Polk Gulch North median real estate price is $2,385,345, which is more expensive than 94.3% of the neighborhoods in California and 98.9% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Polk Gulch North is currently $4,898, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 88.3% of the neighborhoods in California.
Polk Gulch North is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in San Francisco, California.
Polk Gulch North real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) apartment complexes/high-rise apartments and small apartment buildings. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Polk Gulch North 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.
Polk Gulch North has a 12.6% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 71.5% 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.
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 San Francisco, the Polk Gulch North neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Modes of Transportation
In the Polk Gulch North neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 45.5% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 99.8% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.
Also, would you like to be able to ride your bike to work? If you are attracted to the idea of getting a little exercise of the two-wheeled type while reducing your carbon footprint, bicycling to work might be the answer. But which neighborhood you live in can make this either impossible, or alternatively, a great and realistic option. NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that the Polk Gulch North neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 7.5% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
Finally, more people in Polk Gulch North choose to walk to work each day (12.1%) 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.
Real Estate
The Polk Gulch North neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 47,283 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.3% of the nation's neighborhoods. 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 Polk Gulch North neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Polk Gulch North neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 92.7%, which is higher than 97.5% 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.
Furthermore, the real estate in the Polk Gulch North neighborhood really stands out in the way it looks for a unique reason: this neighborhood has a higher proportion of apartment complexes or high-rise apartments than nearly every neighborhood in the country. Most neighborhoods are a mixture of real estate and housing types, but here it is almost entirely dominated by big apartment buildings and complexes. In fact, 78.3% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 96.5% of American neighborhoods.
Also of note, the Polk Gulch North neighborhood is very unique in that it has one of the highest proportions of one, two, or no bedroom real estate of any neighborhood in America. Most neighborhoods have a mixture of home or apartment sizes from small to large, but here the concentration of studios and other small living spaces is at near-record heights. With 85.2% of the real estate here of this small size, this most assuredly is a notable feature that makes this neighborhood unique, along with just a handful of other neighborhoods in the U.S. that share this characteristic.
Finally, 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 69.9% of the residential real estate in the Polk Gulch North neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 98.5% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
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 NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that households in the Polk Gulch North neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 41.7% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.2% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Occupations
The Polk Gulch North neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 96.4% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 71.7% of the employed people here make a living as an executive, a manager, or other professional. With such a high concentration, this truly shapes the character of this neighborhood, and to a large degree defines what this neighborhood is about.
People
Of note, 55.9% 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, think about the people you know personally. How many of them would purchase box seats to opening night at the symphony? How many of them regularly attend gallery openings, or are the first to reserve tickets to opening night at the ballet? If they're like most of us, they don't do any of these things. But if you're among an exclusive crowd of wealthy and refined patrons of the arts, then you'll feel right at home in the Polk Gulch North neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 95.7% of neighborhoods across the U.S. Here, your neighbors are defined as having urbane tastes in literature, music, live theatre and the arts. They are wealthy, educated, travel in style, and live a big city lifestyle whether or not they live in or near a big city. In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for young, single professionals.
Diversity
Did you know that the Polk Gulch North neighborhood has more Belgian and Iranian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Belgian ancestry and 1.1% have Iranian ancestry.
Polk Gulch North is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.0% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Japanese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.5% 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 Polk Gulch North neighborhood in San Francisco are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 91.2% of the neighborhoods in America. With 55.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 95.9% 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 Polk Gulch North neighborhood, 71.7% 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 17.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (10.4%).
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 Polk Gulch North neighborhood is English, spoken by 81.1% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Spanish and French.
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 Polk Gulch North neighborhood in San Francisco, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (17.5%). There are also a number of people of Asian ancestry (16.2%), and residents who report German roots (8.0%), and some of the residents are also of Mexican ancestry (5.0%), along with some French ancestry residents (4.2%), among others. In addition, 25.5% 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 Polk Gulch North neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.3% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (16.0%) 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 (12.1%) and 10.9% of residents also ride the bus 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.
