Ball Square / Powder House Square median real estate price is $1,468,232, which is more expensive than 93.0% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 96.3% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Ball Square / Powder House Square is currently $5,453, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 95.7% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Ball Square / Powder House Square is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Ball Square / Powder House Square real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) small apartment buildings and single-family homes. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Ball Square / Powder House Square 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 6.0% in Ball Square / Powder House Square. NeighborhoodScout analysis shows that this rate is lower than 59.9% of the neighborhoods in the nation, approximately near the middle range for vacancies.
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 Somerville, the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
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 4.4% of America's neighborhoods are wealthier than the Ball Square / Powder House Square 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. As one would expect in a considerably wealthy neighborhood such as this, Ball Square / Powder House Square also has one of the lowest ratings of child poverty in the nation.
In addition, 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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 98.2% 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. In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for college students, highly educated executives and young, single professionals.
Also, 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 76.8% of the adults living in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood have earned at least a bachelor's degree. This is a higher rate than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. In this way, this neighborhood truly stands out.
Finally, with more than 1.7% of residents living with a same sex partner, Ball Square / Powder House Square is truly a neighborhood that stands out from the rest in this regard. In fact, exclusive analysis by NeighborhoodScout reveals that this neighborhood has a greater concentration of same sex couples than 95.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Real Estate
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 Ball Square / Powder House Square 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 75.8% of the real estate here is made up of such dwellings, which is higher than 99.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In addition, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 96.2% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 25,443 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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods 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 80.7% of the residential real estate in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 99.7% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
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 8.8% of residents in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 99.5% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Also, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 22.9% of the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 97.5% of America's neighborhoods.
Finally, a unique way of commuting is simply not to. And in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood, analysis shows that 27.4% of the residents work from home, avoiding a commute altogether. This may not seem like a large number, but it is a higher proportion of people working from home than is found in 95.2% of the neighborhoods in the United States. One thing NeighborhoodScout's research reveals is that the wealthier and/or more isolated the neighborhood, the greater the proportion of residents who choose to work from home.
Occupations
The Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 80.6% of the employed people here make a living as an executive, a manager, or other professional. With such a high concentration, this truly shapes the character of this neighborhood, and to a large degree defines what this neighborhood is about.
Diversity
Did you know that the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood has more Portuguese and Armenian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 10.3% of this neighborhood's residents have Portuguese ancestry and 1.4% have Armenian ancestry.
Ball Square / Powder House Square is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.4% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Korean at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 96.8% 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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood in Somerville 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 95.6% 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.
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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood, 80.6% 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 11.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (5.6%), and 2.6% 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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood is English, spoken by 82.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Korean and Italian.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood in Somerville, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Italian (18.2%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (17.6%), and residents who report Portuguese roots (10.3%), and some of the residents are also of German ancestry (10.3%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (10.3%), among others. In addition, 16.6% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.3% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (35.0%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (22.9%) and 8.8% of residents also bicycle 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.
