University City median real estate price is $311,536, which is more expensive than 55.9% of the neighborhoods in Pennsylvania and 40.3% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in University City is currently $4,456, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 99.0% of the neighborhoods in Pennsylvania.
University City is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
University City 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 University City 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 University City. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 32.0%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 95.8% 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 Philadelphia, the University City neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
The University City neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 95.7% of the neighborhoods in the United States. In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the University City neighborhood also stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, do you like to read, write, and learn? Are you curious about the world? If so, this neighborhood may be a good fit for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that a full 96.6% of the adults living in the University City neighborhood have earned at least a bachelor's degree. This is a higher rate than NeighborhoodScout found in 100.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. In this way, this neighborhood truly stands out.
Also, one of the really interesting characteristics about the University City neighborhood is that, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research, it is an excellent choice in which to reside for college students. Due to its popularity among college students who already choose to live here, its walkability, and its above average safety from crime, the neighborhood is ideal for prospective or already-enrolled college students. Between semesters and during school breaks, you'll notice that the excitement here fluctuates with the college seasons. Despite the excitement however, parents of college-age children can rest easy knowing that this neighborhood has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 3.9% of college-friendly places to live in the state of Pennsylvania.
In the University City 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 64.4% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 100.0% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, in the University City neighborhood, 8.9% of people ride the train to work each day. This is a very high percentage compared to most places. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this is a higher level of train ridership than in 95.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
We Americans love our cars. Not only are they a necessity for most Americans due to the shape of our neighborhoods and the distances between where we live, work, shop, and go to school, but we also fancy them. As a result, most households in America have one, two, or three cars. But NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis shows that the University City neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. 71.7% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
100.0% of the real estate in the University City neighborhood is occupied by renters, which is nearly the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood in America. Vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 32.0% of the residential real estate vacant, the University City neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 95.8% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
In addition, the University City 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 95.3% 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.
Furthermore, homes built from 2000 through today make up a higher proportion of the University City neighborhood's real estate landscape than 98.5% of the neighborhoods in America. When you are driving around this neighborhood, you'll notice right away that it is one of the newest built of any, with the smell of fresh paint, and the look of young landscaping nearly everywhere you look. In fact, 88.3% of the residential real estate here is classified as newer. In fact, the concentration of newer homes here is so great that they completely dominate the landscape. In most neighborhoods, there is a mixture of ages of residential real estate, but here it is almost completely built during one time frame: 2000 through today.
Also of note, one of the really unique and interesting things about the look and setting of the University City neighborhood is that it is almost entirely dominated by large apartment buildings, such as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments. 90.6% 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 98.3% of all neighborhoods in America.
Finally, if you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the University City neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.5% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 22,439 people per square mile living here.
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 University City neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 99.7% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
Did you know that the University City neighborhood has more Iranian and Brazilian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 0.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Iranian ancestry and 0.8% have Brazilian ancestry.
University City is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 4.3% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Korean at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 University City 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 95.7% 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.
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 University City neighborhood, 39.5% 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 36.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (13.6%), and 10.8% 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 University City neighborhood is English, spoken by 73.5% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese, Langs. of India, Korean and Spanish.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the University City neighborhood in Philadelphia, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Asian (23.8%). There are also a number of people of Spanish ancestry (4.5%), and residents who report Sub-Saharan African roots (3.8%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (3.0%), along with some German ancestry residents (2.5%), among others. In addition, 21.6% 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 University City neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (55.6% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (64.4%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (8.9%) and 8.8% of residents also drive alone in a private automobile 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.
