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.
Empire Blvd / Albany Ave median real estate price is $1,315,030, which is more expensive than 83.1% of the neighborhoods in New York and 94.0% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Empire Blvd / Albany Ave is currently $3,071, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 46.3% of New York neighborhoods.
Empire Blvd / Albany Ave is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Brooklyn, New York.
Empire Blvd / Albany Ave 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 Empire Blvd / Albany Ave 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.
Real estate vacancies in Empire Blvd / Albany Ave are 5.2%, which is lower than one will find in 65.3% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in Empire Blvd / Albany Ave is above average for the U.S., and may signal some demand for either price increases or new construction of residential product for this neighborhood.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Real Estate
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 76,664 people per square mile, it is more densely populated than 99.3% of America'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 Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, the real estate in the Empire Blvd / Albany Ave 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, 75.0% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 95.9% of American neighborhoods.
Furthermore, do you watch 'This Old House' on Public Television? Do you love the idea of fixing up a Colonial or Victorian era home, complete with the charm of yesteryear? Do you like to stroll or drive streets lined with gracious older residences? If you found yourself nodding yes to any of these questions, you are going to be interested in this unique neighborhood. The Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 70.3% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 98.6% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
Modes of Transportation
In the Empire Blvd / Albany Ave 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 27.3% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 98.9% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 35.5% of the Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 98.5% of America's neighborhoods.
Finally, more people ride the bus in this neighborhood each day to get to work than 95.9% of U.S. neighborhoods.
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 Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 44.0% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood has more Eastern European and Haitian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 4.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Eastern European ancestry and 7.1% have Haitian ancestry.
Empire Blvd / Albany Ave is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 11.2% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak German/Yiddish at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
The Neighbors
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 Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood in Brooklyn are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 81.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 46.2% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 92.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood, 51.4% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 20.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (16.2%), and 11.7% in clerical, assistant, and tech support 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 Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood is English, spoken by 72.2% of households. Other important languages spoken here include German/Yiddish, French 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 Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Haitian (7.1%). There are also a number of people of Polish ancestry (6.1%), and residents who report Eastern European roots (4.9%), and some of the residents are also of Russian ancestry (4.8%), along with some Sub-Saharan African ancestry residents (3.8%), among others. In addition, 26.4% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Getting to Work
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 Empire Blvd / Albany Ave neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (43.3% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (35.5%) take the train to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (27.3%) and 12.0% of residents also ride the bus for their daily commute. This neighborhood is distinguished by the high number of residents who take the train to work each day, which can be a very good way to get to work at a lower cost and with less pollution.
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.
