Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza median real estate price is $357,620, which is more expensive than 64.6% of the neighborhoods in Illinois and 49.3% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza is currently $4,066, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 97.5% of the neighborhoods in Illinois.
Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Evanston, Illinois.
Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza 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 single-family homes. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood are newer, built in 2000 or more recently. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 16.9%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 81.8% 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 Evanston, the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Real Estate
The real estate in the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza 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, 97.8% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 99.6% of American neighborhoods.
In addition, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 96.2% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 25,691 people per square mile living here.
Furthermore, the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza 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 85.3% 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.
People
The rate of college educated adults in the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood is a unique characteristic of the neighborhood. 88.6% of adults here have received at least a 4-year bachelor's degree, compared to the average neighborhood in America, which has 34.3% of the adults with a bachelor's degree. The rate here is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In addition, 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: 49.7%. This is a higher percent living alone than we found in 95.4% 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.
Also, if you're looking for an active nightlife with lots of opportunities to flirt and find romance, then you probably won't have to go too far from the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood to find it. Only 4.9% of the neighborhoods in the country have a larger proportion of young, single professionals. The nightlife may not be reminiscent of a "Sex and the City" episode, but the people who live here find friendship, romance, fun, and socializing readily available.
Occupations
The Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 98.8% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 78.6% 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.
Modes of Transportation
In the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza 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 16.6% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 97.6% 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 13.8% of the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood's commuters ride the train to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 96.2% of America's neighborhoods.
Car Ownership
Most American households own a car or other vehicle. Many own two cars or perhaps three. In the United States, it is useful to have an automobile not only for commuting, but also for shopping and getting to other services one needs. But NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that households in the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 23.1% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.0% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Diversity
Did you know that the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood has more Ukrainian and Belgian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Ukrainian ancestry and 1.7% have Belgian ancestry.
Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 12.8% 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 98.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
Migration / Stability
Some neighborhoods have more internal cohesiveness than others. While other neighborhoods feel like a collection of strangers who just happen to live near each other. Sometimes this comes down to not only the personalities of the people in a place, but how long people have been together in that neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research has revealed some interesting things about the rootedness of people in the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood. In the Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 98.8% 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 Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood in Evanston are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 43.2% of the neighborhoods in America. With 16.4% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 62.7% of U.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 Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood, 78.6% 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 14.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (6.7%).
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 Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood is English, spoken by 74.8% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.
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 Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood in Evanston, IL, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (25.1%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (10.7%), and residents who report Polish roots (9.3%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (6.9%), along with some Russian ancestry residents (5.6%), among others. In addition, 25.7% 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 Optima Horizons / Sherman Plaza neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (33.2% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (32.5%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (16.6%) and 13.8% of residents also take the train 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.
