Harvard Square / Harvard University median real estate price is $1,768,377, which is more expensive than 93.6% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 96.5% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Harvard Square / Harvard University is currently $4,710, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 86.3% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Harvard Square / Harvard University is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard Square / Harvard University 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University 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.
Harvard Square / Harvard University has a 14.6% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 77.0% 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.
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.
People
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, if knowledge is power, then imagine the cumulative power of one neighborhood where many of the adults have earned an advanced degree, such as a Masters, law degree, medical degree, or even a Ph.D. This is certainly the case in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood, where 54.6% have earned an advanced degree. Compare that to the average neighborhood in America, where just 13.4% of adults have completed a post-graduate degree, and you can see why this neighborhood is a stand out. In fact, this neighborhood has a higher rate of adults with an advanced degree than 99.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
Modes of Transportation
More people in Harvard Square / Harvard University choose to walk to work each day (33.1%) 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.
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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 7.2% 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, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 12.5% of the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 95.8% of America's neighborhoods.
Real Estate
If you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 96.5% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 27,225 people per square mile living here. 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
In addition, 86.8% of the real estate in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
Furthermore, do you watch 'This Old House' on Public Television? Do you love the idea of fixing up a Colonial or Victorian era home, complete with the charm of yesteryear? Do you like to stroll or drive streets lined with gracious older residences? If you found yourself nodding yes to any of these questions, you are going to be interested in this unique neighborhood. The Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 71.9% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 98.9% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
Car Ownership
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood buck this trend. 33.4% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Occupations
The Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 96.6% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 72.2% 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.
Migration / Stability
Some neighborhoods have more internal cohesiveness than others. While other neighborhoods feel like a collection of strangers who just happen to live near each other. Sometimes this comes down to not only the personalities of the people in a place, but how long people have been together in that neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research has revealed some interesting things about the rootedness of people in the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood. In the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 97.8% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
Diversity
Did you know that the Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood has more Armenian and Greek ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 0.7% of this neighborhood's residents have Armenian ancestry and 1.9% have Greek ancestry.
Harvard Square / Harvard University is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 7.0% 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 96.6% 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood in Cambridge are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 72.1% of the neighborhoods in America. 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.
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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood, 72.2% 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 15.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (7.0%), and 4.9% 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood is English, spoken by 66.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.
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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood in Cambridge, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (23.2%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (8.1%), and residents who report English roots (7.7%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (5.4%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (4.7%), among others. In addition, 27.0% 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 Harvard Square / Harvard University neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (35.2% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (33.1%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (16.7%) and 12.5% of residents also take the train 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.
