Southside West median real estate price is $2,691,539, which is more expensive than 95.8% of the neighborhoods in California and 99.2% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Southside West is currently $2,891, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 64.5% of California neighborhoods.
Southside West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Berkeley, California.
Southside 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 Southside 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.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Southside West. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 20.8%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 88.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, most vacant housing here is vacant year round. This can sometimes be the case in neighborhoods dominated by new construction that is not yet occupied. But often neighborhoods with vacancy rates this high are places that can be plagued by a protracted vacancy problem. If you live here, you may find that a number of buildings in your neighborhood are actually 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 Berkeley, the Southside West neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
The Southside West neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 97.0% of the neighborhoods in the United States. In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Southside West neighborhood also stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, neighborhoodScout's analysis shows that the Southside West neighborhood has a greater concentration of residents currently enrolled in college than 99.7% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. With 81.8% of the population here attending college, this is very much a college-focused neighborhood.
Also, one of the really interesting characteristics about the Southside 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 3.3% of college-friendly places to live in the state of California.
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Southside West neighborhood buck this trend. 77.9% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.8% of U.S. neighborhoods.
In the Southside 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 35.4% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.4% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, in the Southside West neighborhood, 10.9% 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 95.7% of the neighborhoods in America.
Renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Southside West neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 99.7%, which is higher than 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America. If you were to buy and live in the property you bought here, you would be almost alone in doing so.
In addition, 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 71,284 people per square mile, it is more densely populated than 99.2% 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 Southside West neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
Furthermore, the real estate in the Southside West 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, 88.8% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 98.0% of American neighborhoods.
Also of note, the Southside West 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 85.5% 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.
Do you like to be surrounded by people from all over the country or world, with different perspectives and life experiences? Or do you instead prefer to be in a neighborhood where most residents have lived there for a long time, creating a sense of cohesiveness? NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood stands out among American neighborhoods for the uniqueness of the mobility of its residents. In the Southside West neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 99.6% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
Did you know that the Southside West neighborhood has more Asian and Iranian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 39.1% of this neighborhood's residents have Asian ancestry and 1.5% have Iranian ancestry.
Southside West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 15.5% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Chinese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.8% 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 Southside West neighborhood in Berkeley 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. 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.
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 Southside West neighborhood, 49.9% 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 24.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (19.3%), and 6.1% 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 Southside West neighborhood is English, spoken by 46.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Spanish, Langs. of India and Korean.
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 Southside West neighborhood in Berkeley, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (39.1%). There are also a number of people of Mexican ancestry (13.2%), and residents who report German roots (5.0%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (3.6%), along with some South American ancestry residents (2.7%), among others. In addition, 22.1% 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 Southside West neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (39.2% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (35.4%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (12.5%) and 10.9% of residents also take the train 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.
