Downtown median real estate price is $902,795, which is more expensive than 46.3% of the neighborhoods in California and 82.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Downtown is currently $2,988, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 57.9% of California neighborhoods.
Downtown is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in San Francisco, California.
Downtown 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 Downtown 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 1970 and 1999.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Downtown. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 32.5%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 96.3% 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.
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 San Francisco, the Downtown neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
What you'll find when you visit or move to this neighborhood is one of the most crowded neighborhoods in all of America. With an incredible 94,587 people per square mile, it is more densely populated than 99.6% of America'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 Downtown neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Downtown neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 94.2% of the residential real estate here is classified as such. This puts this neighborhood on the map as having a higher proportion of large apartment buildings than 98.8% of all neighborhoods in America.
Furthermore, the Downtown 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 94.0% 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, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Downtown neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 86.7%, which is higher than 95.9% 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. Despite all of the residential real estate here in the Downtown neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 32.5%, which is higher than 96.3% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In the Downtown 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 29.8% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.2% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, more people ride the bus in this neighborhood each day to get to work than 96.8% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Finally, in the Downtown neighborhood, 10.0% 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 95.7% of the neighborhoods in America.
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Downtown neighborhood buck this trend. 57.6% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.1% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Downtown has the amazing distinction of housing more same sex couples living together than 97.1% 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.
Did you know that the Downtown neighborhood has more Lebanese and Brazilian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.7% of this neighborhood's residents have Lebanese ancestry and 1.5% have Brazilian ancestry.
Downtown is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 17.6% 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 99.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 neighborhood in San Francisco are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 68.8% of the neighborhoods in America. With 14.2% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 59.8% of U.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 Downtown neighborhood, 63.9% 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 27.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (7.8%), and 2.4% in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions.
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 neighborhood is English, spoken by 50.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Spanish and Langs. of India.
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 neighborhood in San Francisco, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (34.1%). There are also a number of people of Mexican ancestry (9.4%), and residents who report German roots (7.1%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (5.6%), along with some English ancestry residents (5.5%), among others. In addition, 36.7% 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 neighborhood spend between 30 and 45 minutes commuting one-way to work (30.3% of working residents), which is at or a bit above the average length of a commute across all U.S. neighborhoods.
Here most residents (29.8%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (14.5%) and 12.7% of residents also ride the bus 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.
