Median real estate price in the City Center of Somerville is $1,251,547, which is more expensive than 87.8% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 94.0% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Somerville City Center is currently $3,936, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 75.7% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Somerville City Center is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Real estate in the City Center of Somerville, MA 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 renter occupied. Many of the residences in the City Center 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.
Real estate vacancies in Somerville City Center are 4.7%, which is lower than one will find in 67.6% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in Somerville City Center is above average for the U.S., and may signal some demand for either price increases or new construction of residential product for this neighborhood.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the Somerville City Center 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 Somerville City Center community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
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 Somerville City Center neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 98.4% 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.
If your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 12.9% of residents in the Somerville City Center neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 99.8% 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 12.5% of the Somerville City Center neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 96.1% of America's neighborhoods.
If you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Somerville City Center neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.4% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 22,161 people per square mile living here. 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 Somerville City Center neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
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 Somerville City Center 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 45.4% of the real estate here is made up of such dwellings, which is higher than 97.9% 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 Somerville City Center neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 66.6% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 98.1% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
The Somerville City Center neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 96.5% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 72.9% 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.
Did you know that the Somerville City Center neighborhood has more Portuguese ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Portuguese ancestry.
Somerville City Center is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.1% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Portuguese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.7% 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 City Center 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 87.1% 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.
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 Somerville City Center neighborhood, 72.9% 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 10.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (8.7%), and 8.0% in clerical, assistant, and tech support 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 Somerville City Center neighborhood is English, spoken by 83.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Polish, Spanish, Chinese and Portuguese.
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 City Center neighborhood in Somerville, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (15.8%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (12.6%), and residents who report English roots (9.1%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (8.2%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (6.6%), among others. In addition, 15.9% 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 Somerville City Center neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (35.4% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (31.5%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also bicycle to get to work (12.9%) and 12.5% of residents also take the train 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.
