Northfield is a very small town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 2,880 people and just one neighborhood, Northfield is the 293rd largest community in Massachusetts. Much of the housing stock in Northfield was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.
Northfield is neither predominantly blue-collar nor white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Northfield is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Northfield who work in sales jobs (9.97%), management occupations (9.27%), and office and administrative support (9.14%).
Also of interest is that Northfield has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
A relatively large number of people in Northfield telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 16.53% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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.
Because of many things, Northfield is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Northfield really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Northfield perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.
Residents will find that the town is relatively quiet. This is because it is not over-populated, and it has fewer college students, renters, and young children - all of whom can be noisy at times. So, if you're looking for a relatively peaceful place to live, Northfield is worth considering.
One downside of living in Northfield, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 30.58 minutes every day commuting to work.
As is often the case in a small town, Northfield doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
Northfield is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 42.38% of adults in Northfield have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher.
The per capita income in Northfield in 2022 was $51,937, which is lower middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $207,748 for a family of four.
The people who call Northfield home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Northfield residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Northfield include English, Irish, French, Italian, and German.
The most common language spoken in Northfield is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
If you're nearing retirement age, or in retirement, the is an excellent choice for you to consider for top-quality retirement living. This neighborhood is rated by NeighborhoodScout as among the top 8.7% of retiree-friendly neighborhoods in Massachusetts, combining peace and quiet, safety from crime, and offering diverse housing options from which retirees can choose. Maybe it's because of these amenities that a large proportion of the residents here are college educated seniors, mixed with other age groups. For these and other reasons, NeighborhoodScout identifies this neighborhood as a top-notch place to consider if you are thinking of or planning to retire in Massachusetts. In addition to being an excellent choice for active retirees, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for first-time home buyers.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more French Canadian and French ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 8.0% of this neighborhood's residents have French Canadian ancestry and 12.6% have French ancestry.
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 Northfield are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 73.9% of the neighborhoods in America. With 12.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 57.3% of U.S. neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the neighborhood, 42.5% 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 21.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (19.6%), and 15.5% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
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 94.6% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in Northfield, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (21.9%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (13.4%), and residents who report French roots (12.6%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (11.8%), along with some German ancestry residents (9.1%), 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 between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (47.2% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (74.8%) 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 (8.0%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.