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Real Estate Prices & Overview

Beacon Hill median real estate price is $2,103,207, which is more expensive than 95.2% of the neighborhoods in Massachusetts and 97.4% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.

The average rental price in Beacon Hill is currently $4,926, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 92.2% 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 22.1%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 90.0% 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.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

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.

People

Wealth makes most things in life easier, and a few things harder. If you are wealthy and enjoy keeping up with the Jones', this neighborhood will interest you. In fact, according to NeighborhoodScout's research, the Beacon Hill neighborhood is wealthier than 98.6% of the neighborhoods in the United States. Residents here are truly in a unique situation even when compared to other Americans, based on the sheer amount of wealth concentrated here. Even in times of economic downturn, residents of this neighborhood, as a group, suffered less and recovered more quickly. This is indeed a stand-out characteristic of this neighborhood. 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, think about the people you know personally. How many of them would purchase box seats to opening night at the symphony? How many of them regularly attend gallery openings, or are the first to reserve tickets to opening night at the ballet? If they're like most of us, they don't do any of these things. But if you're among an exclusive crowd of wealthy and refined patrons of the arts, then you'll feel right at home in the Beacon Hill neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 99.8% of neighborhoods across the U.S. Here, your neighbors are defined as having urbane tastes in literature, music, live theatre and the arts. They are wealthy, educated, travel in style, and live a big city lifestyle whether or not they live in or near a big city. In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for active retirees and young, single professionals.

Also, the rate of college educated adults in the Beacon Hill neighborhood is a unique characteristic of the neighborhood. 89.4% of adults here have received at least a 4-year bachelor's degree, compared to the average neighborhood in America, which has 35.0% of the adults with a bachelor's degree. The rate here is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

Finally, the types of households in a neighborhood can tell a lot about the character and lifestyle of those living here. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood, above nearly every neighborhood in America, has a greater percentage of its residents living alone: 50.3%. This is a higher percent living alone than we found in 95.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Often residents who live alone are new arrivals to an area who are single, and often senior citizens who have lost a spouse.

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 85.0% 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: 89.9% 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.

Modes of Transportation

More people in Beacon Hill choose to walk to work each day (34.7%) 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 5.0% of residents in the Beacon Hill neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 98.2% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.

Finally, a unique way of commuting is simply not to. And in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, analysis shows that 33.1% of the residents work from home, avoiding a commute altogether. This may not seem like a large number, but it is a higher proportion of people working from home than is found in 96.6% of the neighborhoods in the United States. One thing NeighborhoodScout's research reveals is that the wealthier and/or more isolated the neighborhood, the greater the proportion of residents who choose to work from home.

Occupations

The Beacon Hill neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 99.4% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 82.5% 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.

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. 42.3% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.2% of U.S. neighborhoods.

Diversity

Did you know that the Beacon Hill neighborhood has more Irish and Iranian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 29.3% of this neighborhood's residents have Irish ancestry and 2.6% have Iranian 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.

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 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 98.6% 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, 82.5% 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 11.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (4.2%), and 2.1% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the Beacon Hill neighborhood is English, spoken by 93.1% of households.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.

In the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (29.3%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (17.1%), and residents who report German roots (16.9%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (10.1%), along with some French ancestry residents (7.8%), among others. In addition, 10.2% 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 Beacon Hill neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (42.8% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (34.7%) 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 (19.7%) . 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.


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