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Real Estate Prices & Overview

Back Bay Northwest median real estate price is $1,744,519, which is more expensive than 95.3% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 97.4% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.

The average rental price in Back Bay Northwest is currently $5,471, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 94.2% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.

Back Bay Northwest is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.

Back Bay Northwest 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 occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Back Bay Northwest 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.

Back Bay Northwest has a 10.0% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 61.5% of American neighborhoods). A relatively large percentage of housing here is seasonally occupied (5.4%), which can occur in some markets dominated by colleges or vacation homes. If you live here year round, you will find many of the homes or apartments are empty for all or a portion of the year.

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.

People

In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Back Bay Northwest neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.

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 92.2% of the adults living in the Back Bay Northwest neighborhood have earned at least a bachelor's degree. This is a higher rate than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. In this way, this neighborhood truly stands out.

Also, think about the people you know personally. How many of them would purchase box seats to opening night at the symphony? How many of them regularly attend gallery openings, or are the first to reserve tickets to opening night at the ballet? If they're like most of us, they don't do any of these things. But if you're among an exclusive crowd of wealthy and refined patrons of the arts, then you'll feel right at home in the Back Bay Northwest neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 97.8% of neighborhoods across the U.S. Here, your neighbors are defined as having urbane tastes in literature, music, live theatre and the arts. They are wealthy, educated, travel in style, and live a big city lifestyle whether or not they live in or near a big city. In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for young, single professionals.

Real Estate

The Back Bay Northwest neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 50,503 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.5% 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 Northwest neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.

In addition, the Back Bay Northwest 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 86.3% 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, the real estate in the Back Bay Northwest 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, 77.2% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 96.3% of American neighborhoods.

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 88.9% of the residential real estate in the Back Bay Northwest neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 99.9% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.

Modes of Transportation

More people in Back Bay Northwest choose to walk to work each day (33.7%) 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, would you like to be able to ride your bike to work? If you are attracted to the idea of getting a little exercise of the two-wheeled type while reducing your carbon footprint, bicycling to work might be the answer. But which neighborhood you live in can make this either impossible, or alternatively, a great and realistic option. NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that the Back Bay Northwest neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 4.1% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 97.4% of the neighborhoods in America.

Finally, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 17.9% of the Back Bay Northwest neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 96.9% of America's neighborhoods.

Occupations

The Back Bay Northwest neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 98.2% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 76.4% 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.

Car Ownership

Most American households own a car or other vehicle. Many own two cars or perhaps three. In the United States, it is useful to have an automobile not only for commuting, but also for shopping and getting to other services one needs. But NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that households in the Back Bay Northwest neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 36.6% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.8% of U.S. neighborhoods.

Diversity

Did you know that the Back Bay Northwest neighborhood has more Russian and Belgian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 7.3% of this neighborhood's residents have Russian ancestry and 0.8% have Belgian ancestry.

Back Bay Northwest is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.7% 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 95.5% of the neighborhoods in America.

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 Back Bay Northwest 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 93.2% 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 Back Bay Northwest neighborhood, 76.4% 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 14.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (7.4%), and 2.2% 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 Back Bay Northwest neighborhood is English, spoken by 79.8% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Polish and French.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.

In the Back Bay Northwest neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (19.9%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (11.8%), and residents who report German roots (10.2%), and some of the residents are also of Asian ancestry (8.1%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (8.0%), among others. In addition, 18.4% 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 Back Bay Northwest neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (38.6% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (33.7%) 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 (17.9%) and 16.2% 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.


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