What do we mean by a neighborhood?
NeighborhoodScout® uses the official government designation for neighborhoods - the census tract.
Census tracts are small, relatively permanent subdivisions of a county that are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau in conjunction with local authorities all across the country to define real neighborhoods that are bounded to contain areas with homogeneous population characteristics (including economic status, lifestyle, and living conditions). Census tracts usually have 4,000 persons, but can range between 1,500 and 8,000 persons. This is the most fine-grained area for which detailed information is made available from the government, to protect the individual privacy of each of us. Because census tracts are based on population, they vary in size depending on the density of settlement. In urban areas, they are small, and in rural areas they can cover an entire small town or even a few small towns in very rural areas.
Since census tracts are subdivisions of a county, we did a spatial overlay of the census tracts onto city and town boundaries using a geographic information system to properly assign each census tract to its appropriate city or town. Then we named each census tract to the local colloquially recognized neighborhood name for that spot (e.g., Boston, MA (Dorchester). If there was not a name available, we named the census tract by the largest street intersection in the census tract (e.g., Worcester, MA (Lincoln St/Plantation St)
Why we don't use Zip Codes as neighborhoods
Zip codes were developed by the Postal Service for the purpose of delivering mail, but were never intended to define coherent neighborhoods. In addition, Zip Codes can have as many as 10 distinctly different census tracts contained within them. When distinct census tracts are blended together in a single Zip Code, the data reflects their average conditions and often gives a false sense of the area. The result is that potentially great matching neighborhoods can be missed, and erroneous matches can also be produced and delivered to you.
Using census tracts makes great matches possible, and helps people find the areas that are best for them and their families. Because we are committed to providing the highest possible quality and finding the neighborhoods that best meet your criteria, we use census tracts. And, as always, we show you the actual street map of the neighborhood so you know exactly where your best matching neighborhood is located.
What is a Condition Alert?
A condition alert is a condition in the neighborhood that triggers an alert. NeighborhoodScout contains condition alerts to highlight conditions that are extreme, whether good or bad. This helps answer crucial questions about the state of the neighborhood being evaluated, such as:
What are the risks of violent crime here?
Is the risk of home break-ins or other property crimes increasing?
Does real estate here hold its value?
Are the trends in local vacancies or unemployment concerning?
...and dozens more.
Information at a glance that you need to know to invest, appraise or finance a property.
Glenwood median real estate price is $83,489, which is less expensive than 96.6% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods and 97.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
The average rental price in Glenwood is currently $1,632, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 56.0% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods.
Glenwood is an urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Glenwood real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) townhomes and apartment complexes/high-rise apartments. Most of the residential real estate is occupied by a mixture of owners and renters. Many of the residences in the Glenwood 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.
Glenwood has a 13.5% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 74.1% 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.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
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 Philadelphia, the Glenwood neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Occupations
The government often provides some of the more stable jobs in the economy. From local, to state, to federal government workers, the government can also be a major employer. What NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed, is that the Glenwood neighborhood in particular stands out when compared nationally for the proportion of its working residents who are employed by the government. At 24.5% of its workforce, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of government workers than 99.6% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Furthermore, there are more people living in the Glenwood neighborhood employed as sales and service workers (55.7%) than almost any neighborhood in the country. From fast-food service workers to major sales accounts, sales and service workers make up the largest proportion of our national employment picture. But despite that size and importance nationally, this neighborhood still stands out as unique due to the dominance of people living here who work in such occupations.
People
The Glenwood neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 99.2% of the neighborhoods in the United States. The Glenwood neighborhood also has a greater percentage of children living in poverty (85.3%) than found in 99.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Children living in poverty is one of the challenges facing America, and the world, and in this neighborhood in particular, the problem can be considered acute.
In addition, one of the most interesting things about the Glenwood neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 53.3% 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 97.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
Real Estate
If you love row houses and attached homes, you will probably really like the Glenwood neighborhood. The ambiance, the charm, of row houses is something special. And in sheer abundance of row houses, this neighborhood truly stands out. The real estate here has a higher proportion of row houses and attached homes than nearly any neighborhood in America. In fact, 57.1% of the residential real estate here is classified as row houses and attached homes.
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 Glenwood neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 44.3% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Modes of Transportation
Our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (16.3% ride the bus) than 97.7% of all American neighborhoods. If you like the idea of leaving your car and home and hopping the bus to work, this might be a good neighborhood for you to consider.
Also, in the Glenwood 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 11.9% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 95.9% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Diversity
Did you know that the Glenwood neighborhood has more Jamaican and Puerto Rican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 28.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Jamaican ancestry and 9.7% have Puerto Rican ancestry.
Glenwood is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.5% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak African languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 96.4% 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 Glenwood neighborhood in Philadelphia are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 99.2% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 85.3% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 99.6% of U.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 Glenwood neighborhood, 44.3% 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 government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions, with 24.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (20.6%), and 18.3% 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 Glenwood neighborhood is English, spoken by 88.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, African languages and Polish.
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 Glenwood neighborhood in Philadelphia, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Jamaican (28.5%). There are also a number of people of Puerto Rican ancestry (9.7%), and residents who report Irish roots (8.4%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (1.6%).
Getting to Work
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 Glenwood neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.8% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (65.2%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (16.3%) and 11.9% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work 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.
SCOUT’s patented match algorithm identifies the most similar neighborhoods to a subject location, and quantifies the similarity to the subject location. This allows analysts to identify the most similar neighborhoods in a local market area for appraisals, investments, and research.
The algorithm uses 273 neighborhood conditions, identifies the dominant dimensions underlying the conditions and calculates the similarity. This captures the true culture and character of locations, economic conditions, and trends.
The closer to 100% means the locations are nearly identical. 80% is a very good, but not excellent match, and so forth.
