About West River

West River is a very small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Maryland. With a population of 1,837 people and just one neighborhood, West River is the 254th largest community in Maryland.

West River is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 88.22% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, West River is a town of sales and office workers, professionals, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in West River who work in office and administrative support jobs (20.39%), sales jobs (16.03%), and management occupations (11.89%).

Also of interest is that West River has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

In addition, West River is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates." Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

Because of many things, West River is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, West River really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is West River perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic night life, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of West River are somewhat historic and bounded by the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

In West River, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.74 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.

West River is a very car-oriented town. 98.44% of residents commute to work in a private automobile rather than by other means, such as public transit, bicycling, or walking. This is because West River is a small town, and most people who live here have to drive out of town for work, and the town population is not large nor dense enough to support an extensive public transportation system. West River has a lot of rural roads, and houses can be far apart. Many residents drive out of town for regular shopping trips as well.

Being a small town, West River does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

West River Information and Demographics

The overall education level of West River citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 32.53% of adults in West River have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 14.96%.

The per capita income in West River in 2000 was $30,250, which is upper middle income relative to Maryland, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $121,000 for a family of four.

West River is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call West River home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in West River is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in West River include German, English, Irish, Dutch, Italian, and Scottish.

The most common language spoken in West River is English.