Dorchester West median real estate price is $988,795, which is more expensive than 75.3% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 89.2% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Dorchester West is currently $1,533, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 97.0% of Massachusetts neighborhoods.
Dorchester West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dorchester 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 small apartment buildings. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Dorchester West 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 1940 and 1969.
Real estate vacancies in Dorchester West are 4.8%, which is lower than one will find in 65.8% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in Dorchester West 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.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (30.8% ride the bus) than 99.8% 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, if your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 6.2% of residents in the Dorchester West neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 98.9% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Finally, in the Dorchester West neighborhood, 16.3% of people ride the train to work each day. This is a very high percentage compared to most places. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this is a higher level of train ridership than in 97.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
The Dorchester West neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 36,511 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.6% 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 West neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, 89.3% of the real estate in the Dorchester West neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
Furthermore, the real estate in the Dorchester 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, 73.7% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 95.7% of American neighborhoods.
Also of note, do you watch 'This Old House' on Public Television? Do you love the idea of fixing up a Colonial or Victorian era home, complete with the charm of yesteryear? Do you like to stroll or drive streets lined with gracious older residences? If you found yourself nodding yes to any of these questions, you are going to be interested in this unique neighborhood. The Dorchester West neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 54.6% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 95.2% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Dorchester West neighborhood buck this trend. 38.8% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.0% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The Dorchester West neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 97.7% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
In addition, single parenting is hard. But you don't have to tell the Dorchester West neighborhood about it; they already know. 20.0% of this neighborhood's households are run by single mothers, which is a higher concentration than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.0% of American neighborhoods. Further NeighborhoodScout research showed strong statistical correlations among high rates of children living in single parent households, and neighborhood crime, particularly violent crime, neighborhood poverty, and, importantly, the percentage of low weight births and rates of infant mortality.
From major sales accounts to fast-food workers, sales and service employees are often the backbone of the local economy. In the Dorchester West neighborhood, they truly stand out. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis identifies this neighborhood as having a higher percentage of sales and service workers than 97.4% of all American neighborhoods.
Did you know that the Dorchester West neighborhood has more Dominican and Haitian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 31.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Dominican ancestry and 5.6% have Haitian ancestry.
Dorchester West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 3.5% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak French at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 95.9% 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 Dorchester West neighborhood in Boston are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 97.7% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 33.5% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 85.1% 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 Dorchester West neighborhood, 40.4% 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 clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 33.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (14.9%), and 11.5% in manufacturing and laborer 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 Dorchester West neighborhood is Spanish, spoken by 50.6% of households. Other important languages spoken here include English, French and Italian.
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 West neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Dominican (31.6%). There are also a number of people of Puerto Rican ancestry (7.8%), and residents who report Haitian roots (5.6%), and some of the residents are also of Sub-Saharan African ancestry (3.3%), along with some African ancestry residents (3.3%), among others. In addition, 36.9% 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 Dorchester West neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (46.5% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (30.8%) ride the bus to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (23.7%) and 16.3% of residents also take the train for their daily commute. The bus provides a valuable service in the Dorchester West neighborhood of Boston by getting a lot of residents to and from work daily, reducing the costs of commuting and reducing some congestion on the roads as well.
