First Hill West median real estate price is $953,673, which is more expensive than 75.4% of the neighborhoods in Washington and 87.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in First Hill West is currently $3,798, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 88.4% of the neighborhoods in Washington.
First Hill West is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Seattle, Washington.
First Hill 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 First Hill West neighborhood are newer, built in 2000 or more recently. A number of residences were also built before 1940.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in First Hill West. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 17.7%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 84.4% 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.
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.
The real estate in the First Hill 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, 96.5% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 99.3% of American neighborhoods.
In addition, the First Hill 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 96.2% 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 First Hill West neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 33,096 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 97.3% 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 First Hill West neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
Also of note, 88.7% of the real estate in the First Hill West neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America.
The First Hill West neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 98.9% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 80.1% 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.
More people in First Hill West choose to walk to work each day (26.6%) 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, in the First Hill West neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 34.5% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 97.4% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.
Finally, more people ride the bus in this neighborhood each day to get to work than 96.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the First Hill West neighborhood buck this trend. 43.6% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.3% of U.S. neighborhoods.
One of the most interesting things about the First Hill West neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 57.3% 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 98.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
In addition, the rate of college educated adults in the First Hill West neighborhood is a unique characteristic of the neighborhood. 81.4% 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 98.1% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Also, 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 First Hill West neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 96.8% 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 young, single professionals.
Did you know that the First Hill West neighborhood has more Canadian and Armenian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.7% of this neighborhood's residents have Canadian ancestry and 1.4% have Armenian ancestry.
First Hill West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 8.4% 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.
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 First Hill West neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 97.7% 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 First Hill West neighborhood in Seattle 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 89.6% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 9.9% 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 50.3% of America's neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the First Hill West neighborhood, 80.1% 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 12.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (5.6%), and 2.2% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
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 First Hill West neighborhood is English, spoken by 64.8% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Langs. of India and Korean.
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 First Hill West neighborhood in Seattle, WA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (39.5%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (10.5%), and residents who report English roots (8.2%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (7.1%), along with some Canadian ancestry residents (3.7%), among others. In addition, 42.0% 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 First Hill West neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (46.8% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (26.6%) 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 (22.0%) and 12.6% of residents also ride the bus 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.