Median real estate price in the City Center of Somerville is $1,261,653, which is more expensive than 89.3% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 94.7% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Somerville City Center is currently $4,001, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 76.6% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Somerville City Center is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Real estate in the City Center of Somerville, MA 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 renter occupied. Many of the residences in the City Center 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.
Home and apartment vacancy rates are 6.3% in Somerville City Center. NeighborhoodScout analysis shows that this rate is lower than 55.7% 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 Somerville, the City Center neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the Somerville City Center 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 Somerville City Center community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
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 Somerville City Center neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 98.2% 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.
Would you like to be able to ride your bike to work? If you are attracted to the idea of getting a little exercise of the two-wheeled type while reducing your carbon footprint, bicycling to work might be the answer. But which neighborhood you live in can make this either impossible, or alternatively, a great and realistic option. NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that the Somerville City Center neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 8.8% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 99.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
Also, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 18.7% of the Somerville City Center neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 97.4% of America's neighborhoods.
If you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Somerville City Center neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.4% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 22,161 people per square mile living here. 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 Somerville City Center neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, corner bodegas, stores on the first floor and apartments above, former grand Victorian residences converted into apartments, three-deckers built shoulder-to-shoulder, duplexes. Such building types define the real estate of neighborhoods dominated by small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. Many are in older core neighborhoods of Eastern and Midwestern cities, or historic town centers in their hinterlands. If you wax romantic about the look and feel of such neighborhoods, with fresh pizza, falafel and an independent florist at the corner, then you might find the Somerville City Center neighborhood worth a close look. This neighborhood is an absolutely outstanding example of the dominance of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings compared to neighborhoods across the nation, as they make up a substantial portion of this neighborhood's real estate stock. In fact, no less than 44.6% of the real estate here is made up of such dwellings, which is higher than 97.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Furthermore, 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 Somerville City Center neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 71.3% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 98.8% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
The Somerville City Center neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 96.3% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 72.8% of the employed people here make a living as an executive, a manager, or other professional. With such a high concentration, this truly shapes the character of this neighborhood, and to a large degree defines what this neighborhood is about.
Did you know that the Somerville City Center neighborhood has more Hungarian and Portuguese ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Hungarian ancestry and 2.1% have Portuguese ancestry.
Somerville City Center is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.1% 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 97.7% 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 City Center neighborhood in Somerville 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 86.8% 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 Somerville City Center neighborhood, 72.8% 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 11.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (9.9%), and 5.9% 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 Somerville City Center neighborhood is English, spoken by 78.9% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Polish, Chinese and Portuguese.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the City Center neighborhood in Somerville, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (16.3%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (13.1%), and residents who report Asian roots (12.4%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (10.1%), along with some English ancestry residents (7.4%), among others. In addition, 19.2% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 Somerville City Center neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (38.0% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (26.7%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (18.7%) and 8.8% of residents also bicycle 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.
