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Oak Bluffs, MA

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





Overview


Oak Bluffs is a somewhat small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 5,379 people and just one neighborhood, Oak Bluffs is the 245th largest community in Massachusetts.

Oak Bluffs home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Oak Bluffs real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Occupations and Workforce

Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Oak Bluffs is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Oak Bluffs is a town of professionals, service providers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Oak Bluffs who work in maintenance occupations (12.49%), management occupations (11.25%), and teaching (11.21%).

A relatively large number of people in Oak Bluffs telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 10.98% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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.

Setting & Lifestyle

Another notable thing is that Oak Bluffs is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Oak Bluffs’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.

Because of many things, Oak Bluffs is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Oak Bluffs a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Oak Bluffs has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Oak Bluffs’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

One of the nice things about Oak Bluffs is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

One of the benefits of Oak Bluffs is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 13.76 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.

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

Demographics

Oak Bluffs is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 40.08% of adults in Oak Bluffs have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher.

The per capita income in Oak Bluffs in 2022 was $57,808, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $231,232 for a family of four. However, Oak Bluffs contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Oak Bluffs is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Oak Bluffs home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Oak Bluffs residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Oak Bluffs include Irish, English, Italian, Brazilian, and Portuguese.

The most common language spoken in Oak Bluffs is English. Other important languages spoken here include Portuguese and Polish.

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

Real Estate

is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.

In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 56.5% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.

People

Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.

In addition, has the amazing distinction of housing more same sex couples living together than 97.2% of neighborhoods in the U.S. If you are seeking such a neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that this is one place that you should consider.

Car Ownership

We Americans love our cars. Not only are they a necessity for most Americans due to the shape of our neighborhoods and the distances between where we live, work, shop, and go to school, but we also fancy them. As a result, most households in America have one, two, or three cars. But NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis shows that the neighborhood has a highly unusual pattern of car ownership. Residents of this neighborhood must really love automobiles. NeighborhoodScout's Analysis reveals that 48.4% of the households here have four, five, or more cars. That is more cars per household than in 99.5% of the neighborhoods in the nation.

Length of Commute

Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 60.1% 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 96.1% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Brazilian and Portuguese ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 8.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Brazilian ancestry and 7.4% have Portuguese ancestry.

is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 5.4% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Portuguese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.3% of the neighborhoods in America.

The Neighbors

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 Oak Bluffs are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 79.8% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% 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 100.0% of America'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, 45.0% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional 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 26.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (21.3%), and 5.2% in clerical, assistant, and tech support 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 87.2% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Portuguese and Polish.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

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 Oak Bluffs, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (17.8%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (12.8%), and residents who report Italian roots (12.7%), and some of the residents are also of Brazilian ancestry (8.9%), along with some Portuguese ancestry residents (7.4%), among others.

Getting to Work

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 under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (60.1% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (72.0%) 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 (12.9%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.


Real Estate includes:
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Economics & Demographics include:
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Commute To Work
Migration & Mobility
Race & Ethnic Diversity
Employment Industries & Occupations
Income & Unemployment Rate
Higher Education Attainment
Crime includes:
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Crimes Per Square Mile
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Schools include:
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