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About Boston, MA (Back Bay)


Real Estate Prices and Overview

Back Bay median real estate price is $1,382,122, which is more expensive than 93.9% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 96.5% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.

The average rental price in Back Bay is currently $4,148, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 87.9% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.

Back Bay is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.

Back Bay 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 Back Bay 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 1970 and 1999.

Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Back Bay. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 19.5%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 84.7% of all U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, most vacant housing here is vacant year round. This can sometimes be the case in neighborhoods dominated by new construction that is not yet occupied. But often neighborhoods with vacancy rates this high are places that can be plagued by a protracted vacancy problem. If you live here, you may find that a number of buildings in your neighborhood are actually empty.

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 Boston, the Back Bay neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

Notable & Unique: People

In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Back Bay neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.

In addition, do you like to read, write, and learn? Are you curious about the world? If so, this neighborhood may be a good fit for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that a full 94.2% of the adults living in the Back Bay neighborhood have earned at least a bachelor's degree. This is a higher rate than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. In this way, this neighborhood truly stands out.

Also, one of the most interesting things about the Back Bay neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 54.0% of the households here made up of people living alone, NeighborhoodScout's research reveals that this is a larger proportion of people living alone than in 97.5% of the neighborhoods in America.

Finally, if you're looking for an active nightlife with lots of opportunities to flirt and find romance, then you probably won't have to go too far from the Back Bay neighborhood to find it. Only 3.0% of the neighborhoods in the country have a larger proportion of young, single professionals. The nightlife may not be reminiscent of a "Sex and the City" episode, but the people who live here find friendship, romance, fun, and socializing readily available. In addition to being an excellent choice for young, single professionals, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates.

Notable & Unique: Real Estate

The Back Bay neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 32,602 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.2% 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 Back Bay neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.

In addition, the Back Bay 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 88.8% 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.

Furthermore, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Back Bay neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 81.7% of the residential real estate here is classified as such. This puts this neighborhood on the map as having a higher proportion of large apartment buildings than 97.0% of all neighborhoods in America.

Also of note, if you find historic homes and neighborhoods attractive, you love the details, the history, and the charm, then you are sure to be interested in this neighborhood. With 80.2% of the residential real estate in the Back Bay neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 99.6% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.

Notable & Unique: Modes of Transportation

In the Back Bay neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 39.5% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.3% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!

Also, in the Back Bay neighborhood, 26.2% 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 97.3% of the neighborhoods in America.

Notable & Unique: Car Ownership

American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Back Bay neighborhood buck this trend. 45.0% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.

Notable & Unique: Occupations

Executives, managers and professionals make up 71.7% of the workforce in the Back Bay neighborhood which, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, is a higher proportion of such high-level people than is found in 97.1% of the neighborhoods in America. For this reason, this neighborhood really stands out as unique.

Notable & Unique: Diversity

Did you know that the Back Bay neighborhood has more Greek and British ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Greek ancestry and 3.6% have British ancestry.

Back Bay is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.9% 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 97.2% of the neighborhoods in America.

Notable & Unique: 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 Back Bay neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 95.4% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.


The Neighbors

The Neighbors: Income

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 Back Bay neighborhood in Boston 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 90.3% 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.

The Neighbors: Occupations

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 Back Bay neighborhood, 71.7% 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 17.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (9.8%).

The Neighbors: 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 Back Bay neighborhood is English, spoken by 84.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.

The Neighbors: 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 Back Bay neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (17.1%). There are also a number of people of Asian ancestry (13.7%), and residents who report German roots (10.0%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (6.5%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (6.0%), among others. In addition, 14.0% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.

Getting to Work

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 Back Bay neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (34.8% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (39.5%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (26.2%) and 18.6% of residents also drive alone in a private automobile for their daily commute. This is a special neighborhood for the number of people who walk to work. Combining exercise, low cost, and reduced pollution, plus the chance to see your neighbors, walking to work is fairly uncommon in America but likely to increase as people try to reduce their dependence on automobiles, and this neighborhood offers that opportunity today.


Neighborhood Real Estate Data

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:   National Agriculture Statistics Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Geological Service, American Community Survey.

Date(s) & Update Frequency:
  • Home Values, Rents: Reflects Q3 2022. Updated quarterly.
  • Setting, Housing Stock, Homeownership: 2020 (latest available). Updated annually.

Methodology:   NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more

Average Home Values

 

Median Home Value:
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Median Real Estate Taxes:
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Neighborhood Home Prices

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Rental Market

 

Average Market Rent:
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GROSS RENTAL YIELD:
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MEDIAN MONTHLY RENT BY NUMBER OF BEDROOMS

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Setting

 
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Neighborhood Look and Feel

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Housing Market Details

 

AGE OF Boston, MA (Back Bay) HOMES

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TYPE OF Boston, MA (Back Bay) HOMES

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SIZE OF Boston, MA (Back Bay) HOMES

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SIZE OF Boston, MA (Back Bay) HOMES

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homeownership

 
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Neighborhood Demographics Data

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:   American Community Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Education, 50 state departments of education, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies, Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. Geological Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Date(s) & Update Frequency:   2020 (latest available). Updated annually. Please note: Unemployment data updated November 2022.

Methodology:   Unlike standardly available Census demographics, NeighborhoodScout uses dozens of custom models to transform 8.5 million raw demographic data elements from government sources into proprietary indices and insights…. Read more about Scout's Demographic Data

Lifestyle

 
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Special character

 
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Age / Marital Status

 

Gender Ratio

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Military & College Status

 
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Employment Industries in Back Bay

 
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Commute to work

 

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Vehicles Per Household

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Migration & Mobility

 

Race & Ethnic Diversity

 

Diversity Index

(100 is the most diverse)


More diverse than of U.S. neighborhoods.

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Occupations

 

Ancestries & Languages Spoken

 

Ancestry (top 20)

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Languages Spoken (top 20)

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Unemployment Rate

 
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Average Income

 

Per Capita Income

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Median Household Income

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Education

 

Percent with College Degree

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Percent with Advanced Degree

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Income & Education

 
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Neighborhood Crime Data

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:   18,000 local law enforcement agencies in the U.S.

Date(s) & Update Frequency:   Reflects 2021 calendar year; released from FBI in Oct. 2022 (latest available). Updated annually. Where is 2022 data?

Methodology:   Our nationwide meta-analysis overcomes the issues inherent in any crime database, including non-reporting and reporting errors. This is possible by associating the 9.4 million reported crimes in the U.S, including over 2 million geocoded point locations…. Read more about Scout's Crime Data

Neighborhood Crime Data

 

total Crime Index

(100 is safest)


Safer than of U.S. neighborhoods.

Neighborhood Annual Crimes
  Violent Property Total
Number of Crimes
Crime Rate
(per 1,000 residents)

Neighborhood Violent Crime

violent Crime Index

(100 is safest)


Safer than of U.S. neighborhoods.

Violent Crime Index By Type

Murder
Index
Rape
Index
Robbery
Index
Assault
Index

100 is safest

100 is safest

100 is safest

100 is safest

Violent Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents)

20 15 10 5 0
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LOCKED
3.05
National Median: 4
    Back Bay
    Boston
    Massachusetts

My Chances of Becoming a Victim of a Violent Crime

1 in

in Back Bay

1 in

in Boston

1 in 328

in Massachusetts

Boston VIOLENT CRIMES

Population:
Murder Rape Robbery Assault
Report Total
Rate per 1,000

United States VIOLENT CRIMES

Population:
Murder Rape Robbery Assault
Report Total
Rate per 1,000

Neighborhood Property Crime

property Crime Index

(100 is safest)


Safer than of U.S. neighborhoods.

Property Crime Index By Type
Burglary
Index
Theft
Index
Motor Vehicle
Theft

100 is safest

100 is safest

100 is safest

Property Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents)

100 75 50 25 0
LOCKED
LOCKED
10.44
National Median: 19
    Back Bay
    Boston
    Massachusetts

My Chances of Becoming a Victim of a Property Crime

1 in

in Back Bay

1 in

in Boston

1 in 96

in Massachusetts

Boston Property CRIMES

Population:
burglary theft motor vehicle theft
Report Total
Rate per 1,000

United States Property CRIMES

Population:
burglary theft motor vehicle theft
Report Total
Rate per 1,000

Crimes Per Square Mile

200 150 100 50 0
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18
National Median: 26.8
    Back Bay
    Boston
    Massachusetts

Neighborhood Public School Data

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:
  • Test Scores: Edfacts (U.S. Department of Education), State departments of education.
  • Expenditures: National Center for Education Statistics.
  • Educational Environment: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau).
Date(s) & Update Frequency:
  • Due to Covid-19, complete standardized testing did not take place during the 2020-2021 academic school year. Test data: Reflects 2018 – 2019 school year.
  • Expenditures: 2019
  • Educational Environment: 2020 (latest available). Updated annually.
  • All data updated June 2022

Methodology:   Only NeighborhoodScout gives you nationally comparable school ranks based on test scores, so you can directly compare the quality of schools in any location. Read more about Scout's School Data

School Rating Information

 

School Quality

(100 is best)

Better than of U.S. schools.

Neighborhood School Quality Rating

Rates the quality of all K-12 public schools that your children would be exposed to if you lived in this neighborhood. Info

There are no schools physically located in this neighborhood.

Neighborhood Educational Environment

Adults In Neighborhood With College Degree Or Higher
Children In The Neighborhood Living In Poverty

This neighborhood is served by 1 district:

BOSTON


Students Enrolled in This District


Schools in District


Students Per Classroom

District Quality Compared to Massachusetts

(10 is best)

Better than of MA school districts.

District Quality Compared to U.S. info

(10 is best)

Better than of US school districts.

GET FULL REPORTS FOR ANY SCHOOL IN THIS DISTRICT

SEE ALL SCHOOLS

Schools In This District

School District Enrollment By Group

Ethnic/racial Groups This District This State
White (non-hispanic)
Black
Hispanic
Asian Or Pacific Islander
American Indian Or Native Of Alaska
Economic Groups This District This State
ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED
FREE LUNCH ELIGIBLE
REDUCED LUNCH ELIGIBLE

Educational Expenditures

For This District Per Student Total % Of Total
Instructional Expenditures
Support Expenditures
Student
Staff
General Administration
School Administration
Operation
Transportation
Other
Total Support
Non-instructional Expenditures
Total Expenditures

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