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Real Estate Prices & Overview

University City median real estate price is $367,157, which is more expensive than 71.7% of the neighborhoods in Pennsylvania and 53.7% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.

The average rental price in University City is currently $4,090, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 98.8% of the neighborhoods in Pennsylvania.

University City is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

University City 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 University City neighborhood are newer, built in 2000 or more recently. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.

Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in University City. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 36.6%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 96.8% 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 Philadelphia, the University City 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 University City neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.

In addition, do you like to read, write, and learn? Are you curious about the world? If so, this neighborhood may be a good fit for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that a full 96.3% of the adults living in the University City neighborhood have earned at least a bachelor's degree. This is a higher rate than NeighborhoodScout found in 100.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. In this way, this neighborhood truly stands out.

Also, the University City neighborhood stands out within Pennsylvania for its college student friendly environment. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood is home to a number of college students, is relatively walkable, and above average in safety. In combination, this makes it stand out for a good place for college students to consider. Because a number of college students live here, this neighborhood may be close to a college campus and offer certain amenities nearby geared towards the student body. While it's not an environment for everyone, ambitious scholars can enjoy seasonal excitement between semesters and school breaks, and parents can rest easy knowing that the area has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 8.2% of college-friendly places to live in PA.

Modes of Transportation

In the University City 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 52.6% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.9% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!

Also, in the University City neighborhood, 22.2% 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 97.4% of the neighborhoods 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 University City neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 78.0% 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.

Real Estate

100.0% of the real estate in the University City neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America. Vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 36.6% of the residential real estate vacant, the University City neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 96.8% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.

In addition, the University City 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 94.7% 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.

Furthermore, the real estate in the University City 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, 91.4% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 98.4% of American neighborhoods.

Also of note, homes built from 2000 through today make up a higher proportion of the University City neighborhood's real estate landscape than 97.9% of the neighborhoods in America. When you are driving around this neighborhood, you'll notice right away that it is one of the newest built of any, with the smell of fresh paint, and the look of young landscaping nearly everywhere you look. In fact, 83.8% of the residential real estate here is classified as newer. In fact, the concentration of newer homes here is so great that they completely dominate the landscape. In most neighborhoods, there is a mixture of ages of residential real estate, but here it is almost completely built during one time frame: 2000 through today.

Finally, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the University City neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.5% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 22,439 people per square mile living here.

Migration / Stability

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 University City neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 99.7% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.

Diversity

Did you know that the University City neighborhood has more Asian and Iranian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 26.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Asian ancestry and 0.8% have Iranian ancestry.

University City is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 6.0% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Langs. of India at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.0% 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 University City neighborhood in Philadelphia are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 93.0% 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.

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 University City neighborhood, 54.3% 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 29.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (8.4%), and 8.2% 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 University City neighborhood is English, spoken by 66.4% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Chinese, Langs. of India and Korean.

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 University City neighborhood in Philadelphia, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (26.4%). There are also a number of people of Spanish ancestry (8.0%), and residents who report South American roots (4.8%), and some of the residents are also of Sub-Saharan African ancestry (4.0%), along with some Puerto Rican ancestry residents (3.9%), among others. In addition, 20.7% 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 University City neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (44.2% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (52.6%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (22.2%) and 6.3% of residents also drive alone in a private automobile 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.


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