Isla Vista median real estate price is $1,464,166, which is more expensive than 81.4% of the neighborhoods in California and 96.2% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Isla Vista is currently $3,582, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 61.5% of the neighborhoods in California.
Isla Vista is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Goleta, California. This is a coastal neighborhood (i.e., is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet).
Isla Vista 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 Isla Vista neighborhood are established but not old, having been built between 1970 and 1999. A number of residences were also built between 1940 and 1969.
Isla Vista has a 15.7% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 79.4% of American neighborhoods). Most vacant housing here is vacant year round. This could either signal that there is a weak demand for real estate in the neighborhood or that large amount of new housing has been built and not yet occupied. Either way, if you live here, you may find many of the homes or apartments are 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.
Real Estate
The Isla Vista neighborhood is very densely populated compared to most U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, with 42,531 persons per square mile in the neighborhood, it is more packed with people than 98.0% of the nation's neighborhoods. Isla Vista is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, Isla Vista is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.
In addition, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Isla Vista neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 100.0%, which is higher than 99.3% 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, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the Isla Vista neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 72.4% 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 95.5% of all neighborhoods in America.
People
One of the unique characteristics of the Isla Vista neighborhood revealed by analysis is that the per capita income of residents here is lower than that found in 99.4% of the neighborhoods in America. Also of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the Isla Vista neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the Isla Vista community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, an extraordinary 79.9% of the residents of the Isla Vista neighborhood are currently enrolled in college. This is such a large part of life in this neighborhood that the neighborhood changes a great deal with the change of semesters and is far quieter during the summer when many students are away.
Also, with a nice mix of college students, safety from crime, and decent walkability, the Isla Vista neighborhood rates highly as a college student friendly place to live, and one that college students and their parents may want to consider. NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that it rates more highly for a good place for college students to live than 88.8% of the neighborhoods in CA. This often also means that the area has certain amenities and services geared towards college students, from undergraduates to graduate students.
Modes of Transportation
Would you like to be able to ride your bike to work? If you are attracted to the idea of getting a little exercise of the two-wheeled type while reducing your carbon footprint, bicycling to work might be the answer. But which neighborhood you live in can make this either impossible, or alternatively, a great and realistic option. NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that the Isla Vista neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 22.5% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 100.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
Occupations
From major sales accounts to fast-food workers, sales and service employees are often the backbone of the local economy. In the Isla Vista neighborhood, they truly stand out. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis identifies this neighborhood as having a higher percentage of sales and service workers than 98.0% of all American 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. In the Isla Vista neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 99.9% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
Diversity
Did you know that the Isla Vista neighborhood has more Lebanese and Iranian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Lebanese ancestry and 1.3% have Iranian ancestry.
Isla Vista is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 8.5% 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 Isla Vista neighborhood in Goleta are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 99.4% of U.S. neighborhoods. 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.
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 Isla Vista neighborhood, 43.2% 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 executive, management, and professional occupations, with 30.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (13.6%), and 13.1% in clerical, assistant, and tech support 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 Isla Vista neighborhood is English, spoken by 69.1% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
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 Isla Vista neighborhood in Goleta, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (17.8%). There are also a number of people of Asian ancestry (14.9%), and residents who report German roots (9.5%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (7.7%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (4.9%), among others. In addition, 17.6% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 Isla Vista neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (51.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (55.1%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also bicycle to get to work (22.5%) and 8.9% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
