Salem, OR (Bethel / Bethel Heights)

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 Bethel / Bethel Heights neighborhood in Salem are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 41.8% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 1.8% 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 75.7% of America's neighborhoods.

The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.

In the Bethel / Bethel Heights neighborhood, 38.3% 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 17.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in farming, forestry, or commercial fishing (16.3%), and 14.7% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the Bethel / Bethel Heights neighborhood is English, spoken by 91.5% of households. Some people also speak German/Yiddish (4.2%).

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 Bethel / Bethel Heights neighborhood in Salem, OR, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (21.6%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (15.6%), and residents who report Swedish roots (11.7%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (7.8%), along with some Swiss ancestry residents (5.8%), 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 Bethel / Bethel Heights neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (42.1% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (55.6%) 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.