West Decatur is a tiny town located in the state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 453 people and just one neighborhood, West Decatur is the 1001st largest community in Pennsylvania. Much of the housing stock in West Decatur was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.
Unlike some towns, West Decatur isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in West Decatur are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, West Decatur is a town of sales and office workers, service providers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in West Decatur who work in sales jobs (33.33%), healthcare (10.39%), and healthcare suport services (7.17%).
It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) West Decatur has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. West Decatur has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in West Decatur than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, West Decatur may be for you.
Being a small town, West Decatur does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
In terms of college education, West Decatur ranks among the least educated cities in the nation, as only 3.11% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in West Decatur in 2022 was $19,834, which is low income relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $79,336 for a family of four. However, West Decatur contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. West Decatur also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 39.22% of its population below the federal poverty line.
The people who call West Decatur home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of West Decatur residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in West Decatur include Irish, German, English, Polish, and Scots-Irish.
The most common language spoken in West Decatur is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
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 West Decatur, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Do you like to be surrounded by people from all over the country or world, with different perspectives and life experiences? Or do you instead prefer to be in a neighborhood where most residents have lived there for a long time, creating a sense of cohesiveness? NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood stands out among American neighborhoods for the uniqueness of the mobility of its residents. More residents of the neighborhood live here today that also were living in this same neighborhood five years ago than is found in 96.2% of U.S. neighborhoods. This neighborhood is really made up of people who know each other, don't move often, and have lived here in this very neighborhood for quite a while.
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 West Decatur 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 23.7% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 74.7% 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, 28.5% 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 28.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (26.4%), and 16.1% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 99.0% of households.
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 West Decatur, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (20.1%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (10.2%), and residents who report English roots (7.0%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (4.4%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (3.8%), 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 (38.6% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (85.5%) 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 (5.9%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.