Homestead is a very small borough located in the state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 2,853 people and just one neighborhood, Homestead is the 511th largest community in Pennsylvania. Homestead has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs in the country.
Unlike some boroughs where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Homestead is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Homestead is a borough of sales and office workers, service providers, and transportation and shipping workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Homestead who work in sales jobs (16.10%), healthcare suport services (11.70%), and office and administrative support (11.63%).
Also of interest is that Homestead has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 13.91% 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.
One downside of living in Homestead is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Homestead, the average commute to work is 30.76 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the borough, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly borough. Many of Homestead’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.
Despite the fact that it is a small borough, Homestead has quite a few people who take public transportation – mostly the bus - for their daily commute to work. This helps to fill a real need in the borough for affordable transportation.
The population of Homestead overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Homestead, 21.53% have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Homestead in 2022 was $29,922, which is lower middle income relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $119,688 for a family of four. However, Homestead contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Homestead is an extremely ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Homestead home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Homestead residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Homestead include Irish, German, Italian, English, and African.
The most common language spoken in Homestead is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Slavic languages.
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.
The types of households in a neighborhood can tell a lot about the character and lifestyle of those living here. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood, above nearly every neighborhood in America, has a greater percentage of its residents living alone: 56.4%. This is a higher percent living alone than we found in 97.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Often residents who live alone are new arrivals to an area who are single, and often senior citizens who have lost a spouse.
Our research revealed that more commuters here take the bus to work (15.4% ride the bus) than 97.7% of all American neighborhoods. If you like the idea of leaving your car and home and hopping the bus to work, this might be a good neighborhood for you to consider.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Sub-Saharan African and Swiss ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 17.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Sub-Saharan African ancestry and 2.0% have Swiss 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 Homestead are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 93.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 6.1% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 60.7% of America'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, 29.1% of the working population is employed in manufacturing and laborer 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 28.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (23.3%), and 18.7% in executive, management, and professional occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 95.6% of households.
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 Homestead, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Sub-Saharan African (17.2%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (10.3%), and residents who report German roots (9.4%), and some of the residents are also of African ancestry (8.0%), along with some English ancestry residents (4.5%), 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 30 and 45 minutes commuting one-way to work (35.8% of working residents), which is at or a bit above the average length of a commute across all U.S. neighborhoods.
Here most residents (57.1%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride the bus to get to work (15.4%) and 13.0% 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.