Whitewater is a medium-sized city located in the state of Wisconsin. With a population of 16,076 people and five associated neighborhoods, Whitewater is the 59th largest community in Wisconsin.Unlike some cities, Whitewater isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Whitewater are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Whitewater is a city of service providers, professionals, and production and manufacturing workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Whitewater who work in teaching (19.60%), food service (14.09%), and office and administrative support (12.63%). Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 11.02% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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. Whitewater is a place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped Whitewater to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town. Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Whitewater spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.67 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.The population of Whitewater is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 35.33% of adults in Whitewater have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Whitewater in 2022 was $22,533, which is low income relative to Wisconsin and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $90,132 for a family of four. However, Whitewater contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Whitewater is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Whitewater home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Whitewater residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Whitewater include German, Irish, Albanian, Dutch, and English. The most common language spoken in Whitewater is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
