Independence is a somewhat small city located in the state of Oregon. With a population of 10,255 people and just one neighborhood, Independence is the 58th largest community in Oregon.
Unlike some cities, Independence isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Independence are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Independence is a city of service providers, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Independence who work in office and administrative support (14.19%), healthcare suport services (10.68%), and sales jobs (8.97%).
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 11.21% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.
As is often the case in a small city, Independence doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The percentage of adults in Independence who are college-educated is close to the national average for all communities of 21.84%: 20.79% of the adults in Independence have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Independence in 2022 was $27,180, which is lower middle income relative to Oregon and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $108,720 for a family of four. However, Independence contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Independence is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Independence home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Independence residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Independence also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 38.16% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Independence include German, Irish, English, Scottish, and European.
The most common language spoken in Independence is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.
Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Independence, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
It used to be that most Americans lived on the farm, or otherwise made their living from the land, the forests, or the sea. With global trade and an economy increasingly based on providing services to one another, fewer people farm, fish or harvest timber now than at any time in American history. But according to NeighborhoodScout's leading analysis, the neighborhood stands apart from most American neighborhood due to the proportion of its residents still working in these fields. With 7.8% of the workforce so employed, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of such workers than 98.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.
One of the really interesting characteristics about the neighborhood is that, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research, it is an excellent choice in which to reside for college students. Due to its popularity among college students who already choose to live here, its walkability, and its above average safety from crime, the neighborhood is ideal for prospective or already-enrolled college students. Between semesters and during school breaks, you'll notice that the excitement here fluctuates with the college seasons. Despite the excitement however, parents of college-age children can rest easy knowing that this neighborhood has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 3.1% of college-friendly places to live in the state of Oregon.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Slovak ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Slovak ancestry.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Independence are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 55.0% of the neighborhoods in America. With 12.8% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 55.7% 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, 24.7% of the working population is employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 24.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (23.3%), and 19.7% 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 73.4% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.
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 neighborhood in Independence, OR, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (39.1%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (12.8%), and residents who report Irish roots (9.9%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (7.9%), along with some Norwegian ancestry residents (1.8%), among others. In addition, 11.0% 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 neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (36.0% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (70.4%) 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 (14.5%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.