Alma is a very small town located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 1,591 people and just one neighborhood, Alma is the 119th largest community in West Virginia. Much of the housing stock in Alma was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.
Unlike some towns, Alma isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Alma are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Alma is a town of professionals, service providers, and construction workers and builders. There are especially a lot of people living in Alma who work in teaching (17.42%), healthcare suport services (13.07%), and office and administrative support (10.45%).
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!) Alma 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. Alma has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Alma than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Alma may be for you.
One downside of living in Alma, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 36.15 minutes every day commuting to work.
As is often the case in a small town, Alma doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The citizens of Alma are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 16.99% of adults in Alma have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree
The per capita income in Alma in 2022 was $42,279, which is wealthy relative to West Virginia, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $169,116 for a family of four. However, Alma contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Alma home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Alma residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Alma include English, Irish, German, Italian, and Dutch.
The most common language spoken in Alma is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and German/Yiddish.
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.
Our research reveals that 90.8% of commuters who live in the neighborhood get to work each day by driving alone in their automobiles, which is a higher proportion than 98.3% of U.S. neighborhoods.
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 96.5% of the neighborhoods in America. 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.
In addition, owner-occupied real estate dominates the neighborhood. In fact, according to NeighborhoodScout research, the percentage of residential real estate occupied by its owner is higher here than in 97.7% of neighborhoods in America.
If you're looking for a great spot to raise a family, then look no further than the neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that the combination of good quality public schools, above-average safety from crime, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family homes, help make this neighborhood among the top 14.8% of family-friendly neighborhoods across the state of West Virginia. In addition, there are a high proportion of other families with school-aged children living here, making it easy for parents and their children to socialize and develop a sense of community support. In addition, families here highly value education, as is reflected by the strength of the local schools, in part due to the educational attainment of the parents here, who vote in support of the public schools.
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 Alma are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 65.1% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 2.7% 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 71.7% of America'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, 31.9% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 29.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (23.5%), and 14.5% in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 99.4% of households. Some people also speak Italian (2.1%).
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 Alma, WV, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (16.2%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (11.0%), and residents who report German roots (10.1%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (3.1%), along with some Dutch ancestry residents (2.9%), 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 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (34.5% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (90.8%) 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 (5.5%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.