Gold Coast West median real estate price is $301,493, which is more expensive than 53.1% of the neighborhoods in Illinois and 39.8% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Gold Coast West is currently $3,546, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 93.0% of the neighborhoods in Illinois.
Gold Coast West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Chicago, Illinois.
Gold Coast West 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 townhomes. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Gold Coast West neighborhood are older, well-established, built between 1940 and 1969. A number of residences were also built between 1940 and 1969.
Gold Coast West has a 11.9% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 69.0% 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 Chicago, the Gold Coast West neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the Gold Coast West neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the Gold Coast West community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
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: 68.9%. This is a higher percent living alone than we found in 99.7% 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.
Also, the rate of college educated adults in the Gold Coast West neighborhood is a unique characteristic of the neighborhood. 82.3% of adults here have received at least a 4-year bachelor's degree, compared to the average neighborhood in America, which has 34.3% of the adults with a bachelor's degree. The rate here is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.5% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Finally, think about the people you know personally. How many of them would purchase box seats to opening night at the symphony? How many of them regularly attend gallery openings, or are the first to reserve tickets to opening night at the ballet? If they're like most of us, they don't do any of these things. But if you're among an exclusive crowd of wealthy and refined patrons of the arts, then you'll feel right at home in the Gold Coast West neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 97.9% of neighborhoods across the U.S. Here, your neighbors are defined as having urbane tastes in literature, music, live theatre and the arts. They are wealthy, educated, travel in style, and live a big city lifestyle whether or not they live in or near a big city. In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for active retirees.
Modes of Transportation
In the Gold Coast West neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 41.2% 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 99.6% 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.
Also, our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (12.0% ride the bus) than 96.0% 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.
Real Estate
What you'll find when you visit or move to this neighborhood is one of the most crowded neighborhoods in all of America. With an incredible 64,570 people per square mile, it is more densely populated than 99.0% of America's neighborhoods.
In addition, the real estate in the Gold Coast West 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, 92.9% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 98.6% of American neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the Gold Coast West 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 86.9% 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.
Occupations
Executives, managers and professionals make up 76.5% of the workforce in the Gold Coast West neighborhood which, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, is a higher proportion of such high-level people than is found in 98.2% of the neighborhoods in America. For this reason, this neighborhood really stands out as unique.
Car Ownership
Most American households own a car or other vehicle. Many own two cars or perhaps three. In the United States, it is useful to have an automobile not only for commuting, but also for shopping and getting to other services one needs. But NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that households in the Gold Coast West neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 29.6% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.1% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the Gold Coast West neighborhood has more Austrian and Lebanese ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.0% of this neighborhood's residents have Austrian ancestry and 1.9% have Lebanese ancestry.
Gold Coast West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.6% 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 96.1% 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 Gold Coast West neighborhood in Chicago are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 82.9% 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 Gold Coast West neighborhood, 76.5% 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 16.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (4.0%), and 3.2% in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions.
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 Gold Coast West neighborhood is English, spoken by 87.6% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Polish.
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 Gold Coast West neighborhood in Chicago, IL, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (20.4%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (20.3%), and residents who report English roots (11.2%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (8.1%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (7.3%), among others. In addition, 14.3% 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 Gold Coast West neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (55.4% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (25.8%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (12.0%) and 8.1% of residents also take the train 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.
