Dorchester West median real estate price is $963,108, which is more expensive than 73.3% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 88.3% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Dorchester West is currently $2,235, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 78.9% of Massachusetts neighborhoods.
Dorchester West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dorchester 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 Dorchester 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 1940 and 1969.
Real estate vacancies in Dorchester West are 5.3%, which is lower than one will find in 64.6% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in Dorchester West 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.
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.
Length of Commute
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. 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 West neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 16.0% 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 98.9% of all neighborhoods in America.
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 Dorchester West neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 44.8% 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.
Modes of Transportation
If your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 5.1% of residents in the Dorchester West neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 98.2% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Also, in the Dorchester West neighborhood, 30.3% 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 98.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
Finally, our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (16.7% ride the bus) than 97.8% of all American neighborhoods. If you like the idea of leaving your car and home and hopping the bus to work, this might be a good neighborhood for you to consider.
Real Estate
The Dorchester West neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 36,511 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.6% 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 Dorchester West neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, 87.7% of the real estate in the Dorchester West neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
Furthermore, 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 West 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, 31.0% of the real estate here are small 2, 3, or 4 unit apartment buildings, which is a higher proportion than found in 95.0% of America's neighborhoods.
People
One of the unique characteristics of the Dorchester West neighborhood revealed by analysis is that the per capita income of residents here is lower than that found in 97.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
In addition, single parenting is hard. But you don't have to tell the Dorchester West neighborhood about it; they already know. 19.3% of this neighborhood's households are run by single mothers, which is a higher concentration than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.6% of American neighborhoods. Further NeighborhoodScout research showed strong statistical correlations among high rates of children living in single parent households, and neighborhood crime, particularly violent crime, neighborhood poverty, and, importantly, the percentage of low weight births and rates of infant mortality.
Diversity
Did you know that the Dorchester West neighborhood has more Dominican and Haitian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 14.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Dominican ancestry and 9.7% have Haitian ancestry.
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 Dorchester West neighborhood in Boston are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 97.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 29.2% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 80.3% of U.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 Dorchester West neighborhood, 34.6% 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 34.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (20.9%), 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 Dorchester West neighborhood is English, spoken by 64.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Italian and French.
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 West neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Puerto Rican (15.3%). There are also a number of people of Dominican ancestry (14.8%), and residents who report Haitian roots (9.7%), and some of the residents are also of Jamaican ancestry (8.5%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (2.0%), 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 West neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (32.2% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (30.3%) take the train to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (29.1%) and 16.7% 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.
