SC Demographics

I found a tool that allows you to see the demographics of your area. It is based on the 2000 Census. You can enter your address (or any address for that matter) and it will show the demographics for a 1 mile, 3 mile and 5 mile radius of your address. The tool can be found here.

When I entered my address, I found some of the data surprising. I live on the lower west side of Santa Cruz. I have always considered this area to be "mixed" demographically. However, I found the area to be 80% white, 16% hispanic and less than 4% for any other race. Certainly not mixed. I have always thought that the upper west side and the east side would be less mixed. Yet the numbers barely change when I look at the 3 and 5 mile numbers. Another myth busted! Though I may be the only one that held this myth.

When I look at the 2000 Housing Report, I am surprised at the age of the housing. I would have guess that most of the housing would have been built in the 50's and 60's. While alot of housing was built during this era, the largest percentage of housing was built before 1939. Roughly a quarter of the housing is over 65 years old. I would not have guessed that.

This report also illustrates how much the housing prices have gone up since 2000. When we bought our house in 1991, the median housing price was around $275K. Since the 2000 price is $392K, it rose a healthy $120K in the 90's. However I think the median housing price is now close to $700K, which represents a $300K increase in the last 6 years.

Finally, the median cash rent was $886 in 2000. I am surprised that this number is so low. I have not seen any current figures, but I have to believe that this number has gone up a healthy amount as well.