Lafayette West median real estate price is $710,789, which is more expensive than 68.8% of the neighborhoods in New Jersey and 80.6% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Lafayette West is currently $2,414, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 84.8% of New Jersey neighborhoods.
Lafayette West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Lafayette 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 Lafayette 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 1940 and 1969.
Lafayette West has a 9.7% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 60.1% 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.
Modes of Transportation
Our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (19.6% ride the bus) than 98.5% 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.
Real Estate
The Lafayette West neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 44,373 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.2% of the nation's neighborhoods. Being a walkable neighborhood can help increase property values for the simple reason that people enjoy it and value it. To put it plainly, despite our love affair with the automobile, American's enjoy taking to the streets, sidewalks, paths, and courtyards of a place to get a coffee, relax, and take in the sights and sounds. And, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive and first quantitative walkable score index, the Lafayette West neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
Car Ownership
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 Lafayette West neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 35.2% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
People
Of note, 59.8% 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, neighborhoodScout's analysis shows that the Lafayette West neighborhood has a greater concentration of residents currently enrolled in college than 95.9% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. With 12.0% of the population here attending college, this is very much a college-focused neighborhood.
Also, the Lafayette West neighborhood stands out within New Jersey 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 9.3% of college-friendly places to live in NJ.
Length of Commute
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the Lafayette West neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 10.9% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.3% of all neighborhoods in America.
Diversity
Did you know that the Lafayette West neighborhood has more Arab and Puerto Rican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 13.1% of this neighborhood's residents have Arab ancestry and 24.6% have Puerto Rican ancestry.
Lafayette West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 13.3% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Arabic at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.8% 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 Lafayette West neighborhood in Jersey City 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. With 59.8% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 96.8% 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 Lafayette West neighborhood, 35.5% 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 28.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (18.7%), and 17.5% 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 Lafayette West neighborhood is English, spoken by 50.8% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese and Tagalog (the first language of the Philippine region).
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 Lafayette West neighborhood in Jersey City, NJ, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Puerto Rican (24.6%). There are also a number of people of Arab ancestry (13.1%), and residents who report Dominican roots (12.3%), and some of the residents are also of Asian ancestry (9.0%), along with some Sub-Saharan African ancestry residents (8.9%), among others. In addition, 35.0% 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 Lafayette West neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (35.8% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (42.0%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (19.6%) and 9.7% 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.
