Center City median real estate price is $219,525, which is less expensive than 68.9% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods and 77.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
The average rental price in Center City is currently $1,523, based on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 63.6% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods.
Center City is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Center City real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) small apartment buildings and townhomes. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Center City 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 1970 and 1999.
Center City has a 9.9% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 62.6% 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.
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.
Single parenting is hard. But you don't have to tell the Center City neighborhood about it; they already know. 25.8% of this neighborhood's households are run by single mothers, which is a higher concentration than Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ found in 99.0% 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.
In addition, the Center City neighborhood is unique for having just 6.0% of adults here having earned a bachelor's degree. This is a lower rate of college graduates than Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ found in 96.5% of America's neighborhoods.
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 Center City neighborhood could be your paradise. With 26.0% 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 4.2% 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, 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 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive and first quantitative walkable score index, the Center City neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
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 Center City neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 56.2% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 95.6% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
More people in Center City choose to walk to work each day (15.2%) 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.
Also, more people ride the bus in this neighborhood each day to get to work than 96.6% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Finally, our research shows that more people carpool to work here in the Center City (22.5%) than in 95.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 Center City neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 28.8% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ found in 97.0% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Did you know that the Center City neighborhood has more Puerto Rican and Dominican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 44.7% of this neighborhood's residents have Puerto Rican ancestry and 28.3% have Dominican ancestry.
Center City is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.0% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Native American languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.6% 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 Center City neighborhood in Reading are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 86.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 34.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 86.0% 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 Center City neighborhood, 37.4% 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 25.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (21.1%), and 14.8% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the Center City neighborhood is Spanish, spoken by 60.9% of households. Some people also speak English (39.1%).
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 Center City neighborhood in Reading, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Puerto Rican (44.7%). There are also a number of people of Dominican ancestry (28.3%), and residents who report German roots (5.0%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (2.6%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (1.6%), among others. In addition, 20.9% 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 Center City neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (36.8% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (47.1%) 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 (22.5%) and 15.2% 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.
