Median real estate price in the City Center of Chicago is $298,126, which is more expensive than 76.2% of the neighborhoods in Illinois and 66.0% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Chicago City Center is currently $1,129, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 56.1% of Illinois neighborhoods.
Chicago City Center is a suburban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Chicago, Illinois.
Real estate in the City Center of Chicago, IL is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) small apartment buildings and apartment complexes/high-rise apartments. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the City Center 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.
Vacant apartments or homes are a major fact of life in Chicago City Center. The current real estate vacancy rate here is 19.2%. This is higher than the rate of vacancies in 84.1% 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 Chicago, the City Center neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Corner bodegas, stores on the first floor and apartments above, former grand Victorian residences converted into apartments, three-deckers built shoulder-to-shoulder, duplexes. Such building types define the real estate of neighborhoods dominated by small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. Many are in older core neighborhoods of Eastern and Midwestern cities, or historic town centers in their hinterlands. If you wax romantic about the look and feel of such neighborhoods, with fresh pizza, falafel and an independent florist at the corner, then you might find the Chicago City Center neighborhood worth a close look. This neighborhood is an absolutely outstanding example of the dominance of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings compared to neighborhoods across the nation, as they make up a substantial portion of this neighborhood's real estate stock. In fact, no less than 66.1% of the real estate here is made up of such dwellings, which is higher than 99.5% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In addition, if you find historic homes and neighborhoods attractive, you love the details, the history, and the charm, then you are sure to be interested in this neighborhood. With 83.3% of the residential real estate in the Chicago City Center neighborhood built no later than 1939, and some built considerably earlier, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of historic residences than 99.7% of all neighborhoods in America. In this regard, this neighborhood truly stands out as special.
In the Chicago City Center neighborhood, 17.4% 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 95.7% of the neighborhoods in America.
Also, 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 Chicago City Center neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 3.3% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 95.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
Did you know that the Chicago City Center neighborhood has more Mexican and Austrian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 75.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Mexican ancestry and 1.3% have Austrian ancestry.
Chicago City Center is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 69.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Spanish at home. This is a higher percentage than 97.4% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
The neighbors in the City Center neighborhood in Chicago are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 65.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 33.6% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 79.9% of U.S. neighborhoods.
In the Chicago City Center neighborhood, 37.8% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 26.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (22.9%), and 12.4% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the Chicago City Center neighborhood is Spanish, spoken by 69.7% of households. Some people also speak English (26.8%).
In the City Center neighborhood in Chicago, IL, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (75.6%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (7.2%), and residents who report German roots (5.8%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (3.3%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (1.6%), among others. In addition, 34.9% 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 Chicago City Center neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (31.6% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (48.2%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (17.4%) and 14.3% 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.