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Benwood, WV

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.





Overview


Benwood is a very small city located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 1,210 people and just one neighborhood, Benwood is the 142nd largest community in West Virginia.

Occupations and Workforce

When you are in Benwood, you'll notice that it is more blue-collar than most other communities in America. 38.45% of Benwood’s employed work in blue-collar jobs, while America averages only 27.7% that do. Overall, Benwood is a city of sales and office workers, service providers, and transportation and shipping workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Benwood who work in office and administrative support (16.26%), sales jobs (7.45%), and food service (6.69%).

Setting & Lifestyle

Residents will find that the city is relatively quiet. This is because it is not over-populated, and it has fewer college students, renters, and young children - all of whom can be noisy at times. So, if you're looking for a relatively peaceful place to live, Benwood is worth considering.

Demographics

The population of Benwood has a very low overall level of education: only 6.95% of people over 25 hold a 4-year college degree or higher.

The per capita income in Benwood in 2018 was $22,785, which is middle income relative to West Virginia, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $91,140 for a family of four. However, Benwood contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Benwood home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Benwood residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Benwood include Irish, German, Polish, Italian, and Dutch.

The most common language spoken in Benwood is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

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 Benwood, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

People

Of note, 80.8% of the children in this area live in poverty; an extraordinarily high percentage compared to other neighborhoods in the nation. In a nation where approximately one in four children grows up in poverty, this neighborhood stands out for the depth of the problem manifested here.

In addition, neighborhoodScout's exclusive research revealed that 93.8% of the adult residents in the neighborhood do not have a 4-year college degree, which is a lower rate of college graduated adults than found in 95.8% of the neighborhoods in America.

Also, one of the really interesting characteristics about the neighborhood is that, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research, it is an excellent choice in which to reside for college students. Due to its popularity among college students who already choose to live here, its walkability, and its above average safety from crime, the neighborhood is ideal for prospective or already-enrolled college students. Between semesters and during school breaks, you'll notice that the excitement here fluctuates with the college seasons. Despite the excitement however, parents of college-age children can rest easy knowing that this neighborhood has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 4.8% of college-friendly places to live in the state of West Virginia.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Croatian and Dutch ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Croatian ancestry and 4.7% have Dutch ancestry.

is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 9.4% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Polish at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.9% of the neighborhoods in America.

The Neighbors

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 Benwood are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 92.3% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 80.8% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 99.4% 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, 39.8% 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 26.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (19.9%), and 14.0% in executive, management, and professional occupations.

Languages

The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.9% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

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 Benwood, WV, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (16.5%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (11.2%), and residents who report Polish roots (6.2%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (4.8%), along with some Dutch ancestry residents (4.7%), among others.

Getting to Work

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 under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (44.3% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (74.8%) 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 (11.7%) and 8.8% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work 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.


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