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Real Estate Prices & Overview

Isla Vista median real estate price is $1,366,982, which is more expensive than 84.1% of the neighborhoods in California and 96.7% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.

The average rental price in Isla Vista is currently $3,413, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 61.4% of the neighborhoods in California.

Isla Vista is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Goleta, California. This is a coastal neighborhood (i.e., is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet).

Isla Vista 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 Isla Vista neighborhood are established but not old, having been built between 1970 and 1999. A number of residences were also built between 1940 and 1969.

Isla Vista has a 15.7% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 79.4% 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.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

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.

Real Estate

The Isla Vista neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 42,531 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.0% of the nation's neighborhoods. Isla Vista is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, Isla Vista is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.

In addition, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Isla Vista neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 100.0%, which is higher than 99.3% 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.

Furthermore, the real estate in the Isla Vista 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, 72.4% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 95.5% of American neighborhoods.

People

The Isla Vista neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 99.4% of the neighborhoods in the United States. In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Isla Vista neighborhood also stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.

In addition, neighborhoodScout's analysis shows that the Isla Vista neighborhood has a greater concentration of residents currently enrolled in college than 99.7% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. With 79.9% of the population here attending college, this is very much a college-focused neighborhood.

Also, one of the really interesting characteristics about the Isla Vista neighborhood is that, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research, it is an excellent choice in which to reside for college students. Due to its popularity among college students who already choose to live here, its walkability, and its above average safety from crime, the neighborhood is ideal for prospective or already-enrolled college students. Between semesters and during school breaks, you'll notice that the excitement here fluctuates with the college seasons. Despite the excitement however, parents of college-age children can rest easy knowing that this neighborhood has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 2.0% of college-friendly places to live in the state of California.

Modes of Transportation

If your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 22.5% of residents in the Isla Vista neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 100.0% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.

Occupations

There are more people living in the Isla Vista neighborhood employed as sales and service workers (56.8%) than almost any neighborhood in the country. From fast-food service workers to major sales accounts, sales and service workers make up the largest proportion of our national employment picture. But despite that size and importance nationally, this neighborhood still stands out as unique due to the dominance of people living here who work in such occupations.

Migration / Stability

Do you like to be surrounded by people from all over the country or world, with different perspectives and life experiences? Or do you instead prefer to be in a neighborhood where most residents have lived there for a long time, creating a sense of cohesiveness? NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood stands out among American neighborhoods for the uniqueness of the mobility of its residents. In the Isla Vista neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 99.9% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.

Diversity

Did you know that the Isla Vista neighborhood has more Lebanese and Iranian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Lebanese ancestry and 1.3% have Iranian ancestry.

Isla Vista is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 8.5% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Chinese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.3% of the neighborhoods in America.

The Neighbors

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 Isla Vista neighborhood in Goleta are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 99.4% of U.S. neighborhoods. 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.

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 Isla Vista neighborhood, 43.2% 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 executive, management, and professional occupations, with 30.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (13.6%), and 13.1% in clerical, assistant, and tech support 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 Isla Vista neighborhood is English, spoken by 69.1% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.

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 Isla Vista neighborhood in Goleta, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (17.8%). There are also a number of people of Asian ancestry (14.9%), and residents who report German roots (9.5%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (7.7%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (4.9%), among others. In addition, 17.6% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.

Getting to Work

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 Isla Vista neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (51.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (55.1%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also bicycle to get to work (22.5%) and 8.9% 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.


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