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 Southeast median real estate price is $1,171,951, which is more expensive than 79.1% of the neighborhoods in New York and 93.2% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Washington Heights Southeast is currently $3,877, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 71.1% of the neighborhoods in New York.
Washington Heights Southeast is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in New York, New York.
Washington Heights Southeast 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 Southeast 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.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Washington Heights Southeast. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 18.3%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 84.4% 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.
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 New York, the Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, washington Heights Southeast has the amazing distinction of housing more same sex couples living together than 98.2% of neighborhoods in the U.S. If you are seeking such a neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that this is one place that you should consider.
Car Ownership
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood buck this trend. 71.0% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.6% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Modes of Transportation
In the Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood, 41.0% 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 98.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
Also, in the Washington Heights Southeast 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 17.4% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 97.7% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Real Estate
The Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 46,284 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.3% 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 Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, the real estate in the Washington Heights Southeast 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, 88.4% 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.
Furthermore, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 87.4%, which is higher than 96.1% 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.
Diversity
Did you know that the Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood has more Dominican and Haitian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 45.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Dominican ancestry and 5.4% have Haitian ancestry.
Migration / Stability
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 Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood. What is interesting to note, is that the Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood has a greater percentage of residents born in another country (44.1%) than are found in 95.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
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 Southeast neighborhood in New York are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 66.8% of the neighborhoods in America. 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.
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 Southeast neighborhood, 53.4% 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 17.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (16.1%), and 12.7% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood is Spanish, spoken by 47.6% of households. Some people also speak English (47.0%).
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 Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood in New York, NY, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Dominican (45.8%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (6.7%), and residents who report South American roots (5.8%), and some of the residents are also of Haitian ancestry (5.4%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (3.8%), among others. In addition, 44.1% 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 Washington Heights Southeast neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (53.6% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (41.0%) 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 (17.4%) and 10.2% of residents also drive alone in a private automobile 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.
