University City West median real estate price is $323,080, which is more expensive than 58.7% of the neighborhoods in Pennsylvania and 42.3% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in University City West is currently $2,301, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 77.2% of the neighborhoods in Pennsylvania.
University City West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
University City 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 townhomes. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the University City West 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 2000 and the present.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in University City West. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 25.2%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 92.5% 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.
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.
More people in University City West choose to walk to work each day (51.1%) 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 3.9% of residents in the University City West neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 97.3% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
One of the unique characteristics of the University City West neighborhood revealed by analysis is that the per capita income of residents here is lower than that found in 96.8% of the neighborhoods in America. Also of note, 93.8% of the children in this area live in poverty; an extraordinarily high percentage compared to other neighborhoods in the nation. In a nation where approximately one in four children grows up in poverty, this neighborhood stands out for the depth of the problem manifested here.
In addition, neighborhoodScout's analysis shows that the University City West neighborhood has a greater concentration of residents currently enrolled in college than 99.5% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. With 65.7% of the population here attending college, this is very much a college-focused neighborhood.
Also, the University City West neighborhood stands out within Pennsylvania 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 5.6% of college-friendly places to live in PA.
We Americans love our cars. Not only are they a necessity for most Americans due to the shape of our neighborhoods and the distances between where we live, work, shop, and go to school, but we also fancy them. As a result, most households in America have one, two, or three cars. But NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis shows that the University City West neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 59.6% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.2% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The University City West neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 43,139 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.1% 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 University City West neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
In addition, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the University City West neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 96.4%, which is higher than 98.3% 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.
Furthermore, the real estate in the University City West neighborhood really stands out in the way it looks for a unique reason: this neighborhood has a higher proportion of apartment complexes or high-rise apartments than nearly every neighborhood in the country. Most neighborhoods are a mixture of real estate and housing types, but here it is almost entirely dominated by big apartment buildings and complexes. In fact, 70.3% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 95.1% of American neighborhoods.
Also of note, if you find historic homes and neighborhoods attractive, you love the details, the history, and the charm, then you are sure to be interested in this neighborhood. With 57.5% of the residential real estate in the University City West neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 96.0% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
Do you like to be surrounded by people from all over the country or world, with different perspectives and life experiences? Or do you instead prefer to be in a neighborhood where most residents have lived there for a long time, creating a sense of cohesiveness? NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood stands out among American neighborhoods for the uniqueness of the mobility of its residents. In the University City West neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 99.3% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
Did you know that the University City West neighborhood has more Asian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 24.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Asian ancestry.
University City West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 8.3% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Chinese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.3% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 University City West neighborhood in Philadelphia are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 96.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 93.8% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 99.8% 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 University City West neighborhood, 54.9% 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 26.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (11.6%), and 7.4% 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 University City West neighborhood is English, spoken by 71.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Spanish, Langs. of India and Korean.
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 University City West neighborhood in Philadelphia, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (24.9%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (5.5%), and residents who report Italian roots (4.3%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (3.1%), along with some German ancestry residents (2.8%), among others. In addition, 19.5% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 University City West neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (54.0% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (51.1%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (5.8%) . 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.
