service for the purpose of delivering mail, but were never intended to define coherent neighborhoods. In addition, Zip Codes can have as many as 10 distinctly different census tracts contained within them. When distinct census tracts are blended together in a single Zip Code, the data reflects their average conditions and often gives a false sense of the area. The result is that potentially great matching neighborhoods can be missed, and erroneous matches can also be produced and delivered to you.
Using census tracts makes great matches possible, and helps people find the areas that are best for them and their families. Because we are committed to providing the highest possible quality and finding the neighborhoods that best meet your criteria, we use census tracts. And, as always, we show you the actual street map of the neighborhood so you know exactly where your best matching neighborhood is located.
What is a Condition Alert?
A condition alert is a condition in the neighborhood that triggers an alert. NeighborhoodScout contains condition alerts to highlight conditions that are extreme, whether good or bad. This helps answer crucial questions about the state of the neighborhood being evaluated, such as:
What are the risks of violent crime here?
Is the risk of home break-ins or other property crimes increasing?
Does real estate here hold its value?
Are the trends in local vacancies or unemployment concerning?
...and dozens more.
Information at a glance that you need to know to invest, appraise or finance a property.
Suffolk University / Theatre District median real estate price is $1,381,760, which is more expensive than 91.8% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 95.7% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Suffolk University / Theatre District is currently $3,793, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 66.9% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Suffolk University / Theatre District is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Suffolk University / Theatre District 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 Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood are newer, built in 2000 or more recently. A number of residences were also built between 1940 and 1969.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Suffolk University / Theatre District. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 25.1%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 92.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods. A relatively large percentage of housing here is seasonally occupied (18.1%). This can occur in vacation areas, and occasionally it is also found in neighborhoods that are primarily filled with college students, as some apartments could be vacant when school is not in session. If you live here year round, you may find that a number of buildings in your neighborhood are actually empty.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Boston, the Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the Suffolk University / Theatre District 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 Suffolk University / Theatre District community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, an extraordinary 32.8% of the residents of the Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood are currently enrolled in college. This is such a large part of life in this neighborhood that the neighborhood changes a great deal with the change of semesters and is far quieter during the summer when many students are away.
Modes of Transportation
More people in Suffolk University / Theatre District choose to walk to work each day (48.7%) than almost any neighborhood in America. If you are attracted to the idea of being able to walk to work, this neighborhood could be a good choice.
Also, in the Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood, 20.5% 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 97.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
Real Estate
The real estate in the Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood really stands out in the way it looks for a unique reason: this neighborhood has a higher proportion of apartment complexes or high-rise apartments than nearly every neighborhood in the country. Most neighborhoods are a mixture of real estate and housing types, but here it is almost entirely dominated by big apartment buildings and complexes. In fact, 97.4% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 99.5% of American neighborhoods.
In addition, what you'll find when you visit or move to this neighborhood is one of the most crowded neighborhoods in all of America. With an incredible 68,712 people per square mile, it is more densely populated than 99.1% of America's neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the Suffolk University / Theatre District 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 89.8% 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.
Car Ownership
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood buck this trend. 34.8% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood has more Eastern European and Asian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Eastern European ancestry and 32.2% have Asian ancestry.
Suffolk University / Theatre District is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 24.1% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Chinese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.5% 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 Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 96.4% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
The Neighbors
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 Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood in Boston are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 76.1% 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.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood, 63.0% 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 18.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (18.5%).
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 Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood is English, spoken by 54.7% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (32.2%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (17.3%), and residents who report Italian roots (10.6%), and some of the residents are also of German ancestry (5.9%), along with some Dominican ancestry residents (4.6%), among others. In addition, 36.6% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Getting to Work
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 Suffolk University / Theatre District neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (39.8% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (48.7%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (20.5%) and 10.8% of residents also drive alone in a private automobile 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.
SCOUT’s patented match algorithm identifies the most similar neighborhoods to a subject location, and quantifies the similarity to the subject location. This allows analysts to identify the most similar neighborhoods in a local market area for appraisals, investments, and research.
The algorithm uses 273 neighborhood conditions, identifies the dominant dimensions underlying the conditions and calculates the similarity. This captures the true culture and character of locations, economic conditions, and trends.
The closer to 100% means the locations are nearly identical. 80% is a very good, but not excellent match, and so forth.
