Whitethorn is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 1,589 people and just one neighborhood, Whitethorn is the 688th largest community in California.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Whitethorn is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Whitethorn is a town of service providers, professionals, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Whitethorn who work in healthcare suport services (27.00%), art, media, and design (11.57%), and computer science and math (10.98%).
Of important note, Whitethorn is also a town of artists. Whitethorn has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Whitethorn’s character.
Also of interest is that Whitethorn has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 15.05% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Another notable thing is that Whitethorn is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.
It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Whitethorn has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Whitethorn has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Whitethorn than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Whitethorn may be for you.
Whitethorn is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.
One downside of living in Whitethorn is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Whitethorn, the average commute to work is 30.89 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.
Whitethorn is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.
In terms of college education, Whitethorn is somewhat better educated than the 21.84% who have a 4-year degree or higher in the typical US community: 28.00% of adults 25 and older in the town have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Whitethorn in 2022 was $26,477, which is low income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $105,908 for a family of four. Whitethorn also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 32.27% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Whitethorn is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Whitethorn home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Whitethorn residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Whitethorn include English, German, European, Italian, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Whitethorn is English. Other important languages spoken here include Korean and Italian.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
This neighborhood has wide open spaces, few people, and lots of space to stretch out. If you like locations that fit that description, you may like this neighborhood. Based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, with only 8 people per square mile living here, this neighborhood is less crowded than 97.6% of America. Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.
In addition, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 51.8%, which is higher than 99.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, astoundingly, the neighborhood has one of the highest concentrations of divorcees living here than of any neighborhood, a higher concentration than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. This may be because people living here divorce more often than others, or that divorced people move here after they become divorced. If you are divorced, you will be in good company in this particular Whitethorn neighborhood.
Also, if you are planning to retire in California, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in California, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 97.3% of neighborhoods in CA. If a California retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.
It used to be that most Americans lived on the farm, or otherwise made their living from the land, the forests, or the sea. With global trade and an economy increasingly based on providing services to one another, fewer people farm, fish or harvest timber now than at any time in American history. But according to NeighborhoodScout's leading analysis, the neighborhood stands apart from most American neighborhood due to the proportion of its residents still working in these fields. With 7.4% of the workforce so employed, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of such workers than 98.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the neighborhood has a greater proportion of government workers living in it than 97.9% of the neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. This is a unique feature of this neighborhood, and one that shapes its character.
In the 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 13.4% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 96.7% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Hungarian and Welsh ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Hungarian ancestry and 2.6% have Welsh ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 10.2% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Italian at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 neighborhood in Whitethorn are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 90.9% 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.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 41.8% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 28.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions (16.3%), and 13.1% in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants.
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 neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.7% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Korean.
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the neighborhood in Whitethorn, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (19.2%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (15.5%), and residents who report Italian roots (8.0%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (6.9%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (6.9%), among others.
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 neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.3% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (66.2%) 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 (13.4%) and 5.4% 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.