Downtown median real estate price is $863,971, which is more expensive than 95.6% of the neighborhoods in Georgia and 87.0% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Downtown is currently $1,915, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 53.5% of Georgia neighborhoods.
Downtown is an urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Athens, Georgia.
Downtown 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 neighborhood are newer, built in 2000 or more recently. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.
Home and apartment vacancy rates are 9.0% in Downtown. NeighborhoodScout analysis shows that this rate is lower than 40.5% of the neighborhoods in the nation, approximately near the middle range for vacancies.
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 Athens, the Downtown neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
The Downtown neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 100.0% of the neighborhoods in the United States. Also of note, 100.0% 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.
In addition, an extraordinary 72.3% of the residents of the Downtown neighborhood are currently enrolled in college. This is such a large part of life in this neighborhood that the neighborhood changes a great deal with the change of semesters and is far quieter during the summer when many students are away.
Also, one of the really interesting characteristics about the Downtown neighborhood is that, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research, it is an excellent choice in which to reside for college students. Due to its popularity among college students who already choose to live here, its walkability, and its above average safety from crime, the neighborhood is ideal for prospective or already-enrolled college students. Between semesters and during school breaks, you'll notice that the excitement here fluctuates with the college seasons. Despite the excitement however, parents of college-age children can rest easy knowing that this neighborhood has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 4.6% of college-friendly places to live in the state of Georgia.
There are more people living in the Downtown neighborhood employed as sales and service workers (48.3%) than almost any neighborhood in the country. From fast-food service workers to major sales accounts, sales and service workers make up the largest proportion of our national employment picture. But despite that size and importance nationally, this neighborhood still stands out as unique due to the dominance of people living here who work in such occupations.
More people in Downtown choose to walk to work each day (23.7%) 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.
Renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Downtown neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 97.1%, which is higher than 98.5% of the neighborhoods in America. If you were to buy and live in the property you bought here, you would be almost alone in doing so.
In addition, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Downtown neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 87.9% 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 97.9% of all neighborhoods in America.
Furthermore, if you like the look and ambience of new homes and newly built neighborhoods, you will love the Downtown neighborhood. A whopping 71.6% of the homes and other residential real estate here were built after 1999, which is a higher proportion of new homes then you will find in 95.5% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. Everything here just feels new.
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The Downtown neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Residents of the Downtown neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 58.5% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.5% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
The freedom of moving to new places versus the comfort of home. How much and how often people move not only can create diverse and worldly neighborhoods, but simultaneously it can produce a loss of intimacy with one's surroundings and a lack of connectedness to one's neighbors. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research has identified this neighborhood as unique with regard to the transience of its populace. In the Downtown neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 99.8% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
Did you know that the Downtown neighborhood has more Belgian and Brazilian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.0% of this neighborhood's residents have Belgian ancestry and 0.9% have Brazilian ancestry.
Downtown is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.7% 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 96.8% 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 neighborhood in Athens are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 100.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 100.0% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 99.9% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the Downtown neighborhood, 51.7% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 34.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (5.9%), and 5.7% 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 Downtown neighborhood is English, spoken by 89.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Italian, Polish and Spanish.
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 Downtown neighborhood in Athens, GA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (18.8%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (11.1%), and residents who report English roots (9.7%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (5.1%), along with some Belgian ancestry residents (3.0%), among others.
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 neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (58.5% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (56.7%) 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 (23.7%) and 7.1% 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.
