Central Square median real estate price is $1,526,155, which is more expensive than 93.8% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 96.6% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Central Square is currently $4,666, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 89.2% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Central Square is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Central Square 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 Central Square 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 2000 and the present.
Real estate vacancies in Central Square are 3.5%, which is lower than one will find in 75.6% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in Central Square 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.
If your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 7.2% of residents in the Central Square neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 99.2% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Also, in the Central Square 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 22.6% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 98.5% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Finally, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 25.1% of the Central Square neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 97.9% of America's neighborhoods.
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 Central Square neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 54.0% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.9% of U.S. neighborhoods.
If knowledge is power, then imagine the cumulative power of one neighborhood where many of the adults have earned an advanced degree, such as a Masters, law degree, medical degree, or even a Ph.D. This is certainly the case in the Central Square neighborhood, where 45.7% have earned an advanced degree. Compare that to the average neighborhood in America, where just 13.7% of adults have completed a post-graduate degree, and you can see why this neighborhood is a stand out. In fact, this neighborhood has a higher rate of adults with an advanced degree than 98.4% of the neighborhoods in America.
In addition, the Central Square neighborhood has a greater percentage of children living in poverty (65.1%) than found in 97.9% 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.
The Central Square neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 98.1% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 76.8% of the employed people here make a living as an executive, a manager, or other professional. With such a high concentration, this truly shapes the character of this neighborhood, and to a large degree defines what this neighborhood is about.
94.8% of the real estate in the Central Square neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
In addition, the real estate in the Central Square 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, 76.1% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 96.1% of American neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the Central Square 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 82.1% 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.
Also of note, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Central Square neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.0% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 20,664 people per square mile living here.
Did you know that the Central Square neighborhood has more Arab and Romanian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 4.7% of this neighborhood's residents have Arab ancestry and 1.3% have Romanian ancestry.
Central Square is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 4.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak African languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
Some neighborhoods have more internal cohesiveness than others. While other neighborhoods feel like a collection of strangers who just happen to live near each other. Sometimes this comes down to not only the personalities of the people in a place, but how long people have been together in that neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research has revealed some interesting things about the rootedness of people in the Central Square neighborhood. In the Central Square neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 96.4% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
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 Central Square neighborhood in Cambridge are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 47.8% of the neighborhoods in America. With 65.1% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 97.9% 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 Central Square neighborhood, 76.8% 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 13.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (8.2%), and 4.3% in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions.
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 Central Square neighborhood is English, spoken by 64.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Chinese, African languages and Arabic.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the Central Square neighborhood in Cambridge, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (19.6%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (6.8%), and residents who report Irish roots (6.4%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (6.3%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (5.6%), among others. In addition, 33.9% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 Central Square neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (39.4% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (25.1%) take the train to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (22.6%) and 7.2% of residents also bicycle 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.
