Downtown median real estate price is $674,470, which is more expensive than 76.5% of the neighborhoods in Oregon and 79.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Downtown is currently $2,057, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 48.2% of Oregon neighborhoods.
Downtown is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Portland, Oregon.
Downtown 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 Downtown neighborhood are established but not old, having been built between 1970 and 1999. A number of residences were also built between 2000 and the present.
Downtown has a 14.0% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 75.6% 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.
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
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the Downtown neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the Downtown community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, one of the most interesting things about the Downtown neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 71.1% of the households here made up of people living alone, NeighborhoodScout's research reveals that this is a larger proportion of people living alone than in 99.8% of the neighborhoods in America.
Also, an extraordinary 10.8% of the residents of the Downtown neighborhood are currently enrolled in college. This is such a large part of life in this neighborhood that the neighborhood changes a great deal with the change of semesters and is far quieter during the summer when many students are away.
Finally, the Downtown neighborhood stands out within Oregon for its college student friendly environment. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood is home to a number of college students, is relatively walkable, and above average in safety. In combination, this makes it stand out for a good place for college students to consider. Because a number of college students live here, this neighborhood may be close to a college campus and offer certain amenities nearby geared towards the student body. While it's not an environment for everyone, ambitious scholars can enjoy seasonal excitement between semesters and school breaks, and parents can rest easy knowing that the area has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 6.9% of college-friendly places to live in OR. In addition to being an excellent choice for college students, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for young, single professionals.
Real Estate
The Downtown 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 95.8% 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.
In addition, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Downtown neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 94.6% 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 98.9% of all neighborhoods in America.
Furthermore, the Downtown neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 49,937 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.4% of the nation's neighborhoods.
Also of note, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Downtown neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 84.5%, which is higher than 95.2% 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.
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 Downtown neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 50.7% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Modes of Transportation
More people in Downtown choose to walk to work each day (24.0%) 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, if your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 5.0% of residents in the Downtown neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 98.1% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Finally, in the Downtown neighborhood, 10.9% of people ride the train to work each day. This is a very high percentage compared to most places. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this is a higher level of train ridership than in 95.3% of the neighborhoods in America.
Diversity
Did you know that the Downtown neighborhood has more Finnish and Romanian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 4.0% of this neighborhood's residents have Finnish ancestry and 1.6% have Romanian ancestry.
Downtown is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 7.9% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Chinese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.1% 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 Downtown neighborhood in Portland are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 89.1% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 0.0% 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 100.0% 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 Downtown neighborhood, 57.1% 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 29.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (11.0%), and 2.2% in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions.
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 Downtown neighborhood is English, spoken by 81.7% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Spanish and Langs. of India.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the Downtown neighborhood in Portland, OR, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (17.2%). There are also a number of people of Asian ancestry (16.3%), and residents who report German roots (13.5%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (11.4%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (8.5%), among others. In addition, 22.0% 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 Downtown neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (38.7% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (26.5%) 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 (24.0%) and 10.9% of residents also take the train 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.
