Polk Gulch median real estate price is $1,661,321, which is more expensive than 86.6% of the neighborhoods in California and 97.3% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Polk Gulch is currently $3,404, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 45.8% of California neighborhoods.
Polk Gulch is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in San Francisco, California.
Polk Gulch 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 Polk Gulch 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 Polk Gulch. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 27.4%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 93.8% 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 Polk Gulch neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Polk Gulch neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, 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: 53.7%. This is a higher percent living alone than we found in 97.1% 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.
One of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Polk Gulch neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 98.5% 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 99.7% of all neighborhoods in America.
In addition, the Polk Gulch 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 96.3% 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, the Polk Gulch neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 51,598 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.5% of the nation's neighborhoods. 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 Polk Gulch neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
Also of note, 93.3% of the real estate in the Polk Gulch neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
More people in Polk Gulch choose to walk to work each day (39.4%) 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.
Also, more people ride the bus in this neighborhood each day to get to work than 97.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Finally, in the Polk Gulch neighborhood, 10.7% 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 95.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Polk Gulch neighborhood buck this trend. 62.4% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.3% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Did you know that the Polk Gulch neighborhood has more Iranian and Asian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 4.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Iranian ancestry and 40.5% have Asian ancestry.
Polk Gulch is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 15.9% 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 98.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
Do you like to be surrounded by people from all over the country or world, with different perspectives and life experiences? Or do you instead prefer to be in a neighborhood where most residents have lived there for a long time, creating a sense of cohesiveness? NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood stands out among American neighborhoods for the uniqueness of the mobility of its residents. In the Polk Gulch neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 97.4% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas. What is also interesting to note, is that the Polk Gulch neighborhood has a greater percentage of residents born in another country (46.0%) than are found in 96.3% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
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 Polk Gulch 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 74.6% 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 Polk Gulch neighborhood, 62.5% 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 27.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (6.6%), and 3.5% in manufacturing and laborer 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 Polk Gulch neighborhood is English, spoken by 55.1% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the Polk Gulch neighborhood in San Francisco, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (40.5%). There are also a number of people of Mexican ancestry (9.9%), and residents who report German roots (8.0%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (5.9%), along with some English ancestry residents (5.0%), among others. In addition, 46.0% 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 Polk Gulch neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.5% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (39.4%) 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 (14.9%) and 10.7% of residents also take the train 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.
