Harvard Square / Harvard University median real estate price is $1,659,951, which is more expensive than 94.1% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 96.9% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Harvard Square / Harvard University is currently $4,493, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 86.1% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Harvard Square / Harvard University is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard Square / Harvard University 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University 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.
Harvard Square / Harvard University has a 14.6% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 77.0% 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.
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 Cambridge, the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the Harvard Square / Harvard University 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, if knowledge is power, then imagine the cumulative power of one neighborhood where many of the adults have earned an advanced degree, such as a Masters, law degree, medical degree, or even a Ph.D. This is certainly the case in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood, where 54.6% have earned an advanced degree. Compare that to the average neighborhood in America, where just 13.4% of adults have completed a post-graduate degree, and you can see why this neighborhood is a stand out. In fact, this neighborhood has a higher rate of adults with an advanced degree than 99.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
Modes of Transportation
In the Harvard Square / Harvard University 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 33.1% 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, if your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 7.2% of residents in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 99.1% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Finally, in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood, 12.5% 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 95.8% of the neighborhoods in America.
Real Estate
If you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 96.5% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 27,225 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
In addition, 86.8% of the real estate in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
Furthermore, 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 71.9% of the residential real estate in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 98.9% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
Car Ownership
We Americans love our cars. Not only are they a necessity for most Americans due to the shape of our neighborhoods and the distances between where we live, work, shop, and go to school, but we also fancy them. As a result, most households in America have one, two, or three cars. But NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis shows that the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 33.4% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Occupations
Executives, managers and professionals make up 72.2% of the workforce in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood which, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, is a higher proportion of such high-level people than is found in 96.6% of the neighborhoods in America. For this reason, this neighborhood really stands out as unique.
Migration / Stability
The freedom of moving to new places versus the comfort of home. How much and how often people move not only can create diverse and worldly neighborhoods, but simultaneously it can produce a loss of intimacy with one's surroundings and a lack of connectedness to one's neighbors. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research has identified this neighborhood as unique with regard to the transience of its populace. In the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 97.8% 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood has more Armenian and Greek ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 0.7% of this neighborhood's residents have Armenian ancestry and 1.9% have Greek ancestry.
Harvard Square / Harvard University is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 7.0% 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 96.6% 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood in Cambridge are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 72.1% 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.
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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood, 72.2% 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 15.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (7.0%), and 4.9% 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood is English, spoken by 66.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.
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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood in Cambridge, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (23.2%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (8.1%), and residents who report English roots (7.7%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (5.4%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (4.7%), among others. In addition, 27.0% 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (35.2% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (33.1%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (16.7%) and 12.5% of residents also take the train 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.
