Upper Kensington median real estate price is $53,496, which is less expensive than 98.6% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods and 98.7% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
The average rental price in Upper Kensington is currently $1,729, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 45.5% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods.
Upper Kensington is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Upper Kensington real estate is primarily made up of medium sized (three or four bedroom) to small (studio to two bedroom) townhomes 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 Upper Kensington 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.
Upper Kensington has a 14.1% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 75.7% 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.
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.
Real Estate
Many people dream of living along a street lined with row houses or other attached homes. Such places do often have an abundance of charm. If you are one of these people, the Upper Kensington neighborhood could be your paradise. With 86.3% of the homes and real estate here classified as rowhouses or other attached homes, this neighborhood brims with opportunity to find the right place for you. Only 0.1% of U.S. neighborhoods have more row houses than this neighborhood, making it one of the most interesting things about this special neighborhood.
In addition, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Upper Kensington neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.9% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 24,256 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 Upper Kensington 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 85.3% of the residential real estate in the Upper Kensington neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 99.8% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
People
One of the unique characteristics of the Upper Kensington neighborhood revealed by analysis is that the per capita income of residents here is lower than that found in 97.2% of the neighborhoods in America. Also of note, 72.9% of the children in this area live in poverty; an extraordinarily high percentage compared to other neighborhoods in the nation. In a nation where approximately one in four children grows up in poverty, this neighborhood stands out for the depth of the problem manifested here.
In addition, single parenting is hard. But you don't have to tell the Upper Kensington neighborhood about it; they already know. 22.8% of this neighborhood's households are run by single mothers, which is a higher concentration than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.2% of American neighborhoods. Further NeighborhoodScout research showed strong statistical correlations among high rates of children living in single parent households, and neighborhood crime, particularly violent crime, neighborhood poverty, and, importantly, the percentage of low weight births and rates of infant mortality.
Modes of Transportation
More people ride the bus in this neighborhood each day to get to work than 97.8% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Also, more people in Upper Kensington choose to walk to work each day (10.9%) than almost any neighborhood in America. If you are attracted to the idea of being able to walk to work, this neighborhood could be a good choice.
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 Upper Kensington neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 27.0% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Length of Commute
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The Upper Kensington neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the Upper Kensington neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 11.2% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.6% of all neighborhoods in America.
Diversity
Did you know that the Upper Kensington neighborhood has more Puerto Rican and Dominican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 58.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Puerto Rican ancestry and 9.5% have Dominican ancestry.
Upper Kensington is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Mon-Khmer, which is the dominant language of Cambodia, at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.4% 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 Upper Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 97.2% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 72.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 98.8% of U.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 Upper Kensington neighborhood, 31.6% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 30.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (27.9%), and 10.1% in executive, management, and professional occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the Upper Kensington neighborhood is Spanish, spoken by 65.9% of households. Some people also speak English (31.8%).
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 Upper Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Puerto Rican (58.8%). There are also a number of people of Dominican ancestry (9.5%), and residents who report Mexican roots (6.7%), and some of the residents are also of South American ancestry (4.1%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (3.4%), among others. In addition, 11.8% 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 Upper Kensington neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (33.5% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans. However, there is also a significant group of residents (11.2%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (55.7%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (16.8%) and 10.9% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work 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.
