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.
Whidbey Island Station / Marketown median real estate price is $439,858, which is less expensive than 77.6% of Washington neighborhoods and 41.1% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
The average rental price in Whidbey Island Station / Marketown is currently $2,422, based on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 57.2% of Washington neighborhoods.
Whidbey Island Station / Marketown is a rural neighborhood (based on population density) located in Oak Harbor, Washington. This is a coastal neighborhood (i.e., is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet).
Whidbey Island Station / Marketown real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) single-family homes and apartment complexes/high-rise apartments. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood are older, well-established, built between 1940 and 1969. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.
Whidbey Island Station / Marketown has a 10.9% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 66.6% 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.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Oak Harbor, the Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Real Estate
Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The Whidbey Island Station / Marketown 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, Whidbey Island Station / Marketown 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, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ analysis, is 98.4%, which is higher than 98.8% of the neighborhoods in America. If you were to buy and live in the property you bought here, you would be almost alone in doing so.
Occupations
With 77.2% of employed workers living in the Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood active in the military, this neighborhood has the distinction of having a higher proportion of people in the military than 100.0% of American neighborhoods. This is a major shaper of the neighborhood's culture and character.
Furthermore, from major sales accounts to fast-food workers, sales and service employees are often the backbone of the local economy. In the Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood, they truly stand out. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive analysis identifies this neighborhood as having a higher percentage of sales and service workers than 95.1% of all American 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 Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's analysis. Residents of the Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 92.1% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ found in 99.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
Modes of Transportation
More people in Whidbey Island Station / Marketown choose to walk to work each day (20.7%) 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.
People
One of the really interesting characteristics about the Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood is that, according to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's exclusive research, it is an excellent choice in which to reside for college students. Due to its popularity among college students who already choose to live here, its walkability, and its above average safety from crime, the neighborhood is ideal for prospective or already-enrolled college students. Between semesters and during school breaks, you'll notice that the excitement here fluctuates with the college seasons. Despite the excitement however, parents of college-age children can rest easy knowing that this neighborhood has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 2.0% of college-friendly places to live in the state of Washington.
Diversity
Did you know that the Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood has more Native American ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 6.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Native American ancestry.
Whidbey Island Station / Marketown is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.1% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Korean at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 96.3% 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 Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood in Oak Harbor 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 88.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 8.3% 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 54.2% of America'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 Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood, 77.2% of the working population is employed in the military. 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 37.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (34.5%), and 16.4% in executive, management, and professional 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 Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood is English, spoken by 75.4% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Korean.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood in Oak Harbor, WA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (23.0%). There are also a number of people of Native American ancestry (6.9%), and residents who report Asian roots (6.8%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (3.5%), along with some German ancestry residents (3.0%), among others.
Getting to Work
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 Whidbey Island Station / Marketown neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (92.1% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (61.2%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (20.7%) and 17.8% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors 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.
