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Real Estate Prices & Overview

Canal West median real estate price is $1,113,087, which is more expensive than 57.6% of the neighborhoods in California and 82.6% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.

The average rental price in Canal West is currently $2,895, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 64.3% 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

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.

Real Estate

Renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Canal West neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 97.8%, which is higher than 98.7% of the neighborhoods in America. If you were to buy and live in the property you bought here, you would be almost alone in doing so. 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

Our research shows that more people carpool to work here in the Canal West (52.7%) than in 100.0% of the neighborhoods in America.

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

NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research revealed that 95.7% of the adult residents in the Canal West neighborhood do not have a 4-year college degree, which is a lower rate of college graduated adults than found in 97.8% of the neighborhoods in America.

In addition, single parenting is hard. But you don't have to tell the Canal West neighborhood about it; they already know. 18.2% of this neighborhood's households are run by single mothers, which is a higher concentration than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.9% of American neighborhoods. Further NeighborhoodScout research showed strong statistical correlations among high rates of children living in single parent households, and neighborhood crime, particularly violent crime, neighborhood poverty, and, importantly, the percentage of low weight births and rates of infant mortality.

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

The freedom of moving to new places versus the comfort of home. How much and how often people move not only can create diverse and worldly neighborhoods, but simultaneously it can produce a loss of intimacy with one's surroundings and a lack of connectedness to one's neighbors. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research has identified this neighborhood as unique with regard to the transience of its populace. 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.

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 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

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 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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Race & Ethnic Diversity
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Crime includes:
Neighborhood Crime Index
Crimes Per Square Mile
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Violent Crime Comparison
Schools include:
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