Dorchester Southwest median real estate price is $704,980, which is more expensive than 53.2% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 80.4% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Dorchester Southwest is currently $3,588, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 60.3% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Dorchester Southwest is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dorchester Southwest real estate is primarily made up of medium sized (three or four bedroom) to small (studio to two bedroom) small apartment buildings and single-family homes. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Dorchester Southwest 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.
Dorchester Southwest has a 10.3% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 63.1% of American neighborhoods). Most vacant housing here is vacant year round. This could either signal that there is a weak demand for real estate in the neighborhood or that large amount of new housing has been built and not yet occupied. Either way, if you live here, you may find many of the homes or apartments are 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 Boston, the Dorchester Southwest neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Real Estate
Three-deckers, duplexes, old Victorian homes cut up into apartments. Independent stores on the corner selling pizza. These are some of the hallmarks of neighborhoods with lots of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. The Dorchester Southwest neighborhood really stands out in this regard, however, as it is dominated by such small apartment buildings more than nearly any other neighborhood in America. This is a stunning visual and lifestyle example of this type of neighborhood. In fact, 63.1% of the real estate here are small 2, 3, or 4 unit apartment buildings, which is a higher proportion than found in 99.4% of America's neighborhoods.
In addition, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Dorchester Southwest neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.3% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 21,561 people per square mile living here. 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 Dorchester Southwest neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
Modes of Transportation
More people ride the bus in this neighborhood each day to get to work than 98.2% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Also, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 10.7% of the Dorchester Southwest neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 95.3% of America's neighborhoods.
People
Of note, 63.2% 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.
In addition, whether by choice, divorce, or unplanned pregnancy, single moms may have the toughest job in the book. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that the Dorchester Southwest neighborhood has more single mother households than 96.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. Often high concentrations of single mother homes can be a strong indicator of family and social issues such as poverty, high rates of school dropouts, crime, and other societal problems.
Length of Commute
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The Dorchester Southwest neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the Dorchester Southwest neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 10.5% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.0% of all neighborhoods in America.
Diversity
Did you know that the Dorchester Southwest neighborhood has more Haitian and Dominican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 22.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Haitian ancestry and 10.5% have Dominican ancestry.
Dorchester Southwest is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 21.4% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak French at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.8% 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 Dorchester Southwest neighborhood in Boston are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 63.6% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 63.2% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 97.5% 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 Dorchester Southwest neighborhood, 32.7% 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 28.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (22.1%), and 16.9% 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 Dorchester Southwest neighborhood is English, spoken by 55.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include French and Spanish.
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 Dorchester Southwest neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Haitian (22.8%). There are also a number of people of Dominican ancestry (10.5%), and residents who report Sub-Saharan African roots (9.3%), and some of the residents are also of Jamaican ancestry (2.1%), along with some Mexican ancestry residents (1.4%), among others. In addition, 32.2% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 Dorchester Southwest neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (31.0% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans. However, there is also a significant group of residents (10.5%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (45.2%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (18.0%) and 16.0% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors 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.
