Ball Square / Powder House Square median real estate price is $1,516,627, which is more expensive than 93.1% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 96.4% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Ball Square / Powder House Square is currently $5,649, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 95.7% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Ball Square / Powder House Square is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Ball Square / Powder House Square real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) small apartment buildings and single-family homes. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Ball Square / Powder House Square 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.
Home and apartment vacancy rates are 6.0% in Ball Square / Powder House Square. NeighborhoodScout analysis shows that this rate is lower than 59.9% of the neighborhoods in the nation, approximately near the middle range for vacancies.
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.
People
Wealth makes most things in life easier, and a few things harder. If you are wealthy and enjoy keeping up with the Jones', this neighborhood will interest you. In fact, according to NeighborhoodScout's research, the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood is wealthier than 95.6% of the neighborhoods in the United States. Residents here are truly in a unique situation even when compared to other Americans, based on the sheer amount of wealth concentrated here. Even in times of economic downturn, residents of this neighborhood, as a group, suffered less and recovered more quickly. This is indeed a stand-out characteristic of this neighborhood. As one would expect in a considerably wealthy neighborhood such as this, Ball Square / Powder House Square also has one of the lowest ratings of child poverty in the nation.
In addition, if you're a regular supporter of the arts and enjoy outings to the theatre, weekend boutique-ing, or even a finely aged wine with dinner, than you're in good company with the people of the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood. This neighborhood is uniquely immersed with more "urban sophisticates" than 98.2% of neighborhoods across the country. The people here truly stand out as a class among their own. They are an exclusive community characterized by refined tastes, cultural inclinations, and the means to live well. Urban sophisticates live a big city lifestyle, whether or not they live in or near a big city. They are educated executives or managers by week, and serial patrons of the arts by weekend. If this lifestyle pertains to you, than you'll certainly feel right at home in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood. In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for college students, highly educated executives and young, single professionals.
Also, the rate of college educated adults in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood is a unique characteristic of the neighborhood. 76.8% of adults here have received at least a 4-year bachelor's degree, compared to the average neighborhood in America, which has 34.3% of the adults with a bachelor's degree. The rate here is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Finally, with more than 1.7% of residents living with a same sex partner, Ball Square / Powder House Square is truly a neighborhood that stands out from the rest in this regard. In fact, exclusive analysis by NeighborhoodScout reveals that this neighborhood has a greater concentration of same sex couples than 95.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Real Estate
Three-deckers, duplexes, old Victorian homes cut up into apartments. Independent stores on the corner selling pizza. These are some of the hallmarks of neighborhoods with lots of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. The Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood really stands out in this regard, however, as it is dominated by such small apartment buildings more than nearly any other neighborhood in America. This is a stunning visual and lifestyle example of this type of neighborhood. In fact, 75.8% of the real estate here are small 2, 3, or 4 unit apartment buildings, which is a higher proportion than found in 99.9% of America's neighborhoods.
In addition, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 96.2% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 25,443 people per square mile living here. 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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 80.7% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 99.7% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
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 8.8% of residents in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 99.5% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Also, in the Ball Square / Powder House Square 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.
Finally, a unique way of commuting is simply not to. And in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood, analysis shows that 27.4% of the residents work from home, avoiding a commute altogether. This may not seem like a large number, but it is a higher proportion of people working from home than is found in 95.2% of the neighborhoods in the United States. One thing NeighborhoodScout's research reveals is that the wealthier and/or more isolated the neighborhood, the greater the proportion of residents who choose to work from home.
Occupations
Executives, managers and professionals make up 80.6% of the workforce in the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood which, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, is a higher proportion of such high-level people than is found in 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America. For this reason, this neighborhood really stands out as unique.
Diversity
Did you know that the Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood has more Portuguese and Armenian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 10.3% of this neighborhood's residents have Portuguese ancestry and 1.4% have Armenian ancestry.
Ball Square / Powder House Square is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.4% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Korean at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 96.8% 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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood in Somerville are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 95.6% 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.
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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood, 80.6% 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 11.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (5.6%), and 2.6% 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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood is English, spoken by 82.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Korean and Italian.
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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood in Somerville, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Italian (18.2%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (17.6%), and residents who report Portuguese roots (10.3%), and some of the residents are also of German ancestry (10.3%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (10.3%), among others. In addition, 16.6% 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 Ball Square / Powder House Square neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.3% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (35.0%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (22.9%) and 8.8% of residents also bicycle 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.
