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.
Washington Heights South median real estate price is $728,953, which is more expensive than 55.6% of the neighborhoods in New York and 81.7% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Washington Heights South is currently $1,907, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 72.5% of New York neighborhoods.
Washington Heights South is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in New York, New York. This is a coastal neighborhood (i.e., is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet).
Washington Heights South 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 Washington Heights South neighborhood are older, well-established, built between 1940 and 1969. A number of residences were also built before 1940.
Real estate vacancies in Washington Heights South are 3.3%, which is lower than one will find in 78.4% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in Washington Heights South 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
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
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 87,892 people per square mile, it is more densely populated than 99.5% 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 Washington Heights South neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability. Washington Heights South is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, Washington Heights South is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.
In addition, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Washington Heights South neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 97.7% of the residential real estate here is classified as such. This puts this neighborhood on the map as having a higher proportion of large apartment buildings than 99.6% of all neighborhoods in America.
Furthermore, 99.6% of the real estate in the Washington Heights South neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
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 Washington Heights South neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 84.1% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.9% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Modes of Transportation
If you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 59.9% of the Washington Heights South neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 99.8% of America's neighborhoods.
People
Whether by choice, divorce, or unplanned pregnancy, single moms may have the toughest job in the book. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that the Washington Heights South neighborhood has more single mother households than 99.0% 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.
In addition, the Washington Heights South neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 98.0% of the neighborhoods in the United States. The Washington Heights South neighborhood also has a greater percentage of children living in poverty (53.6%) than found in 95.2% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Children living in poverty is one of the challenges facing America, and the world, and in this neighborhood in particular, the problem can be considered acute.
Diversity
Did you know that the Washington Heights South neighborhood has more Dominican and Puerto Rican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 32.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Dominican ancestry and 13.1% have Puerto Rican ancestry.
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 Washington Heights South neighborhood in New York are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 98.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 53.6% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 95.2% 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 Washington Heights South neighborhood, 34.2% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 31.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (17.5%), and 16.6% in executive, management, and professional occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the Washington Heights South neighborhood is English, spoken by 55.5% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (41.7%).
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 Washington Heights South neighborhood in New York, NY, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Dominican (32.5%). There are also a number of people of Puerto Rican ancestry (13.1%), and residents who report Mexican roots (2.5%), and some of the residents are also of Sub-Saharan African ancestry (2.2%), along with some Haitian ancestry residents (2.0%), among others. In addition, 19.7% 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 Washington Heights South neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (53.7% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (59.9%) take the train to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (11.6%) and 9.0% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work 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.
