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.
Bloomfield West median real estate price is $336,369, which is more expensive than 61.4% of the neighborhoods in Pennsylvania and 44.5% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Bloomfield West is currently $1,773, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 48.5% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods.
Bloomfield West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Bloomfield West real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) townhomes and small apartment buildings. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Bloomfield 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 Bloomfield West. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 16.8%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 82.9% 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 Pittsburgh, the Bloomfield West neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the Bloomfield West neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the Bloomfield West community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, one of the most interesting things about the Bloomfield West neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 52.4% of the households here made up of people living alone, NeighborhoodScout's research reveals that this is a larger proportion of people living alone than in 96.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
Real Estate
If you love row houses and attached homes, you will probably really like the Bloomfield West neighborhood. The ambiance, the charm, of row houses is something special. And in sheer abundance of row houses, this neighborhood truly stands out. The real estate here has a higher proportion of row houses and attached homes than nearly any neighborhood in America. In fact, 42.9% of the residential real estate here is classified as row houses and attached homes.
In addition, being a walkable neighborhood can help increase property values for the simple reason that people enjoy it and value it. To put it plainly, despite our love affair with the automobile, American's enjoy taking to the streets, sidewalks, paths, and courtyards of a place to get a coffee, relax, and take in the sights and sounds. And, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive and first quantitative walkable score index, the Bloomfield West neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
Furthermore, do you watch 'This Old House' on Public Television? Do you love the idea of fixing up a Colonial or Victorian era home, complete with the charm of yesteryear? Do you like to stroll or drive streets lined with gracious older residences? If you found yourself nodding yes to any of these questions, you are going to be interested in this unique neighborhood. The Bloomfield West neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 80.3% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 99.7% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
Modes of Transportation
If your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 3.1% of residents in the Bloomfield West neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 96.1% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Also, more people ride the bus in this neighborhood each day to get to work than 95.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Finally, more people in Bloomfield West choose to walk to work each day (10.9%) than almost any neighborhood in America. If you are attracted to the idea of being able to walk to work, this neighborhood could be a good choice.
Diversity
Did you know that the Bloomfield West neighborhood has more Polish and French Canadian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 12.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Polish ancestry and 3.0% have French Canadian ancestry.
Bloomfield West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 10.5% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Polish at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.3% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 Bloomfield West neighborhood in Pittsburgh are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 48.9% 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.
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 Bloomfield West neighborhood, 55.9% 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 20.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (12.1%), and 12.0% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the Bloomfield West neighborhood is English, spoken by 95.9% of households. Some people also speak Polish (10.5%).
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 Bloomfield West neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (18.9%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (14.0%), and residents who report Irish roots (13.8%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (12.2%), along with some English ancestry residents (8.9%), among others.
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 Bloomfield West neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (54.1% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (45.6%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (10.9%) and 10.8% of residents also ride the bus for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
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.
