Dorchester Center West median real estate price is $896,913, which is more expensive than 64.2% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 85.4% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Dorchester Center West is currently $2,421, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 73.0% of Massachusetts neighborhoods.
Dorchester Center West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dorchester Center West 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 Dorchester Center West 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.
Home and apartment vacancy rates are 9.0% in Dorchester Center West. NeighborhoodScout analysis shows that this rate is lower than 41.7% of the neighborhoods in the nation, approximately near the middle range for vacancies.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Whether by choice, divorce, or unplanned pregnancy, single moms may have the toughest job in the book. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that the Dorchester Center West neighborhood has more single mother households than 99.6% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. Often high concentrations of single mother homes can be a strong indicator of family and social issues such as poverty, high rates of school dropouts, crime, and other societal problems.
Corner bodegas, stores on the first floor and apartments above, former grand Victorian residences converted into apartments, three-deckers built shoulder-to-shoulder, duplexes. Such building types define the real estate of neighborhoods dominated by small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. Many are in older core neighborhoods of Eastern and Midwestern cities, or historic town centers in their hinterlands. If you wax romantic about the look and feel of such neighborhoods, with fresh pizza, falafel and an independent florist at the corner, then you might find the Dorchester Center West neighborhood worth a close look. This neighborhood is an absolutely outstanding example of the dominance of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings compared to neighborhoods across the nation, as they make up a substantial portion of this neighborhood's real estate stock. In fact, no less than 44.5% of the real estate here is made up of such dwellings, which is higher than 97.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In addition, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Dorchester Center West neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 96.3% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 26,432 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 Dorchester Center West neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
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 Dorchester Center West neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 32.7% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.
From major sales accounts to fast-food workers, sales and service employees are often the backbone of the local economy. In the Dorchester Center West neighborhood, they truly stand out. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis identifies this neighborhood as having a higher percentage of sales and service workers than 97.4% of all American neighborhoods.
Our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (14.3% ride the bus) than 97.3% of all American neighborhoods. If you like the idea of leaving your car and home and hopping the bus to work, this might be a good neighborhood for you to consider.
Also, more people in Dorchester Center West choose to walk to work each day (11.0%) 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.
Finally, in the Dorchester Center West neighborhood, 9.0% 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 95.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
Did you know that the Dorchester Center West neighborhood has more Dominican and Jamaican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 25.0% of this neighborhood's residents have Dominican ancestry and 15.5% have Jamaican ancestry.
Dorchester Center West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.6% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Native American languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 95.4% 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 Dorchester Center West neighborhood in Boston are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 74.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 28.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 80.6% 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 Dorchester Center West neighborhood, 41.0% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 26.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (18.3%), and 14.6% 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 Dorchester Center West neighborhood is English, spoken by 64.4% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and African languages.
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 Dorchester Center West neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Dominican (25.0%). There are also a number of people of Jamaican ancestry (15.5%), and residents who report Puerto Rican roots (9.4%), and some of the residents are also of Sub-Saharan African ancestry (7.0%). In addition, 28.9% 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 Dorchester Center West neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (36.4% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (40.9%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (14.3%) and 12.6% 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.
