What do we mean by a neighborhood?
NeighborhoodScout® 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. NeighborhoodScout 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.
Williamsburg Southwest median real estate price is $1,790,673, which is more expensive than 92.4% of the neighborhoods in New York and 97.8% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Williamsburg Southwest is currently $2,713, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 57.4% of New York neighborhoods.
Williamsburg Southwest is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Brooklyn, New York.
Williamsburg Southwest 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 Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood are established but not old, having been built between 1970 and 1999. A number of residences were also built between 1940 and 1969.
In Williamsburg Southwest, the current vacancy rate is 2.4%, which is a lower rate of vacancies than 83.9% of all neighborhoods in the U.S. This means that the housing supply in Williamsburg Southwest is very tight compared to the demand for property here.
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 NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
People
One of the unique characteristics of the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood revealed by analysis is that the per capita income of residents here is lower than that found in 95.6% of the neighborhoods in America. Also of note, 83.3% 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, one of the really interesting characteristics about the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood is that, according to NeighborhoodScout'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 3.7% of college-friendly places to live in the state of New York.
Modes of Transportation
In the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 34.4% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.3% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 20.4% of the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 97.2% of America's neighborhoods.
Real Estate
What you'll find when you visit or move to this neighborhood is one of the most crowded neighborhoods in all of America. With an incredible 68,160 people per square mile, it is more densely populated than 99.1% of America's neighborhoods.
In addition, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 88.4% of the residential real estate here is classified as such. This puts this neighborhood on the map as having a higher proportion of large apartment buildings than 98.0% of all neighborhoods in America.
Furthermore, 85.5% of the real estate in the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
Car Ownership
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood buck this trend. 46.9% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.6% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood has more Eastern European and Hungarian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 10.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Eastern European ancestry and 10.7% have Hungarian ancestry.
Williamsburg Southwest is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 64.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak German/Yiddish at home. This is a higher percentage than 100.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Migration / Stability
Do you like to be surrounded by people from all over the country or world, with different perspectives and life experiences? Or do you instead prefer to be in a neighborhood where most residents have lived there for a long time, creating a sense of cohesiveness? NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood stands out among American neighborhoods for the uniqueness of the mobility of its residents. More residents of the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood live here today that also were living in this same neighborhood five years ago than is found in 96.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. This neighborhood is really made up of people who know each other, don't move often, and have lived here in this very neighborhood for quite a while.
The Neighbors
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood in Brooklyn are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 95.6% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 83.3% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 99.5% 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 Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood, 35.7% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 35.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (23.0%), and 6.0% in manufacturing and laborer 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 Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood is German/Yiddish, spoken by 64.7% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and English.
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 Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Hungarian (10.7%). There are also a number of people of Eastern European ancestry (10.2%), and residents who report Dominican roots (9.5%), and some of the residents are also of Puerto Rican ancestry (7.4%), along with some Romanian ancestry residents (4.9%), among others. In addition, 19.8% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 Williamsburg Southwest neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (34.4% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (34.4%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (20.4%) and 18.2% of residents also drive alone in a private automobile for their daily commute. This is a special neighborhood for the number of people who walk to work. Combining exercise, low cost, and reduced pollution, plus the chance to see your neighbors, walking to work is fairly uncommon in America but likely to increase as people try to reduce their dependence on automobiles, and this neighborhood offers that opportunity today.
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.
