Tyler, TX (Downtown Area / Downtown Square)

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.

People

An interesting characteristic about the Downtown Area / Downtown Square neighborhood is that there are more incarcerated people living here than 99.3% of neighborhoods in the U.S. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, currently with 1 out of every 100 adults in the country are incarcerated as a punishment for crimes committed. The extremely high incarceration rate of this neighborhood could mean that a prison, juvenile detention facility or other correctional facility occupies a large proportion of the neighborhood, or contains a large portion of the neighborhood's population.

In addition, neighborhoodScout's exclusive research revealed that 93.6% of the adult residents in the Downtown Area / Downtown Square neighborhood do not have a 4-year college degree, which is a lower rate of college graduated adults than found in 96.5% of the neighborhoods in America.

Real Estate

Renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Downtown Area / Downtown Square neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 91.7%, which is higher than 97.3% 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. Despite all of the residential real estate here in the Downtown Area / Downtown Square neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 33.8%, which is higher than 96.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

In addition, 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 Downtown Area / Downtown Square 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, 34.8% of the real estate here are small 2, 3, or 4 unit apartment buildings, which is a higher proportion than found in 96.1% of America's neighborhoods.

Furthermore, the Downtown Area / Downtown Square 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 84.4% 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.

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 Downtown Area / Downtown Square neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 54.5% 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.