Oriental is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 903 people and just one neighborhood, Oriental is the 415th largest community in North Carolina.
Oriental is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 92.75% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Oriental is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Oriental who work in office and administrative support (20.21%), food service (17.62%), and sales jobs (11.40%).
Of important note, Oriental is also a town of artists. Oriental has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Oriental’s character.
Also of interest is that Oriental 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 Oriental telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 23.71% 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.
The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Oriental has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Oriental a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.
Oriental 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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
Being a small town, Oriental does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Oriental, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Oriental is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 50.99% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.
The per capita income in Oriental in 2022 was $48,805, which is wealthy relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $195,220 for a family of four. However, Oriental contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Oriental home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Oriental residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Oriental include English, German, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Scottish.
The most common language spoken in Oriental is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
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.
Unpopulated, and rural, the neighborhood is one of the least crowded neighborhoods in all of America. If you like open space, no traffic, and lots of room, this neighborhood may be just what you are looking for. According to NeighborhoodScout's leading research, this neighborhood is less densely populated than 91.2% of the neighborhoods in America. is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. 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.
If you are planning to retire in North Carolina, 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 North Carolina, 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 97.7% of neighborhoods in NC. If a North Carolina retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.
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 Oriental are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 71.1% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 32.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 84.6% of U.S. neighborhoods.
What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.
In the neighborhood, 57.1% 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 23.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (13.2%), and 5.9% in manufacturing and laborer 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 95.6% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.
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 Oriental, NC, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (20.2%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (14.1%), and residents who report Irish roots (8.7%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (4.7%), along with some Puerto Rican ancestry residents (4.1%), among others.
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 neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (44.1% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (83.1%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.