White Sands is a tiny town located in the state of New Mexico. With a population of 926 people and just one neighborhood, White Sands is the 114th largest community in New Mexico. Much of the housing stock in White Sands was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local White Sands economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in White Sands, where the median household income is $87,059.00.
The armed forces are a huge part of the life in White Sands, employing 15.05% of the workforce. While it is a military town, the civilian sector still plays an important role in the local economy, where the Public Service and Education industries employ 45.60% and 13.21% of the civilian workforce, respectively.
For a small town, there is also a high proportion of single, often educated, people living in White Sands. This is not typical for smaller communities in America, and adds a feeling of vibrancy to White Sands.
White Sands is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, White Sands’s overall crime rate ranks among the lowest in the country, making it one of the safest places to raise a family.
One of the benefits of White Sands is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 12.53 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 town, White Sands doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The citizens of White Sands are among the most well-educated in the nation: 43.31% of adults in White Sands have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in White Sands in 2022 was $30,078, which is middle income relative to New Mexico, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $120,312 for a family of four. However, White Sands contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
White Sands is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call White Sands home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of White Sands residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. White Sands also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 11.79% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in White Sands include German, English, Irish, Norwegian, and European.
The most common language spoken in White Sands is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Korean.
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 White Sands, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
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, of particular note, 4.1% of the people in the neighborhood currently reside in a correction facility, held due to punishment for a crime.
Also, if you're looking for a great spot to raise a family, then look no further than the neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that the combination of good quality public schools, above-average safety from crime, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family homes, help make this neighborhood among the top 12.3% of family-friendly neighborhoods across the state of New Mexico. In addition, there are a high proportion of other families with school-aged children living here, making it easy for parents and their children to socialize and develop a sense of community support. In addition, families here highly value education, as is reflected by the strength of the local schools, in part due to the educational attainment of the parents here, who vote in support of the public schools.
The government often provides some of the more stable jobs in the economy. From local, to state, to federal government workers, the government can also be a major employer. What NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed, is that the neighborhood in particular stands out when compared nationally for the proportion of its working residents who are employed by the government. At 45.6% of its workforce, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of government workers than 100.0% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Furthermore, with 14.8% of employed workers living in the neighborhood active in the military, this neighborhood has the distinction of having a higher proportion of people in the military than 99.6% of American neighborhoods. This is a major shaper of the neighborhood's culture and character.
In addition, there are more people living in the neighborhood employed as sales and service workers (58.0%) than almost any neighborhood in the country. From fast-food service workers to major sales accounts, sales and service workers make up the largest proportion of our national employment picture. But despite that size and importance nationally, this neighborhood still stands out as unique due to the dominance of people living here who work in such occupations.
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. 86.2% 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 99.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
Uncrowded roads, rural America and space to be the individual you are. If you like these characteristics, this neighborhood may fit you. With just 1 residents per square mile, is less crowded than 99.4% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In addition, renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 100.0%, which is higher than 99.3% of the neighborhoods in America. If you were to buy and live in the property you bought here, you would be almost alone in doing so.
In the neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 19.0% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 98.0% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, if your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 3.5% of residents in the neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 96.8% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Swiss and Croatian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 5.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Swiss ancestry and 1.0% have Croatian ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 2.8% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Korean at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.3% of the neighborhoods in America.
The freedom of moving to new places versus the comfort of home. How much and how often people move not only can create diverse and worldly neighborhoods, but simultaneously it can produce a loss of intimacy with one's surroundings and a lack of connectedness to one's neighbors. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research has identified this neighborhood as unique with regard to the transience of its populace. In the neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 97.3% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
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 White Sands are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 62.8% 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.
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, 45.6% of the working population is employed in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 43.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (42.0%), and 14.8% in the military.
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 80.9% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Korean.
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 White Sands, NM, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (20.4%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (18.7%), and residents who report Irish roots (12.3%), and some of the residents are also of Asian ancestry (8.2%), along with some Mexican ancestry residents (7.9%), among others.
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 (86.2% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (64.1%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (19.0%) and 9.6% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors 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.
