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Real Estate Prices & Overview

Smith Ranch median real estate price is $493,409, which is less expensive than 82.6% of California neighborhoods and 38.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

The average rental price in Smith Ranch is currently $5,239, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 91.3% of the neighborhoods in California.

Smith Ranch is a suburban neighborhood (based on population density) located in San Rafael, California. This is a coastal neighborhood (i.e., is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet).

Smith Ranch 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 mobile homes. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Smith Ranch neighborhood are established but not old, having been built between 1970 and 1999. A number of residences were also built between 2000 and the present.

Smith Ranch has a 10.0% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 64.2% 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.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.

Real Estate

Smith Ranch is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, Smith Ranch is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.

In addition, most neighborhoods are composed of a mixture of ages of homes, but the Smith Ranch stands out as rather unique in having nearly all of its residential real estate built in one time period, namely between 1970 and 1999, generally considered to be established, but not old housing. What you'll sense when you look around or drive the streets of this neighborhood is that many of the residences look the same because of this similarity of age. In fact, 81.0% of the residential real estate here was built in this one time period.

Modes of Transportation

If you like to ride a ferry to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 0.6% of the Smith Ranch neighborhood's commuters ride a ferry to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 98.6% of America's neighborhoods.

Also, our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (9.5% ride the bus) than 95.0% 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

If you're planning where to retire, the Smith Ranch neighborhood in San Rafael is a great option to consider. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive retirement dream area analysis, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety ratings compared to other neighborhoods in CA, offers a wide range of housing options, and has already attracted an enviable mix of college educated seniors. This neighborhood ranks as better for retirement living than 87.5% of the neighborhoods in California. If you are considering retiring to California, this is a good neighborhood to look at.

Diversity

Did you know that the Smith Ranch neighborhood has more Belgian and Armenian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 0.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Belgian ancestry and 0.9% have Armenian ancestry.

Smith Ranch is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.0% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Persian at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.5% of the neighborhoods in America.

The Neighbors

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 Smith Ranch neighborhood in San Rafael are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 85.4% of the neighborhoods in America. With 45.7% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 92.5% 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 Smith Ranch neighborhood, 43.1% 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 27.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (16.6%), and 13.3% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the Smith Ranch neighborhood is English, spoken by 75.2% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (8.2%).

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 Smith Ranch neighborhood in San Rafael, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (15.3%). There are also a number of people of Mexican ancestry (13.1%), and residents who report Irish roots (10.5%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (9.3%), along with some Sub-Saharan African ancestry residents (6.6%), among others. In addition, 24.3% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.

Getting to Work

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 Smith Ranch neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (39.7% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (44.6%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (18.2%) and 9.5% of residents also ride the bus 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.


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