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.
General Donovan median real estate price is $604,104, which is more expensive than 40.9% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 75.0% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in General Donovan is currently $1,923, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 89.7% of Massachusetts neighborhoods.
General Donovan is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
General Donovan 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 General Donovan neighborhood are older, well-established, built between 1940 and 1969. A number of residences were also built before 1940.
Real estate vacancies in General Donovan are 5.1%, which is lower than one will find in 65.8% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in General Donovan is above average for the U.S., and may signal some demand for either price increases or new construction of residential product for this neighborhood.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
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 Lawrence, the General Donovan neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
The General Donovan neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 98.7% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
In addition, one of the most interesting things about the General Donovan neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 58.0% 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 98.4% of the neighborhoods in America.
Also, neighborhoodScout's exclusive research revealed that 95.4% of the adult residents in the General Donovan neighborhood do not have a 4-year college degree, which is a lower rate of college graduated adults than found in 97.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
Modes of Transportation
Our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (19.7% ride the bus) than 98.6% 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, in the General Donovan neighborhood, carpooling is still a popular way to get to and from work. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that 24.6% of commuters carpool here, which is more than in 96.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Real Estate
96.8% of the real estate in the General Donovan neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
In addition, the General Donovan 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 84.6% 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.
Occupations
NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research identifies the General Donovan neighborhood as having one of the highest concentrations of people employed in manufacturing or as laborers of any neighborhood in America. In fact, despite the loss of manufacturing jobs nationally, this neighborhood has 46.7% of its working residents employed in such fields, which is a higher proportion than 97.9% of American neighborhoods.
Car Ownership
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the General Donovan neighborhood buck this trend. 25.6% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the General Donovan neighborhood has more Dominican and Puerto Rican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 52.7% of this neighborhood's residents have Dominican ancestry and 32.8% have Puerto Rican ancestry.
General Donovan is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 93.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Spanish at home. This is a higher percentage than 99.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Migration / Stability
The freedom of moving to new places versus the comfort of home. How much and how often people move not only can create diverse and worldly neighborhoods, but simultaneously it can produce a loss of intimacy with one's surroundings and a lack of connectedness to one's neighbors. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research has identified this neighborhood as unique with regard to the transience of its populace. What is interesting to note, is that the General Donovan neighborhood has a greater percentage of residents born in another country (50.1%) than are found in 97.7% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
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 General Donovan neighborhood in Lawrence are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 98.7% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 16.1% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 62.3% 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 General Donovan neighborhood, 46.7% of the working population is employed in manufacturing and laborer 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 33.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (12.4%), and 7.6% in executive, management, and professional occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the General Donovan neighborhood is Spanish, spoken by 93.7% of households. Some people also speak English (3.8%).
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 General Donovan neighborhood in Lawrence, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Dominican (52.7%). There are also a number of people of Puerto Rican ancestry (32.8%), and residents who report South American roots (3.6%), and some of the residents are also of Cuban ancestry (1.4%), along with some Arab ancestry residents (1.1%), among others. In addition, 50.1% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Getting to Work
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 General Donovan neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.0% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (47.3%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (24.6%) and 19.7% 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.
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.
