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.
Ridgewood West median real estate price is $1,138,819, which is more expensive than 77.1% of the neighborhoods in New York and 92.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Ridgewood West is currently $3,800, based on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 72.8% of the neighborhoods in New York.
Ridgewood West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Queens, New York.
Ridgewood West real estate 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 occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Ridgewood West neighborhood are older, well-established, built between 1940 and 1969. A number of residences were also built before 1940.
Home and apartment vacancy rates are 7.0% in Ridgewood West. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ analysis shows that this rate is lower than 52.4% of the neighborhoods in the nation, approximately near the middle range for vacancies.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
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 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
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 7.4% of residents in the Ridgewood West neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 99.3% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive analysis.
Also, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's research revealed that 31.1% of the Ridgewood West neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 98.4% of America'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 Ridgewood West 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 54.0% of the real estate here is made up of such dwellings, which is higher than 98.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In addition, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Ridgewood West neighborhood. According to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.7% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 23,409 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 Ridgewood West neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
Car Ownership
Most American households own a car or other vehicle. Many own two cars or perhaps three. In the United States, it is useful to have an automobile not only for commuting, but also for shopping and getting to other services one needs. But Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's analysis revealed that households in the Ridgewood West neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 40.1% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ found in 98.1% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the Ridgewood West neighborhood has more South American and Lithuanian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 15.1% of this neighborhood's residents have South American ancestry and 1.8% have Lithuanian ancestry.
Ridgewood West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 3.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Tagalog, which is the first language of the Philippine region, at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 96.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 Ridgewood West neighborhood in Queens 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 60.1% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 4.0% 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 67.5% 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 Ridgewood West neighborhood, 49.3% 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 22.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (15.3%), and 13.0% 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 Ridgewood West neighborhood is English, spoken by 45.2% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Polish, Chinese and Tagalog (the first language of the Philippine region).
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 Ridgewood West neighborhood in Queens, NY, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (20.2%). There are also a number of people of South American ancestry (15.1%), and residents who report Puerto Rican roots (10.1%), and some of the residents are also of Dominican ancestry (8.0%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (4.8%), among others. In addition, 39.7% 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 Ridgewood West neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (36.3% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (31.1%) take the train to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (23.0%) and 9.2% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work for their daily commute. This neighborhood is distinguished by the high number of residents who take the train to work each day, which can be a very good way to get to work at a lower cost and with less pollution.
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.
