San Francisco, CA (Union Square / Academy of Art University)

When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.

Modes of Transportation

In the Union Square / Academy of Art University 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 45.5% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.8% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!

Also, our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (13.0% ride the bus) than 97.0% 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.

People

The first thing that you'll notice if you moved to this neighborhood is that an astounding 3.6% of the households are same sex couples. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis, this is a higher proportion of same sex households than in 99.5% of the neighborhoods in America. This is one indicator that this neighborhood is likely a gay-friendly neighborhood. So if you are looking for such a neighborhood, the Union Square / Academy of Art University neighborhood should definitely be on your list of places to consider.

In addition, of note, 56.0% 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.

Car Ownership

We Americans love our cars. Not only are they a necessity for most Americans due to the shape of our neighborhoods and the distances between where we live, work, shop, and go to school, but we also fancy them. As a result, most households in America have one, two, or three cars. But NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis shows that the Union Square / Academy of Art University neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 65.9% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.

Real Estate

The real estate in the Union Square / Academy of Art University 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, 96.2% 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.

In addition, the Union Square / Academy of Art University 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 91.0% 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.

Furthermore, do you watch 'This Old House' on Public Television? Do you love the idea of fixing up a Colonial or Victorian era home, complete with the charm of yesteryear? Do you like to stroll or drive streets lined with gracious older residences? If you found yourself nodding yes to any of these questions, you are going to be interested in this unique neighborhood. The Union Square / Academy of Art University neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 64.5% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 97.7% of the neighborhoods in the United States.