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Real Estate Prices & Overview

Canal West median real estate price is $1,030,461, which is more expensive than 54.8% of the neighborhoods in California and 80.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.

The average rental price in Canal West is currently $2,824, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 68.4% of California neighborhoods.

Canal West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in San Rafael, California.

Canal 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 Canal West neighborhood are established but not old, having been built between 1970 and 1999. A number of residences were also built between 1940 and 1969.

In Canal West, the current vacancy rate is 0.0%, which is a lower rate of vacancies than 100.0% of all neighborhoods in the U.S. This means that the housing supply in Canal West is very tight compared to the demand for property here.

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.

Real Estate

97.8% of the real estate in the Canal West neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America. With a real estate vacancy rate of only 0.0%, the Canal West neighborhood has a lower vacancy rate than 100.0% of U.S. neighborhoods, a very elite group. Such a low vacancy rate may indicate very strong real estate demand in the neighborhood combined with some impediments to increasing supply, such as zoning or existing density of development, among other potential reasons.

In addition, the Canal West 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.

Furthermore, the Canal West neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 60,636 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.9% of the nation's neighborhoods.

Modes of Transportation

In the Canal West neighborhood, carpooling is still a popular way to get to and from work. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that 52.7% of commuters carpool here, which is more than in 100.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

Occupations

There are more people living in the Canal West neighborhood employed as sales and service workers (55.1%) than almost any neighborhood in the country. From fast-food service workers to major sales accounts, sales and service workers make up the largest proportion of our national employment picture. But despite that size and importance nationally, this neighborhood still stands out as unique due to the dominance of people living here who work in such occupations.

People

The Canal West neighborhood is unique for having just 4.3% of adults here having earned a bachelor's degree. This is a lower rate of college graduates than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.8% of America's neighborhoods.

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 Canal West neighborhood has more single mother households than 95.9% 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.

Also, the Canal West neighborhood stands out within California for its college student friendly environment. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood is home to a number of college students, is relatively walkable, and above average in safety. In combination, this makes it stand out for a good place for college students to consider. Because a number of college students live here, this neighborhood may be close to a college campus and offer certain amenities nearby geared towards the student body. While it's not an environment for everyone, ambitious scholars can enjoy seasonal excitement between semesters and school breaks, and parents can rest easy knowing that the area has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 5.5% of college-friendly places to live in CA.

Diversity

Significantly, 84.6% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Spanish at home. This is a higher percentage than 99.1% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

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 Canal West neighborhood. What is interesting to note, is that the Canal West neighborhood has a greater percentage of residents born in another country (57.8%) than are found in 98.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

The Neighbors

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 Canal West neighborhood in San Rafael are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 71.4% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 25.6% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 77.0% 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 Canal West neighborhood, 44.9% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 34.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (12.9%), and 4.5% in executive, management, and professional occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the Canal West neighborhood is Spanish, spoken by 84.6% of households. Some people also speak English (13.5%).

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 Canal West neighborhood in San Rafael, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (25.8%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (1.3%), and residents who report Asian roots (1.3%). In addition, 57.8% 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 Canal West neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (39.2% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (52.7%) carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work. In addition, quite a number also drive alone in a private automobile to get to work (28.5%) and 9.8% of residents also ride the bus for their daily commute. Despite relying on the automobile to get to work, residents of this neighborhood share the ride more than most neighborhoods, reducing traffic, pollution, and saving money.


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