Chicago, IL (Washington Heights Northwest)

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 Washington Heights Northwest neighborhood in Chicago are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 93.1% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 44.1% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 91.8% 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 Washington Heights Northwest neighborhood, 35.0% 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 manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 25.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (20.6%), and 19.4% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the Washington Heights Northwest neighborhood is English, spoken by 85.7% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (13.4%).

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.

In the Washington Heights Northwest neighborhood in Chicago, IL, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Sub-Saharan African (23.8%). There are also a number of people of African ancestry (15.3%), and residents who report South American roots (10.4%), and some of the residents are also of Jamaican ancestry (3.0%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (1.3%), among others. In addition, 12.4% 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 Washington Heights Northwest neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (38.8% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.

Here most residents (55.4%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (21.5%) and 7.5% 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.