Chicago, IL (Old Town West)

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 Old Town West 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 61.6% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 14.0% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 59.4% 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 Old Town West neighborhood, 56.4% 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 24.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (10.2%), and 8.8% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the Old Town West neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.7% of households. Some people also speak Polish (2.8%).

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 Old Town West neighborhood in Chicago, IL, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Sub-Saharan African (12.8%). There are also a number of people of African ancestry (12.8%), and residents who report Irish roots (7.4%), and some of the residents are also of Asian ancestry (6.4%), along with some German ancestry residents (5.0%), 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 Old Town West neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (37.0% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America. However, there is also a significant group of residents (10.3%) who commute over an hour in each direction.

Here most residents (25.4%) take the train to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (17.3%) and 10.6% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work for their daily commute. This neighborhood is distinguished by the high number of residents who take the train to work each day, which can be a very good way to get to work at a lower cost and with less pollution.