What do we mean by a neighborhood?
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ® uses the official government designation for neighborhoods - the census tract.
Census tracts are small, relatively permanent subdivisions of a county that are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau in conjunction with local authorities all across the country to define real neighborhoods that are bounded to contain areas with homogeneous population characteristics (including economic status, lifestyle, and living conditions). Census tracts usually have 4,000 persons, but can range between 1,500 and 8,000 persons. This is the most fine-grained area for which detailed information is made available from the government, to protect the individual privacy of each of us. Because census tracts are based on population, they vary in size depending on the density of settlement. In urban areas, they are small, and in rural areas they can cover an entire small town or even a few small towns in very rural areas.
Since census tracts are subdivisions of a county, we did a spatial overlay of the census tracts onto city and town boundaries using a geographic information system to properly assign each census tract to its appropriate city or town. Then we named each census tract to the local colloquially recognized neighborhood name for that spot (e.g., Boston, MA (Dorchester). If there was not a name available, we named the census tract by the largest street intersection in the census tract (e.g., Worcester, MA (Lincoln St/Plantation St)
Why we don't use Zip Codes as neighborhoods
Zip codes were developed by the Postal Service for the purpose of delivering mail, but were never intended to define coherent neighborhoods. In addition, Zip Codes can have as many as 10 distinctly different census tracts contained within them. When distinct census tracts are blended together in a single Zip Code, the data reflects their average conditions and often gives a false sense of the area. The result is that potentially great matching neighborhoods can be missed, and erroneous matches can also be produced and delivered to you.
Using census tracts makes great matches possible, and helps people find the areas that are best for them and their families. Because we are committed to providing the highest possible quality and finding the neighborhoods that best meet your criteria, we use census tracts. And, as always, we show you the actual street map of the neighborhood so you know exactly where your best matching neighborhood is located.
What is a Condition Alert?
A condition alert is a condition in the neighborhood that triggers an alert. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ contains condition alerts to highlight conditions that are extreme, whether good or bad. This helps answer crucial questions about the state of the neighborhood being evaluated, such as:
What are the risks of violent crime here?
Is the risk of home break-ins or other property crimes increasing?
Does real estate here hold its value?
Are the trends in local vacancies or unemployment concerning?
...and dozens more.
Information at a glance that you need to know to invest, appraise or finance a property.
The Waterfront median real estate price is $508,663, which is more expensive than 37.1% of the neighborhoods in New Jersey and 64.8% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in The Waterfront is currently $3,159, based on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 47.2% of New Jersey neighborhoods.
The Waterfront is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. This is a coastal neighborhood (i.e., is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet).
The Waterfront real estate is primarily made up of medium sized (three or four bedroom) to small (studio to two 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 The Waterfront 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 The Waterfront are 3.9%, which is lower than one will find in 73.0% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in The Waterfront 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.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Real Estate
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 The Waterfront neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability. Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The The Waterfront neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, The Waterfront is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.
In addition, three-deckers, duplexes, old Victorian homes cut up into apartments. Independent stores on the corner selling pizza. These are some of the hallmarks of neighborhoods with lots of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. The The Waterfront neighborhood really stands out in this regard, however, as it is dominated by such small apartment buildings more than nearly any other neighborhood in America. This is a stunning visual and lifestyle example of this type of neighborhood. In fact, 52.3% of the real estate here are small 2, 3, or 4 unit apartment buildings, which is a higher proportion than found in 98.7% of America's neighborhoods.
Modes of Transportation
In the The Waterfront neighborhood, carpooling is still a popular way to get to and from work. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's analysis reveals that 38.8% of commuters carpool here, which is more than in 99.7% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
People
Single parenting is hard. But you don't have to tell the The Waterfront neighborhood about it; they already know. 27.2% of this neighborhood's households are run by single mothers, which is a higher concentration than Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ found in 99.2% of American neighborhoods. Further Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ 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.
Diversity
Did you know that the The Waterfront neighborhood has more Dominican and Jamaican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 53.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Dominican ancestry and 5.9% have Jamaican ancestry.
The Waterfront is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 79.4% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Spanish at home. This is a higher percentage than 98.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Migration / Stability
Some neighborhoods have more internal cohesiveness than others. While other neighborhoods feel like a collection of strangers who just happen to live near each other. Sometimes this comes down to not only the personalities of the people in a place, but how long people have been together in that neighborhood. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's research has revealed some interesting things about the rootedness of people in the The Waterfront neighborhood. What is interesting to note, is that the The Waterfront neighborhood has a greater percentage of residents born in another country (51.8%) than are found in 98.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
The Neighbors
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 The Waterfront neighborhood in Perth Amboy are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 67.1% of the neighborhoods in America. With 26.4% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 78.0% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the The Waterfront neighborhood, 40.5% of the working population is employed in manufacturing and laborer 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 24.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (21.9%), and 13.1% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the The Waterfront neighborhood is Spanish, spoken by 79.4% of households. Some people also speak English (18.8%).
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 The Waterfront neighborhood in Perth Amboy, NJ, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Dominican (53.9%). There are also a number of people of Puerto Rican ancestry (9.0%), and residents who report South American roots (5.9%), and some of the residents are also of Jamaican ancestry (5.9%), along with some Mexican ancestry residents (5.8%), among others. In addition, 51.8% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Getting to Work
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 The Waterfront neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (34.0% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (45.7%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (38.8%) and 8.7% 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.
SCOUT’s patented match algorithm identifies the most similar neighborhoods to a subject location, and quantifies the similarity to the subject location. This allows analysts to identify the most similar neighborhoods in a local market area for appraisals, investments, and research.
The algorithm uses 273 neighborhood conditions, identifies the dominant dimensions underlying the conditions and calculates the similarity. This captures the true culture and character of locations, economic conditions, and trends.
The closer to 100% means the locations are nearly identical. 80% is a very good, but not excellent match, and so forth.
