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.
Calvert Square median real estate price is $274,372, which is less expensive than 77.4% of Virginia neighborhoods and 66.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
The average rental price in Calvert Square is currently $943, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 98.8% of Virginia neighborhoods.
Calvert Square is an urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Norfolk, Virginia.
Calvert 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 townhomes. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Calvert Square neighborhood are older, well-established, built between 1940 and 1969. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.
In Calvert Square, the current vacancy rate is 2.5%, which is a lower rate of vacancies than 82.2% of all neighborhoods in the U.S. This means that the housing supply in Calvert Square is very tight compared to the demand for property here.
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 Norfolk, the Calvert Square neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
One of the unique characteristics of the Calvert Square neighborhood revealed by analysis is that the per capita income of residents here is lower than that found in 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America. Also of note, 97.9% of the children in this area live in poverty; an extraordinarily high percentage compared to other neighborhoods in the nation. In a nation where approximately one in four children grows up in poverty, this neighborhood stands out for the depth of the problem manifested here.
In addition, whether by choice, divorce, or unplanned pregnancy, single moms may have the toughest job in the book. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that the Calvert Square neighborhood has more single mother households than 99.8% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. Often high concentrations of single mother homes can be a strong indicator of family and social issues such as poverty, high rates of school dropouts, crime, and other societal problems.
Modes of Transportation
In the Calvert Square neighborhood, carpooling is still a popular way to get to and from work. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that 47.4% of commuters carpool here, which is more than in 99.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Also, in the Calvert 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 11.3% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 95.6% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Occupations
More people work in manufacturing and as laborers here in the Calvert Square neighborhood than in 98.7% of the neighborhoods in America. Despite the loss of manufacturing jobs across the nation, this neighborhood remains a place where, compared to other parts of the country, you will find many laborers and manufacturers.
Car Ownership
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Calvert Square neighborhood buck this trend. 43.0% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.3% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Real Estate
Renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Calvert Square neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 93.8%, which is higher than 97.8% 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, the real estate in the Calvert 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, 73.0% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 95.6% of American neighborhoods.
Length of Commute
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The Calvert Square neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Residents of the Calvert Square neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 60.9% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.4% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
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 Calvert Square neighborhood in Norfolk are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 99.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 97.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 99.9% 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 Calvert Square neighborhood, 49.1% of the working population is employed in manufacturing and laborer 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 33.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (17.9%).
Languages
The most common language spoken in the Calvert Square neighborhood is English, spoken by 92.3% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (7.0%).
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 Calvert Square neighborhood in Norfolk, VA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (2.7%).
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 Calvert Square neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (60.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (47.4%) carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (34.1%) and 11.3% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work for their daily commute. Despite relying on the automobile to get to work, residents of this neighborhood share the ride more than most neighborhoods, reducing traffic, pollution, and saving money.
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.
