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.
Allegheny Center / Allegheny West median real estate price is $603,922, which is more expensive than 82.7% of the neighborhoods in Pennsylvania and 69.2% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Allegheny Center / Allegheny West is currently $1,821, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 44.8% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods.
Allegheny Center / Allegheny West is an urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Allegheny Center / Allegheny 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 Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood are established but not old, having been built between 1970 and 1999. A number of residences were also built before 1940.
Real estate vacancies in Allegheny Center / Allegheny West are 4.7%, which is lower than one will find in 68.7% of American neighborhoods. Demand for real estate in Allegheny Center / Allegheny West is above average for the U.S., and may signal some demand for either price increases or new construction of residential product for this neighborhood.
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 Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
People
Of note, 89.2% of the children in this area live in poverty; an extraordinarily high percentage compared to other neighborhoods in the nation. In a nation where approximately one in four children grows up in poverty, this neighborhood stands out for the depth of the problem manifested here.
In addition, one of the most interesting things about the Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood is that it has a greater concentration of residents who live alone than most all neighborhoods in America. With 67.9% 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 99.7% of the neighborhoods in America.
Modes of Transportation
More people in Allegheny Center / Allegheny West choose to walk to work each day (28.3%) 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.
Real Estate
The real estate in the Allegheny Center / Allegheny 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, 78.2% of the real estate here is classified as apartment complexes or high-rise apartments, which is more than is found in 96.4% of American neighborhoods.
In addition, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 87.3%, which is higher than 96.0% 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, the Allegheny Center / Allegheny 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 83.6% 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.
Occupations
The Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 95.8% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 70.7% 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.
Diversity
Did you know that the Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood has more Eastern European and Czechoslovakian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.1% of this neighborhood's residents have Eastern European ancestry and 0.8% have Czechoslovakian ancestry.
Allegheny Center / Allegheny West is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 0.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Persian at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 96.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
The Neighbors
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 Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood in Pittsburgh are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 66.6% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 89.2% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 99.7% 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 Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood, 70.7% 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 13.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (11.0%), and 5.0% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood is English, spoken by 84.7% of households. Some people also speak Arabic (2.1%).
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 Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (21.6%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (19.7%), and residents who report Asian roots (13.3%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (10.1%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (8.5%), among others. In addition, 18.2% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Getting to Work
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 Allegheny Center / Allegheny West neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (61.8% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (35.3%) 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 (28.3%) and 5.4% of residents also ride the bus 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.
