Downtown South median real estate price is $1,521,356, which is more expensive than 83.7% of the neighborhoods in California and 96.6% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Downtown South is currently $2,342, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 81.2% of California neighborhoods.
Downtown South is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in San Francisco, California.
Downtown South real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to large (four, five or more 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 South 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 South. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 18.1%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 85.8% 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.
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 South neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
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 Downtown South neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 87.6% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.9% of U.S. neighborhoods.
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 80,367 people per square mile, it is more densely populated than 99.4% 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 South neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, the Downtown South 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 96.8% 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, 100.0% of the real estate in the Downtown South neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
Also of note, the real estate in the Downtown South 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, 95.8% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 99.2% of American neighborhoods.
Finally, if you find historic homes and neighborhoods attractive, you love the details, the history, and the charm, then you are sure to be interested in this neighborhood. With 67.3% of the residential real estate in the Downtown South neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 98.2% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
Our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (25.6% ride the bus) than 99.5% of all American neighborhoods. If you like the idea of leaving your car and home and hopping the bus to work, this might be a good neighborhood for you to consider.
Also, in the Downtown South 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 35.2% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.4% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Finally, would you like to be able to ride your bike to work? If you are attracted to the idea of getting a little exercise of the two-wheeled type while reducing your carbon footprint, bicycling to work might be the answer. But which neighborhood you live in can make this either impossible, or alternatively, a great and realistic option. NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that the Downtown South neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 2.8% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 95.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
The types of households in a neighborhood can tell a lot about the character and lifestyle of those living here. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood, above nearly every neighborhood in America, has a greater percentage of its residents living alone: 65.2%. This is a higher percent living alone than we found in 99.3% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Often residents who live alone are new arrivals to an area who are single, and often senior citizens who have lost a spouse.
Did you know that the Downtown South neighborhood has more Portuguese and Iranian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Portuguese ancestry and 1.3% have Iranian ancestry.
Downtown South is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 4.1% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Tagalog, which is the first language of the Philippine region, at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.3% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 Downtown South neighborhood in San Francisco are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 89.2% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 34.2% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 85.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the Downtown South neighborhood, 40.8% 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 34.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (12.9%), and 12.0% 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 South neighborhood is English, spoken by 63.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog (the first language of the Philippine region) and French.
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 Downtown South neighborhood in San Francisco, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (30.8%). There are also a number of people of Mexican ancestry (12.3%), and residents who report German roots (7.3%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (5.6%), along with some Portuguese ancestry residents (3.4%), among others. In addition, 38.7% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 Downtown South neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (32.7% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (35.2%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (25.6%) and 5.9% 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.
