Downtown Berkeley median real estate price is $1,039,097, which is more expensive than 64.1% of the neighborhoods in California and 91.5% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Downtown Berkeley is currently $2,833, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 63.7% of California neighborhoods.
Downtown Berkeley is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Berkeley, California.
Downtown Berkeley 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 single-family homes. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood are newer, built in 2000 or more recently. A number of residences were also built before 1940.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Downtown Berkeley. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 17.6%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 85.0% 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.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
A unique way of commuting is simply not to. And in the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood, analysis shows that 54.1% of the residents work from home, avoiding a commute altogether. This may not seem like a large number, but it is a higher proportion of people working from home than is found in 99.9% of the neighborhoods in the United States. One thing NeighborhoodScout's research reveals is that the wealthier and/or more isolated the neighborhood, the greater the proportion of residents who choose to work from home.
Also, more people in Downtown Berkeley choose to walk to work each day (22.1%) 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.
The government often provides some of the more stable jobs in the economy. From local, to state, to federal government workers, the government can also be a major employer. What NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed, is that the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood in particular stands out when compared nationally for the proportion of its working residents who are employed by the government. At 21.3% of its workforce, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of government workers than 99.3% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 98.9% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 80.2% 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.
Renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 100.0%, which is higher than 99.3% 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 Downtown Berkeley 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, 92.2% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 98.5% of American neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the Downtown Berkeley 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 88.7% 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.
Also of note, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.0% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 20,380 people per square mile living here.
One of the most interesting things about the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 62.4% 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 99.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
In addition, neighborhoodScout's analysis shows that the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood has a greater concentration of residents currently enrolled in college than 99.0% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. With 39.7% of the population here attending college, this is very much a college-focused neighborhood.
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood buck this trend. 49.2% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Did you know that the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood has more Iranian and Asian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Iranian ancestry and 40.9% have Asian ancestry.
Downtown Berkeley is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 20.1% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Chinese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
The freedom of moving to new places versus the comfort of home. How much and how often people move not only can create diverse and worldly neighborhoods, but simultaneously it can produce a loss of intimacy with one's surroundings and a lack of connectedness to one's neighbors. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research has identified this neighborhood as unique with regard to the transience of its populace. In the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 98.0% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood in Berkeley are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 72.6% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 36.5% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 87.2% 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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood, 80.2% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions, with 21.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (14.2%), and 4.6% 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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood is English, spoken by 54.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Spanish, Langs. of India and Russian.
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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood in Berkeley, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (40.9%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (16.7%), and residents who report English roots (14.0%), and some of the residents are also of German ancestry (8.2%), along with some Mexican ancestry residents (5.6%), among others. In addition, 36.8% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (42.7% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (22.1%) 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 (7.5%) and 6.7% 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.
