Sonyea is a tiny town located in the state of New York. With a population of 865 people and just one neighborhood, Sonyea is the 789th largest community in New York.
When you are in Sonyea, you'll notice that it is more blue-collar than most other communities in America. 61.54% of Sonyea’s employed work in blue-collar jobs, while America averages only 27.7% that do. Overall, Sonyea is a town of transportation and shipping workers, farmers, fishers, or foresters, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Sonyea who work in farm management occupations (23.08%), office and administrative support (15.38%), and food service (15.38%).
A relatively large number of people in Sonyea telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 76.92% 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.
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!) Sonyea 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. Sonyea has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Sonyea than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Sonyea may be for you.
One of the benefits of Sonyea is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 7.50 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.
Sonyea is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.
In terms of college education, Sonyea ranks among the least educated cities in the nation, as only 4.52% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Sonyea in 2022 was $1,525, which is low income relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $6,100 for a family of four. Sonyea also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 42.11% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Sonyea is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Sonyea home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Sonyea residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Sonyea also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 15.79% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Sonyea include African, English, German, Italian, and Haitian.
The most common language spoken in Sonyea is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
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 Sonyea, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Real Estate
This neighborhood has the distinction of having one of the lowest real estate vacancy rates of any neighborhood in America. With just 0.0% of the real estate vacant, this indicates an exceptionally strong demand for real estate in the neighborhood, and/or an issue with creating enough supply for the demand. This could have the effect of increasing real estate prices, increasing supply to meet demand, or both.
In addition, one of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.
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, an interesting characteristic about the neighborhood is that there are more incarcerated people living here than 99.8% of neighborhoods in the U.S. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, currently with 1 out of every 100 adults in the country are incarcerated as a punishment for crimes committed. The extremely high incarceration rate of this neighborhood could mean that a prison, juvenile detention facility or other correctional facility occupies a large proportion of the neighborhood, or contains a large portion of the neighborhood's population.
Also, neighborhoodScout's exclusive research revealed that 95.5% of the adult residents in the neighborhood do not have a 4-year college degree, which is a lower rate of college graduated adults than found in 97.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
Modes of Transportation
In the neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 76.9% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 100.0% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.
Also, 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 23.1% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 98.6% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
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. 100.0% 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 100.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
Occupations
Each year, fewer and fewer Americans make their living as farmers, foresters, or fishers. But the neighborhood truly stands out among U.S. neighborhoods. According to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, this neighborhood has a greater proportion of farmers, foresters, or fishers than 99.8% of all American neighborhoods. This is truly a unique cultural characteristic of this neighborhood.
Diversity
Did you know that the neighborhood has more African and Haitian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 8.9% of this neighborhood's residents have African ancestry and 1.8% have Haitian ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 4.6% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak French at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.3% 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 Sonyea are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 100.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. 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, 38.5% of the working population is employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is farming, forestry, or commercial fishing, with 23.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (23.1%), and 15.4% 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 76.7% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, French and Polish.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
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 Sonyea, NY, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Sub-Saharan African (9.1%). There are also a number of people of African ancestry (8.9%), and residents who report Puerto Rican roots (4.6%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (2.0%), along with some Haitian ancestry residents (1.8%), 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 (100.0% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (23.1%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. This is a special neighborhood for the number of people who walk to work. Combining exercise, low cost, and reduced pollution, plus the chance to see your neighbors, walking to work is fairly uncommon in America but likely to increase as people try to reduce their dependence on automobiles, and this neighborhood offers that opportunity today.
