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Real Estate Prices & Overview

West Cambridge median real estate price is $2,623,500, which is more expensive than 98.0% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 98.8% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.

The average rental price in West Cambridge is currently $5,584, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 96.5% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.

West Cambridge is a suburban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

West Cambridge real estate is primarily made up of large (four, five or more bedroom) to small (studio to two bedroom) single-family homes and small apartment buildings. Most of the residential real estate is owner occupied. Many of the residences in the West Cambridge 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 1970 and 1999.

West Cambridge has a 11.1% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 66.0% 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.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Cambridge, the West Cambridge neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

Occupations

The West Cambridge neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 87.3% 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.

People

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 West Cambridge 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 West Cambridge neighborhood. In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for highly educated executives.

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 West Cambridge neighborhood, where 55.2% 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.

Also, 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 4.6% of America's neighborhoods are wealthier than the West Cambridge 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.

Modes of Transportation

More people in West Cambridge choose to walk to work each day (14.7%) 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, if your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 2.8% of residents in the West Cambridge neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 95.3% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.

Real Estate

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 West Cambridge neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 75.0% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 99.3% of the neighborhoods in the United States.

Diversity

Did you know that the West Cambridge neighborhood has more Hungarian and Lebanese ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 4.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Hungarian ancestry and 2.3% have Lebanese ancestry.

West Cambridge is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.2% 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 99.2% 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 West Cambridge neighborhood in Cambridge 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 95.4% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 1.1% 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 78.6% of America'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 West Cambridge neighborhood, 87.3% 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 8.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (4.6%).

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 West Cambridge neighborhood is English, spoken by 73.6% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Persian and Portuguese.

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 West Cambridge neighborhood in Cambridge, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (18.7%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (13.1%), and residents who report German roots (7.9%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (7.3%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (7.0%), among others. In addition, 21.1% 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 West Cambridge neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (42.6% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (40.3%) 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 (14.7%) and 9.7% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors 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.


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