Ball Square / Powder House Square median real estate price is $1,421,739, which is more expensive than 93.6% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 96.7% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Ball Square / Powder House Square is currently $5,389, 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
Wealth makes most things in life easier, and a few things harder. If you are wealthy and enjoy keeping up with the Jones', this neighborhood will interest you. In fact, according to NeighborhoodScout's research, the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood is wealthier than 95.6% of the neighborhoods in the United States. Residents here are truly in a unique situation even when compared to other Americans, based on the sheer amount of wealth concentrated here. Even in times of economic downturn, residents of this neighborhood, as a group, suffered less and recovered more quickly. This is indeed a stand-out characteristic of this neighborhood. 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, if you're a regular supporter of the arts and enjoy outings to the theatre, weekend boutique-ing, or even a finely aged wine with dinner, than you're in good company with the people of the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood. This neighborhood is uniquely immersed with more "urban sophisticates" than 98.2% of neighborhoods across the country. The people here truly stand out as a class among their own. They are an exclusive community characterized by refined tastes, cultural inclinations, and the means to live well. Urban sophisticates live a big city lifestyle, whether or not they live in or near a big city. They are educated executives or managers by week, and serial patrons of the arts by weekend. If this lifestyle pertains to you, than you'll certainly feel right at home in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood. 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, the rate of college educated adults in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood is a unique characteristic of the neighborhood. 76.8% of adults here have received at least a 4-year bachelor's degree, compared to the average neighborhood in America, which has 34.3% of the adults with a bachelor's degree. The rate here is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
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, in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 27.4% 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 95.2% 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 80.6% of the workforce in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood which, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, is a higher proportion of such high-level people than is found in 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America. For this reason, this neighborhood really stands out as unique.
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.
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 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
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 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.
