University West median real estate price is $543,768, which is more expensive than 92.5% of the neighborhoods in Michigan and 70.4% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in University West is currently $1,630, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 49.1% of Michigan neighborhoods.
University West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Detroit, Michigan.
University West 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 University West 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 2000 and the present.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in University West. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 33.2%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 95.9% 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.
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 Detroit, the University West neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Real Estate
100.0% of the real estate in the University West neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America. Vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 33.2% of the residential real estate vacant, the University West neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 95.9% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
In addition, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the University West neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 80.6% 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 96.8% of all neighborhoods in America.
Furthermore, being a walkable neighborhood can help increase property values for the simple reason that people enjoy it and value it. To put it plainly, despite our love affair with the automobile, American's enjoy taking to the streets, sidewalks, paths, and courtyards of a place to get a coffee, relax, and take in the sights and sounds. And, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive and first quantitative walkable score index, the University West neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
People
One of the most interesting things about the University West neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 61.9% of the households here made up of people living alone, NeighborhoodScout's research reveals that this is a larger proportion of people living alone than in 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
In addition, one of the unique characteristics of the University West neighborhood revealed by analysis is that the per capita income of residents here is lower than that found in 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America. Also of note, 62.9% of the children in this area live in poverty; an extraordinarily high percentage compared to other neighborhoods in the nation. In a nation where approximately one in four children grows up in poverty, this neighborhood stands out for the depth of the problem manifested here.
Modes of Transportation
More people in University West choose to walk to work each day (28.7%) 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.
Car Ownership
We Americans love our cars. Not only are they a necessity for most Americans due to the shape of our neighborhoods and the distances between where we live, work, shop, and go to school, but we also fancy them. As a result, most households in America have one, two, or three cars. But NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis shows that the University West neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 44.9% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Occupations
From major sales accounts to fast-food workers, sales and service employees are often the backbone of the local economy. In the University West neighborhood, they truly stand out. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis identifies this neighborhood as having a higher percentage of sales and service workers than 98.0% of all American neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the University West neighborhood has more Iranian and Jamaican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 4.3% of this neighborhood's residents have Iranian ancestry and 12.3% have Jamaican ancestry.
University West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 4.2% 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 99.7% of the neighborhoods in America.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the University West neighborhood in Detroit are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 99.1% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 62.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 97.4% of U.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 University West neighborhood, 43.3% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 25.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (21.0%), and 10.5% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
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 University West neighborhood is English, spoken by 93.2% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Persian 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 University West neighborhood in Detroit, MI, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Jamaican (12.3%). There are also a number of people of Sub-Saharan African ancestry (8.6%), and residents who report African roots (8.6%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (5.2%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (4.5%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in University West neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (38.3% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (41.8%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (28.7%) and 9.3% of residents also ride the bus for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
