Dorchester Heights median real estate price is $902,293, which is more expensive than 69.1% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 85.8% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Dorchester Heights is currently $6,077, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 99.4% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Dorchester Heights is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dorchester Heights real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) small apartment buildings and apartment complexes/high-rise apartments. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Dorchester Heights neighborhood are relatively historic, built no later than 1939, and in some cases, quite a bit earlier. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.
Real estate vacancies in Dorchester Heights are 5.3%, which is lower than one will find in 61.9% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in Dorchester Heights is above average for the U.S., and may signal some demand for either price increases or new construction of residential product for this neighborhood.
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.
If you come to know the people here, you will recognize that you're in the company of one of the wealthiest communities in the nation. In fact, a mere 1.9% of America's neighborhoods are wealthier than the Dorchester Heights neighborhood. Real estate here is exceedingly well-maintained, and similarly, tends to maintain its value over time. The cars driven are mostly luxury brands like Mercedes, Audi, BMW, and Lexus. If the public schools aren't up to snuff, the residents of this neighborhood preferentially send their children to private preparatory schools. Vacation to Disney? Yes, but equally popular are summers in Europe. As one would expect in a considerably wealthy neighborhood such as this, Dorchester Heights also has one of the lowest ratings of child poverty in the nation.
In addition, 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 Dorchester Heights neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 99.5% 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 young, single professionals.
Three-deckers, duplexes, old Victorian homes cut up into apartments. Independent stores on the corner selling pizza. These are some of the hallmarks of neighborhoods with lots of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. The Dorchester Heights neighborhood really stands out in this regard, however, as it is dominated by such small apartment buildings more than nearly any other neighborhood in America. This is a stunning visual and lifestyle example of this type of neighborhood. In fact, 67.2% of the real estate here are small 2, 3, or 4 unit apartment buildings, which is a higher proportion than found in 99.6% of America's neighborhoods.
In addition, the Dorchester Heights neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 33,698 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.4% of the nation's neighborhoods. Even if you drive or take transit to your place of employment, many people enjoy being able to walk in their neighborhood. What many people don't realize is that most of America's premier vacation locations are also very walkable. The Dorchester Heights neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
Furthermore, if you find historic homes and neighborhoods attractive, you love the details, the history, and the charm, then you are sure to be interested in this neighborhood. With 60.8% of the residential real estate in the Dorchester Heights neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 96.8% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
Our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (20.7% ride the bus) than 99.0% 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.
Also, a unique way of commuting is simply not to. And in the Dorchester Heights neighborhood, analysis shows that 35.3% of the residents work from home, avoiding a commute altogether. This may not seem like a large number, but it is a higher proportion of people working from home than is found in 96.2% of the neighborhoods in the United States. One thing NeighborhoodScout's research reveals is that the wealthier and/or more isolated the neighborhood, the greater the proportion of residents who choose to work from home.
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 Dorchester Heights neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 26.3% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Did you know that the Dorchester Heights neighborhood has more Irish and Portuguese ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 28.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Irish ancestry and 4.1% have Portuguese ancestry.
Dorchester Heights is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.7% 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 97.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the Dorchester Heights neighborhood in Boston 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 98.1% 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.
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 Dorchester Heights neighborhood, 68.8% 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 16.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (7.6%), and 7.1% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the Dorchester Heights neighborhood is English, spoken by 94.5% of households. Some people also speak Polish (3.7%).
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 Dorchester Heights neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (28.6%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (11.2%), and residents who report German roots (9.6%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (7.7%), along with some Portuguese ancestry residents (4.1%), among others.
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 Dorchester Heights neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (36.4% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (28.1%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (20.7%) and 6.4% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors 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.
