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What do we mean by a neighborhood?
NeighborhoodScout® uses the official government designation for neighborhoods - the census tract.
Census tracts are small, relatively permanent subdivisions of a county that are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau in conjunction with local authorities all across the country to define real neighborhoods that are bounded to contain areas with homogeneous population characteristics (including economic status, lifestyle, and living conditions). Census tracts usually have 4,000 persons, but can range between 1,500 and 8,000 persons. This is the most fine-grained area for which detailed information is made available from the government, to protect the individual privacy of each of us. Because census tracts are based on population, they vary in size depending on the density of settlement. In urban areas, they are small, and in rural areas they can cover an entire small town or even a few small towns in very rural areas.
Since census tracts are subdivisions of a county, we did a spatial overlay of the census tracts onto city and town boundaries using a geographic information system to properly assign each census tract to its appropriate city or town. Then we named each census tract to the local colloquially recognized neighborhood name for that spot (e.g., Boston, MA (Dorchester). If there was not a name available, we named the census tract by the largest street intersection in the census tract (e.g., Worcester, MA (Lincoln St/Plantation St)
Why we don't use Zip Codes as neighborhoods
Zip codes were developed by the Postal Service for the purpose of delivering mail, but were never intended to define coherent neighborhoods. In addition, Zip Codes can have as many as 10 distinctly different census tracts contained within them. When distinct census tracts are blended together in a single Zip Code, the data reflects their average conditions and often gives a false sense of the area. The result is that potentially great matching neighborhoods can be missed, and erroneous matches can also be produced and delivered to you.
Using census tracts makes great matches possible, and helps people find the areas that are best for them and their families. Because we are committed to providing the highest possible quality and finding the neighborhoods that best meet your criteria, we use census tracts. And, as always, we show you the actual street map of the neighborhood so you know exactly where your best matching neighborhood is located.
What is a Condition Alert?
A condition alert is a condition in the neighborhood that triggers an alert. NeighborhoodScout contains condition alerts to highlight conditions that are extreme, whether good or bad. This helps answer crucial questions about the state of the neighborhood being evaluated, such as:
What are the risks of violent crime here?
Is the risk of home break-ins or other property crimes increasing?
Does real estate here hold its value?
Are the trends in local vacancies or unemployment concerning?
...and dozens more.
Information at a glance that you need to know to invest, appraise or finance a property.
Swarthmore is a somewhat small borough located in the state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 6,536 people and just one neighborhood, Swarthmore is the 204th largest community in Pennsylvania. Swarthmore has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs.
Swarthmore home prices are not only among the most expensive in Pennsylvania, but Swarthmore real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Occupations and Workforce
Swarthmore is a decidedly white-collar borough, with fully 93.65% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Swarthmore is a borough of professionals, managers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Swarthmore who work in teaching (15.99%), management occupations (11.63%), and business and financial occupations (10.74%).
And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Swarthmore has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.
Also of interest is that Swarthmore has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
A relatively large number of people in Swarthmore telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 17.64% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Setting & Lifestyle
For a small borough, there is also a high proportion of single, often educated, people living in Swarthmore. This is not typical for smaller communities in America, and adds a feeling of vibrancy to Swarthmore.
Despite being a small borough, Swarthmore has a lot of people using the train to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on the train are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.
Demographics
Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Swarthmore, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Swarthmore is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 79.24% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.
The per capita income in Swarthmore in 2022 was $66,784, which is wealthy relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $267,136 for a family of four.
Swarthmore is a very ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Swarthmore home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Swarthmore residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Swarthmore include Irish, German, English, Italian, and European.
The most common language spoken in Swarthmore is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
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 neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, one of the really interesting characteristics about the neighborhood is that, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research, it is an excellent choice in which to reside for college students. Due to its popularity among college students who already choose to live here, its walkability, and its above average safety from crime, the neighborhood is ideal for prospective or already-enrolled college students. Between semesters and during school breaks, you'll notice that the excitement here fluctuates with the college seasons. Despite the excitement however, parents of college-age children can rest easy knowing that this neighborhood has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 0.6% of college-friendly places to live in the state of Pennsylvania. In addition to being an excellent choice for college students, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for highly educated executives and urban sophisticates.
Also, 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 neighborhood, where 51.1% have earned an advanced degree. Compare that to the average neighborhood in America, where just 13.7% 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 99.3% of the neighborhoods in America.
Modes of Transportation
In the 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 21.8% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 98.4% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Diversity
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Irish and Armenian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 22.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Irish ancestry and 0.6% have Armenian ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.9% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak French at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 95.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
The Neighbors
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 neighborhood in Swarthmore 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 92.2% 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 neighborhood, 67.2% 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 21.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions (7.1%), and 6.2% 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 neighborhood is English, spoken by 85.1% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Chinese and French.
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 neighborhood in Swarthmore, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (22.8%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (16.7%), and residents who report English roots (15.8%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (10.2%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (7.4%), among others. In addition, 12.4% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Getting to Work
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 neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (36.0% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (45.5%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (21.8%) and 7.2% 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.
SCOUT’s patented match algorithm identifies the most similar neighborhoods to a subject location, and quantifies the similarity to the subject location. This allows analysts to identify the most similar neighborhoods in a local market area for appraisals, investments, and research.
The algorithm uses 273 neighborhood conditions, identifies the dominant dimensions underlying the conditions and calculates the similarity. This captures the true culture and character of locations, economic conditions, and trends.
The closer to 100% means the locations are nearly identical. 80% is a very good, but not excellent match, and so forth.
