Arcola is a very small city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 2,923 people and just one neighborhood, Arcola is the 487th largest community in Illinois.
When you are in Arcola, you'll notice that it is more blue-collar than most other communities in America. 42.77% of Arcola’s employed work in blue-collar jobs, while America averages only 27.7% that do. Overall, Arcola is a city of production and manufacturing workers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Arcola who work in office and administrative support (12.46%), management occupations (6.27%), and food service (6.12%).
One of the benefits of Arcola is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 16.42 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
As is often the case in a small city, Arcola doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
In terms of college education, Arcola is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 19.24% of adults 25 and older in Arcola have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Arcola in 2022 was $25,721, which is low income relative to Illinois, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $102,884 for a family of four. However, Arcola contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Arcola is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Arcola home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Arcola residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Arcola also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 44.75% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Arcola include German, English, Scottish, Irish, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Arcola is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Would you like to be able to ride your bike to work? If you are attracted to the idea of getting a little exercise of the two-wheeled type while reducing your carbon footprint, bicycling to work might be the answer. But which neighborhood you live in can make this either impossible, or alternatively, a great and realistic option. NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that the neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 5.7% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 98.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 61.7% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.6% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research identifies the neighborhood as having one of the highest concentrations of people employed in manufacturing or as laborers of any neighborhood in America. In fact, despite the loss of manufacturing jobs nationally, this neighborhood has 42.8% of its working residents employed in such fields, which is a higher proportion than 95.9% of American neighborhoods.
Significantly, 13.1% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak German/Yiddish at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.7% of the neighborhoods in America.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Arcola are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 47.6% of the neighborhoods in America. With 10.4% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 50.2% of U.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, 42.8% of the working population is employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 28.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (15.4%), and 12.5% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
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 60.1% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.
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 Arcola, IL, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (31.7%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (22.8%), and residents who report English roots (7.6%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (3.6%), along with some Scottish ancestry residents (3.5%), among others.
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 (61.7% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (68.9%) 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 (18.8%) and 5.7% of residents also bicycle 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.