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West Stockbridge, MA

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





Overview


West Stockbridge is a very small town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 1,325 people and just one neighborhood, West Stockbridge is the 310th largest community in Massachusetts. West Stockbridge has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns.

Housing costs in West Stockbridge are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.

Occupations and Workforce

Unlike some towns, West Stockbridge isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in West Stockbridge are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, West Stockbridge is a town of professionals, managers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in West Stockbridge who work in management occupations (18.89%), art, media, and design (12.05%), and maintenance occupations (6.84%).

Of important note, West Stockbridge is also a town of artists. West Stockbridge has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape West Stockbridge’s character.

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

A relatively large number of people in West Stockbridge telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 23.93% 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 West Stockbridge is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.

In addition, West Stockbridge 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 Stockbridge is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making West Stockbridge 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, West Stockbridge has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, West Stockbridge’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

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!) West Stockbridge 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. West Stockbridge has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in West Stockbridge than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, West Stockbridge may be for you.

Demographics

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to West Stockbridge, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. West Stockbridge is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 70.11% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in West Stockbridge in 2022 was $72,614, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $290,456 for a family of four. However, West Stockbridge contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call West Stockbridge home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of West Stockbridge residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in West Stockbridge include Irish, German, Italian, English, and French.

The most common language spoken in West Stockbridge is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.

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

People

If you are planning to retire in Massachusetts, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in Massachusetts, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 97.9% of neighborhoods in MA. If a Massachusetts retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit. In addition to being an excellent choice for active retirees, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates and highly educated executives.

In addition, some neighborhoods have residents that are more educated than others. But in this neighborhood there is a dramatic difference. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that 36.7% of the adults here have earned a Masters degree, medical degree, Ph.D. or law degree. This is a higher rate of people with a graduate degree than is found in 95.8% of U.S. neighborhoods, where the average American neighborhood has 13.4% of its adults with a graduate degree. If you are highly educated, you may have much in common with many of your neighbors here.

Real Estate

Vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 40.1% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 97.5% 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.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Eastern European and Russian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 5.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Eastern European ancestry and 4.7% have Russian ancestry.

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 West Stockbridge are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 69.3% of the neighborhoods in America. With 23.4% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 73.5% 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, 56.8% 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 22.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (17.3%), and 2.4% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 93.3% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (2.5%).

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.

In the neighborhood in West Stockbridge, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (20.2%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (14.7%), and residents who report English roots (13.8%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (13.8%), along with some French ancestry residents (8.4%), 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 between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (41.4% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (67.8%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. 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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