Downtown Berkeley median real estate price is $1,100,232, which is more expensive than 65.6% of the neighborhoods in California and 92.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Downtown Berkeley is currently $2,961, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 61.3% of California neighborhoods.
Downtown Berkeley is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Berkeley, California.
Downtown Berkeley 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 single-family homes. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Downtown Berkeley 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 2000 and the present.
Downtown Berkeley has a 13.1% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 74.3% 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 Berkeley, the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
The Downtown Berkeley neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 89.8% 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.
Furthermore, the government often provides some of the more stable jobs in the economy. From local, to state, to federal government workers, the government can also be a major employer. What NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed, is that the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood in particular stands out when compared nationally for the proportion of its working residents who are employed by the government. At 17.8% of its workforce, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of government workers than 98.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.
100.0% of the real estate in the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
In addition, the real estate in the Downtown Berkeley 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, 90.7% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 98.3% of American neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the Downtown Berkeley 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 90.8% 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.
Also of note, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.0% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 20,380 people per square mile living here. 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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 40.6% 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 99.1% 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, in the Downtown Berkeley 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 21.8% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 98.5% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Finally, 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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 4.4% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 97.7% of the neighborhoods in America.
An extraordinary 40.0% of the residents of the Downtown Berkeley 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.
In addition, one of the most interesting things about the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 60.4% 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 98.8% of the neighborhoods in America.
We Americans love our cars. Not only are they a necessity for most Americans due to the shape of our neighborhoods and the distances between where we live, work, shop, and go to school, but we also fancy them. As a result, most households in America have one, two, or three cars. But NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis shows that the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 47.2% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Did you know that the Downtown Berkeley neighborhood has more Iranian and Asian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Iranian ancestry and 37.5% have Asian ancestry.
Downtown Berkeley is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 19.7% 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 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood in Berkeley are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 63.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 38.4% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 88.4% 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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood, 89.8% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions, with 17.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (5.8%), and 4.4% in clerical, assistant, and tech support 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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood is English, spoken by 55.7% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Spanish, Langs. of India and Russian.
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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood in Berkeley, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (37.5%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (15.5%), and residents who report German roots (11.5%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (9.3%), along with some Mexican ancestry residents (8.9%), among others. In addition, 32.1% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 Downtown Berkeley neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (37.0% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (21.8%) 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 (17.6%) and 9.2% 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.
