Iron River is a very small city located in the state of Michigan. With a population of 3,032 people and just one neighborhood, Iron River is the 274th largest community in Michigan. Iron River has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.
Because occupations involving physical labor dominate the local economy, Iron River is generally considered to be a blue-collar town. 39.25% of the Iron River workforce is employed in blue-collar occupations, compared to the national average of 27.7%. Overall, Iron River is a city of service providers, production and manufacturing workers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Iron River who work in food service (11.06%), office and administrative support (9.40%), and sales jobs (7.46%).
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, Iron River is worth considering.
Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.03 minutes getting to work every day.
Being a small city, Iron River does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
In terms of college education, Iron River is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 18.27% of adults 25 and older in Iron River have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Iron River in 2022 was $26,206, which is lower middle income relative to Michigan and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $104,824 for a family of four. However, Iron River contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Iron River home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Iron River residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Iron River include Italian, German, Polish, Swedish, and English.
The most common language spoken in Iron River is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Italian.
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.
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. 62.3% 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 96.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
Despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 34.6%, which is higher than 96.3% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Finnish and Swedish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 9.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Finnish ancestry and 7.1% have Swedish ancestry.
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 Iron River are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 91.2% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 48.1% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 93.2% 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, 36.4% 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 25.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (23.7%), and 13.9% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 98.0% of households.
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 Iron River, MI, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (17.7%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (17.5%), and residents who report English roots (10.8%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (9.7%), along with some Finnish ancestry residents (9.2%), 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 (62.3% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (82.7%) 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 (12.2%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.