Downtown Berkeley South median real estate price is $1,266,504, which is more expensive than 75.4% of the neighborhoods in California and 94.7% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Downtown Berkeley South is currently $3,364, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 44.3% of California neighborhoods.
Downtown Berkeley South is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Berkeley, California.
Downtown Berkeley South 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 Berkeley South neighborhood are older, well-established, built between 1940 and 1969. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Downtown Berkeley South. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 27.2%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 93.3% of all U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, most vacant housing here is vacant year round. This can sometimes be the case in neighborhoods dominated by new construction that is not yet occupied. But often neighborhoods with vacancy rates this high are places that can be plagued by a protracted vacancy problem. If you live here, you may find that a number of buildings in your neighborhood are actually 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 South neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, neighborhoodScout's analysis shows that the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood has a greater concentration of residents currently enrolled in college than 99.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. With 47.0% of the population here attending college, this is very much a college-focused neighborhood.
Modes of Transportation
In the Downtown Berkeley South 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 32.3% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.2% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, 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 South neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 7.1% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
Finally, in the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood, 22.9% 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 97.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
Real Estate
The Downtown Berkeley South 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 95.5% 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, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 99.1%, which is higher than 99.0% 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.
Furthermore, the real estate in the Downtown Berkeley South 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, 90.0% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 98.2% of American neighborhoods.
Also of note, the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 37,864 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.8% of the nation's neighborhoods.
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 Berkeley South neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 41.7% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.2% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Occupations
The Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 95.3% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 69.7% 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.
Diversity
Did you know that the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood has more Romanian and Asian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.3% of this neighborhood's residents have Romanian ancestry and 51.4% have Asian ancestry.
Downtown Berkeley South is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 29.0% 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 99.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
Migration / Stability
Do you like to be surrounded by people from all over the country or world, with different perspectives and life experiences? Or do you instead prefer to be in a neighborhood where most residents have lived there for a long time, creating a sense of cohesiveness? NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood stands out among American neighborhoods for the uniqueness of the mobility of its residents. In the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 97.9% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas. What is also interesting to note, is that the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood has a greater percentage of residents born in another country (42.9%) than are found in 95.3% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
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 South 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 80.3% 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.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood, 69.7% 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 18.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (6.5%), and 5.6% 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 Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood is English, spoken by 54.2% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Langs. of India, Russian and Tagalog (the first language of the Philippine region).
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the Downtown Berkeley South neighborhood in Berkeley, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (51.4%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (8.0%), and residents who report English roots (6.9%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (4.3%), along with some German ancestry residents (4.1%), among others. In addition, 42.9% 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 Berkeley South neighborhood spend between 30 and 45 minutes commuting one-way to work (35.9% of working residents), which is at or a bit above the average length of a commute across all U.S. neighborhoods.
Here most residents (32.3%) 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 (22.9%) and 16.8% 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.
