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Real Estate Prices & Overview

Castro median real estate price is $2,149,996, which is more expensive than 94.6% of the neighborhoods in California and 99.0% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.

The average rental price in Castro is currently $3,600, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 66.9% of the neighborhoods in California.

Castro is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in San Francisco, California.

Castro 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 Castro 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 6.2% in Castro. NeighborhoodScout analysis shows that this rate is lower than 58.4% of the neighborhoods in the nation, approximately near the middle range for vacancies.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

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 San Francisco, the Castro neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

People

The first thing that you'll notice if you moved to this neighborhood is that an astounding 10.5% of the households are same sex couples. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis, this is a higher proportion of same sex households than in 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America. This is one indicator that this neighborhood is likely a gay-friendly neighborhood. So if you are looking for such a neighborhood, the Castro neighborhood should definitely be on your list of places to consider.

In addition, 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 0.5% of America's neighborhoods are wealthier than the Castro 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.

Also, 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 Castro neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 99.4% 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.

Finally, some neighborhoods have residents that are more educated than others. But in this neighborhood there is a dramatic difference. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that 45.3% of the adults here have earned a Masters degree, medical degree, Ph.D. or law degree. This is a higher rate of people with a graduate degree than is found in 98.5% of U.S. neighborhoods, where the average American neighborhood has 13.4% of its adults with a graduate degree. If you are highly educated, you may have much in common with many of your neighbors here.

Real Estate

If you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Castro neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 96.1% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 24,909 people per square mile living here. Being a walkable neighborhood can help increase property values for the simple reason that people enjoy it and value it. To put it plainly, despite our love affair with the automobile, American's enjoy taking to the streets, sidewalks, paths, and courtyards of a place to get a coffee, relax, and take in the sights and sounds. And, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive and first quantitative walkable score index, the Castro neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.

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 Castro 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 50.9% of the real estate here is made up of such dwellings, which is higher than 98.5% 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 Castro neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 79.2% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 99.6% of the neighborhoods in the United States.

Modes of Transportation

If you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 28.2% of the Castro neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 98.0% of America's neighborhoods.

Also, 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 Castro neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 3.9% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 97.2% of the neighborhoods in America.

Finally, in the Castro neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 30.0% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 96.9% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.

Occupations

Executives, managers and professionals make up 73.9% of the workforce in the Castro neighborhood which, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, is a higher proportion of such high-level people than is found in 97.3% of the neighborhoods in America. For this reason, this neighborhood really stands out as unique.

Car Ownership

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 Castro neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 20.1% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.3% of U.S. neighborhoods.

Diversity

Did you know that the Castro neighborhood has more Hungarian and Swiss ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.1% of this neighborhood's residents have Hungarian ancestry and 1.8% have Swiss ancestry.

Castro is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.8% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Persian at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.1% of the neighborhoods in America.

The Neighbors

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 Castro neighborhood in San Francisco 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 99.5% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 5.2% 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 64.1% 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 Castro neighborhood, 73.9% 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 15.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (6.8%), and 3.6% 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 Castro neighborhood is English, spoken by 85.4% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, French and Langs. of India.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.

In the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (11.2%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (10.4%), and residents who report Asian roots (9.8%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (8.8%), along with some German ancestry residents (8.5%), among others. In addition, 16.8% 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 Castro neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (38.2% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (28.2%) take the train to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (16.4%) and 8.8% of residents also ride the bus for their daily commute. This neighborhood is distinguished by the high number of residents who take the train to work each day, which can be a very good way to get to work at a lower cost and with less pollution.


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