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.
Sheepshead Bay West median real estate price is $1,021,834, which is more expensive than 68.8% of the neighborhoods in New York and 87.8% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Sheepshead Bay West is currently $3,545, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 68.0% of the neighborhoods in New York.
Sheepshead Bay West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Brooklyn, New York.
Sheepshead Bay West real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) small apartment buildings and townhomes. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood are older, well-established, built between 1940 and 1969. A number of residences were also built before 1940.
Sheepshead Bay West has a 11.4% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 68.5% 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.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
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 Brooklyn, the Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
One of the really interesting characteristics about the Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood is that, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research, it is an excellent choice in which to reside for college students. Due to its popularity among college students who already choose to live here, its walkability, and its above average safety from crime, the neighborhood is ideal for prospective or already-enrolled college students. Between semesters and during school breaks, you'll notice that the excitement here fluctuates with the college seasons. Despite the excitement however, parents of college-age children can rest easy knowing that this neighborhood has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 2.4% of college-friendly places to live in the state of New York.
Real Estate
The Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 34,578 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.5% of the nation's neighborhoods. 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 Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
In addition, many people dream of living along a street lined with row houses or other attached homes. Such places do often have an abundance of charm. If you are one of these people, the Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood could be your paradise. With 27.4% of the homes and real estate here classified as rowhouses or other attached homes, this neighborhood brims with opportunity to find the right place for you. Only 3.8% of U.S. neighborhoods have more row houses than this neighborhood, making it one of the most interesting things about this special neighborhood.
Modes of Transportation
If you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 16.5% of the Sheepshead Bay West 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.
Also, in the Sheepshead Bay West 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 13.0% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 96.5% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Diversity
Did you know that the Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood has more Arab and Lebanese ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 17.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Arab ancestry and 3.1% have Lebanese ancestry.
Sheepshead Bay West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 4.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Russian at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.7% 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 Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood in Brooklyn are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 55.0% of the neighborhoods in America. With 17.4% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 65.4% 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 Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood, 41.0% 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 30.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (15.2%), and 13.0% 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 Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood is English, spoken by 66.3% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Arabic, Spanish, Russian and Chinese.
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 Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Arab (17.8%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (11.8%), and residents who report Russian roots (5.5%), and some of the residents are also of Mexican ancestry (4.6%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (4.3%), among others. In addition, 35.6% 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 Sheepshead Bay West neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (47.2% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (37.5%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (18.8%) and 16.5% of residents also take the train 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.
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.
