Dorchester West median real estate price is $994,653, which is more expensive than 73.1% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 88.5% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Dorchester West is currently $2,249, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 79.3% of Massachusetts neighborhoods.
Dorchester West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dorchester 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 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.
Real estate vacancies in Dorchester West are 5.3%, which is lower than one will find in 64.6% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in Dorchester West 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.
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.
Length of Commute
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The Dorchester West neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the Dorchester West neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 16.0% 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 98.9% of all 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 Dorchester West neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 44.8% 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.
Modes of Transportation
If your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 5.1% of residents in the Dorchester West neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 98.2% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Also, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 30.3% of the Dorchester West neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 98.2% of America's neighborhoods.
Finally, more people ride the bus in this neighborhood each day to get to work than 97.8% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Real Estate
The Dorchester West neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 36,511 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.6% of the nation's neighborhoods. 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 West neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Dorchester West neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 87.7%, which is higher than 96.2% 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, 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 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 31.0% of the real estate here is made up of such dwellings, which is higher than 95.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
People
The Dorchester West neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 97.0% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
In addition, 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 West neighborhood has more single mother households than 96.6% 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.
Diversity
Did you know that the Dorchester West neighborhood has more Dominican and Haitian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 14.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Dominican ancestry and 9.7% have Haitian ancestry.
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 Dorchester West neighborhood in Boston are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 97.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 29.2% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 80.3% of U.S. neighborhoods.
What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.
In the Dorchester West neighborhood, 34.6% 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 34.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (20.9%), and 10.5% 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 Dorchester West neighborhood is English, spoken by 64.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Italian and French.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the Dorchester West neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Puerto Rican (15.3%). There are also a number of people of Dominican ancestry (14.8%), and residents who report Haitian roots (9.7%), and some of the residents are also of Jamaican ancestry (8.5%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (2.0%), among others. In addition, 32.2% 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 Dorchester West neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (32.2% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (30.3%) take the train to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (29.1%) and 16.7% of residents also ride the bus for their daily commute. This neighborhood is distinguished by the high number of residents who take the train to work each day, which can be a very good way to get to work at a lower cost and with less pollution.
