Downtown San Rafael median real estate price is $2,094,196, which is more expensive than 92.4% of the neighborhoods in California and 98.6% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Downtown San Rafael is currently $3,687, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 65.3% of the neighborhoods in California.
Downtown San Rafael is an urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in San Rafael, California.
Downtown San Rafael 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 San Rafael neighborhood are newer, built in 2000 or more recently. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.
Downtown San Rafael has a 11.6% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 67.9% of American neighborhoods). Most vacant housing here is vacant year round. This could either signal that there is a weak demand for real estate in the neighborhood or that large amount of new housing has been built and not yet occupied. Either way, if you live here, you may find many of the homes or apartments are 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 Rafael, the Downtown San Rafael neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Downtown San Rafael 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: 62.1%. This is a higher percent living alone than we found in 99.1% 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.
Modes of Transportation
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 San Rafael neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 9.9% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 99.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
Also, in the Downtown San Rafael neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 36.8% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.
Finally, in the Downtown San Rafael 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 15.6% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 97.3% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move 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 Downtown San Rafael neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. Residents of this neighborhood must really love automobiles. NeighborhoodScout's Analysis reveals that 38.5% of the households here have four, five, or more cars. That is more cars per household than in 97.7% of the neighborhoods in the nation.
Length of Commute
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the Downtown San Rafael neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 11.4% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.7% of all neighborhoods in America.
Real Estate
The Downtown San Rafael 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 85.8% 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.
In addition, 87.4% of the real estate in the Downtown San Rafael neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
Occupations
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 San Rafael neighborhood in particular stands out when compared nationally for the proportion of its working residents who are employed by the government. At 12.8% of its workforce, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of government workers than 95.2% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the Downtown San Rafael neighborhood has more French Canadian and Italian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 20.6% of this neighborhood's residents have French Canadian ancestry and 35.3% have Italian ancestry.
Downtown San Rafael is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 3.5% 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 96.6% 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 San Rafael neighborhood in San Rafael are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 70.5% 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.
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 San Rafael neighborhood, 36.3% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 23.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (20.7%), and 19.4% in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants.
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 San Rafael neighborhood is English, spoken by 87.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Tagalog (the first language of the Philippine region), Polish and Chinese.
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 Downtown San Rafael neighborhood in San Rafael, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Italian (35.3%). There are also a number of people of French Canadian ancestry (20.6%), and residents who report German roots (16.1%), and some of the residents are also of Asian ancestry (13.5%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (10.1%), among others. In addition, 15.2% 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 San Rafael neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (30.6% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans. However, there is also a significant group of residents (11.4%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (25.1%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (15.6%) and 9.9% of residents also bicycle for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
