Waterloo, IA (West Central)

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 West Central neighborhood in Waterloo are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 72.4% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 26.4% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 78.5% of U.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 West Central neighborhood, 37.7% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 28.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (22.8%), and 10.7% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the West Central neighborhood is English, spoken by 79.5% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (9.5%).

Ethnicity / Ancestry

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 West Central neighborhood in Waterloo, IA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (19.0%). There are also a number of people of Mexican ancestry (12.9%), and residents who report Irish roots (9.5%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (6.7%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (6.0%), 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 West Central neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (45.5% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America. However, there is also a significant group of residents (12.8%) who commute over an hour in each direction.

Here most residents (77.6%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (15.0%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.