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What do we mean by a neighborhood?
NeighborhoodScout® uses the official government designation for neighborhoods - the census tract.
Census tracts are small, relatively permanent subdivisions of a county that are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau in conjunction with local authorities all across the country to define real neighborhoods that are bounded to contain areas with homogeneous population characteristics (including economic status, lifestyle, and living conditions). Census tracts usually have 4,000 persons, but can range between 1,500 and 8,000 persons. This is the most fine-grained area for which detailed information is made available from the government, to protect the individual privacy of each of us. Because census tracts are based on population, they vary in size depending on the density of settlement. In urban areas, they are small, and in rural areas they can cover an entire small town or even a few small towns in very rural areas.
Since census tracts are subdivisions of a county, we did a spatial overlay of the census tracts onto city and town boundaries using a geographic information system to properly assign each census tract to its appropriate city or town. Then we named each census tract to the local colloquially recognized neighborhood name for that spot (e.g., Boston, MA (Dorchester). If there was not a name available, we named the census tract by the largest street intersection in the census tract (e.g., Worcester, MA (Lincoln St/Plantation St)
Why we don't use Zip Codes as neighborhoods
Zip codes were developed by the Postal Service for the purpose of delivering mail, but were never intended to define coherent neighborhoods. In addition, Zip Codes can have as many as 10 distinctly different census tracts contained within them. When distinct census tracts are blended together in a single Zip Code, the data reflects their average conditions and often gives a false sense of the area. The result is that potentially great matching neighborhoods can be missed, and erroneous matches can also be produced and delivered to you.
Using census tracts makes great matches possible, and helps people find the areas that are best for them and their families. Because we are committed to providing the highest possible quality and finding the neighborhoods that best meet your criteria, we use census tracts. And, as always, we show you the actual street map of the neighborhood so you know exactly where your best matching neighborhood is located.
What is a Condition Alert?
A condition alert is a condition in the neighborhood that triggers an alert. NeighborhoodScout contains condition alerts to highlight conditions that are extreme, whether good or bad. This helps answer crucial questions about the state of the neighborhood being evaluated, such as:
What are the risks of violent crime here?
Is the risk of home break-ins or other property crimes increasing?
Does real estate here hold its value?
Are the trends in local vacancies or unemployment concerning?
...and dozens more.
Information at a glance that you need to know to invest, appraise or finance a property.
Surfside is a somewhat small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Florida. With a population of 5,487 people and just one neighborhood, Surfside is the 271st largest community in Florida.
Surfside home prices are not only among the most expensive in Florida, but Surfside real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Occupations and Workforce
Surfside is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 86.25% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Surfside is a town of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Surfside who work in management occupations (14.65%), sales jobs (10.62%), and office and administrative support (8.69%).
Of important note, Surfside is also a town of artists. Surfside has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Surfside’s character.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 23.05% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Setting & Lifestyle
Another notable thing is that Surfside is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Surfside’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.
One of the nice things about Surfside is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
One downside of living in Surfside is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Surfside, the average commute to work is 32.70 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.
In Surfside, a lot of people use the bus to get to work every day though Surfside is a relatively small town. Those that ride the bus are primarily traveling out of town to good jobs in other cities.
Demographics
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Surfside. 56.10% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Surfside in 2022 was $47,713, which is upper middle income relative to Florida, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $190,852 for a family of four. However, Surfside contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Surfside is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Surfside home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Surfside residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Surfside also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 36.94% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Surfside include Polish, Italian, Russian, Irish, and German.
Surfside also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 42.33%.
The most common language spoken in Surfside is Spanish. Other important languages spoken here include English and Portuguese.
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
Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, 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, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 44.8% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 98.2% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
Diversity
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Cuban and Ukrainian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 18.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Cuban ancestry and 2.8% have Ukrainian ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 7.4% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Portuguese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
Migration / Stability
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. What is interesting to note, is that the neighborhood has a greater percentage of residents born in another country (42.3%) than are found in 95.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
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 neighborhood in Surfside are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 51.5% of the neighborhoods in America. With 15.7% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 61.5% 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 neighborhood, 48.3% 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 29.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (13.7%), and 8.7% 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 neighborhood is Spanish, spoken by 43.9% of households. Other important languages spoken here include English, Portuguese, Italian and French.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the neighborhood in Surfside, FL, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Cuban (18.5%). There are also a number of people of South American ancestry (10.7%), and residents who report Polish roots (7.5%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (4.9%), along with some Russian ancestry residents (4.8%), among others. In addition, 42.3% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Getting to Work
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 neighborhood spend between 30 and 45 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.1% of working residents), which is at or a bit above the average length of a commute across all U.S. neighborhoods.
Here most residents (60.0%) 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 (7.3%) and 5.4% 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.
SCOUT’s patented match algorithm identifies the most similar neighborhoods to a subject location, and quantifies the similarity to the subject location. This allows analysts to identify the most similar neighborhoods in a local market area for appraisals, investments, and research.
The algorithm uses 273 neighborhood conditions, identifies the dominant dimensions underlying the conditions and calculates the similarity. This captures the true culture and character of locations, economic conditions, and trends.
The closer to 100% means the locations are nearly identical. 80% is a very good, but not excellent match, and so forth.
