Back Bay median real estate price is $1,717,024, which is more expensive than 95.4% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 97.3% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Back Bay is currently $4,659, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 89.1% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts.
Back Bay is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Back Bay 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 Back Bay 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 Back Bay. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 16.6%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 82.4% 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.
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 Boston, the Back Bay neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the Back Bay neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, do you like to read, write, and learn? Are you curious about the world? If so, this neighborhood may be a good fit for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that a full 95.7% of the adults living in the Back Bay neighborhood have earned at least a bachelor's degree. This is a higher rate than NeighborhoodScout found in 100.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. In this way, this neighborhood truly stands out.
Also, a unique characteristic about the people in the Back Bay neighborhood is that a majority of them are young, single professionals. In fact, there are more young, single professionals in this one community than 97.2% of neighborhoods in the U.S. Here you'll find an active nightlife nearby with lots of opportunities to flirt and find romance. In addition to being an excellent choice for young, single professionals, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates.
Finally, one of the most interesting things about the Back Bay neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 51.4% 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 96.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
The Back Bay neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 32,602 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.2% of the nation's neighborhoods. Even if you drive or take transit to your place of employment, many people enjoy being able to walk in their neighborhood. What many people don't realize is that most of America's premier vacation locations are also very walkable. The Back Bay neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.
In addition, the Back Bay 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 89.1% 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, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Back Bay neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 78.5% of the residential real estate here is classified as such. This puts this neighborhood on the map as having a higher proportion of large apartment buildings than 96.5% of all neighborhoods in America.
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 83.6% of the residential real estate in the Back Bay neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 99.8% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
In the Back Bay neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 36.0% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.4% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, if you like to ride the train to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 11.9% of the Back Bay neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 96.0% of America's neighborhoods.
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Back Bay neighborhood buck this trend. 40.9% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.1% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The Back Bay neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 97.1% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 74.0% 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.
Did you know that the Back Bay neighborhood has more Greek and Russian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.3% of this neighborhood's residents have Greek ancestry and 4.9% have Russian ancestry.
Back Bay is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.9% 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 97.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
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. In the Back Bay neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 96.9% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
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 Back Bay 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 91.4% 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.
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 Back Bay neighborhood, 74.0% 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 17.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (7.6%).
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 Back Bay neighborhood is English, spoken by 82.7% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Chinese and French.
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 Back Bay neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (17.1%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (10.8%), and residents who report Asian roots (10.1%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (8.0%), along with some German ancestry residents (5.6%), among others. In addition, 12.0% 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 Back Bay neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (38.9% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (36.0%) 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 (20.6%) and 11.9% 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.
