Beacon Hill median real estate price is $2,387,242, which is more expensive than 97.7% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 98.6% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Beacon Hill is currently $5,136, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 90.8% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Beacon Hill is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Beacon Hill 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 occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Beacon Hill 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.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Beacon Hill. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 18.4%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 84.5% of all U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, most vacant housing here is vacant year round. This can sometimes be the case in neighborhoods dominated by new construction that is not yet occupied. But often neighborhoods with vacancy rates this high are places that can be plagued by a protracted vacancy problem. If you live here, you may find that a number of buildings in your neighborhood are actually empty.
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
If you come to know the people here, you will recognize that you're in the company of one of the wealthiest communities in the nation. In fact, a mere 2.3% of America's neighborhoods are wealthier than the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Real estate here is exceedingly well-maintained, and similarly, tends to maintain its value over time. The cars driven are mostly luxury brands like Mercedes, Audi, BMW, and Lexus. If the public schools aren't up to snuff, the residents of this neighborhood preferentially send their children to private preparatory schools. Vacation to Disney? Yes, but equally popular are summers in Europe. As one would expect in a considerably wealthy neighborhood such as this, Beacon Hill 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 Beacon Hill neighborhood. This neighborhood is uniquely immersed with more "urban sophisticates" than 99.7% 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 Beacon Hill neighborhood. In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for active retirees, young, single professionals and highly educated executives.
Also, the rate of college educated adults in the Beacon Hill neighborhood is a unique characteristic of the neighborhood. 89.5% 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 99.7% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Finally, one of the most interesting things about the Beacon Hill neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 53.2% of the households here made up of people living alone, NeighborhoodScout's research reveals that this is a larger proportion of people living alone than in 97.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
Real Estate
The Beacon Hill neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 49,999 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.4% of the nation's neighborhoods. 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 Beacon Hill neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
In addition, the Beacon Hill 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 82.8% 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, 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 Beacon Hill neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 90.0% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 99.9% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
Occupations
The Beacon Hill neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 99.5% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 82.8% 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.
Modes of Transportation
More people in Beacon Hill choose to walk to work each day (38.2%) 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, in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 32.8% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 98.1% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.
Finally, 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 Beacon Hill neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 2.8% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 95.3% of the neighborhoods in America.
Car Ownership
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Beacon Hill neighborhood buck this trend. 38.4% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.0% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the Beacon Hill neighborhood has more Iranian and Armenian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Iranian ancestry and 1.1% have Armenian ancestry.
Beacon Hill is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.3% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Persian at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.3% 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 Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston 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 97.7% 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 Beacon Hill neighborhood, 82.8% 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 11.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (3.8%).
Languages
The most common language spoken in the Beacon Hill neighborhood is English, spoken by 91.3% of households.
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 Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (22.9%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (18.9%), and residents who report German roots (14.3%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (7.3%), along with some French ancestry residents (7.0%), among others. In addition, 11.0% 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 Beacon Hill neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (47.0% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (38.2%) 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 (15.5%) and 7.7% 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.
