Alma is a very small town located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 1,606 people and just one neighborhood, Alma is the 119th largest community in West Virginia.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Alma is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Alma is a town of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Alma who work in teaching (20.73%), healthcare suport services (15.41%), and sales jobs (11.40%).
Residents will find that the town 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, Alma is worth considering.
One downside of living in Alma is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Alma, the average commute to work is 39.09 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.
As is often the case in a small town, Alma doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The percentage of adults in Alma with college degrees is slightly lower than the national average of 21.84% for all communities. 16.50% of adults in Alma have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Alma in 2022 was $27,391, which is middle income relative to West Virginia, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $109,564 for a family of four. However, Alma contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Alma home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Alma residents report their race to be White. Important ancestries of people in Alma include English, Irish, German, Dutch, and European.
The most common language spoken in Alma is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and German/Yiddish.
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 Alma, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Unpopulated, and rural, the neighborhood is one of the least crowded neighborhoods in all of America. If you like open space, no traffic, and lots of room, this neighborhood may be just what you are looking for. According to NeighborhoodScout's leading research, this neighborhood is less densely populated than 96.5% of the neighborhoods in America. 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.
In addition, owner-occupied real estate dominates the neighborhood. In fact, according to NeighborhoodScout research, the percentage of residential real estate occupied by its owner is higher here than in 95.0% of neighborhoods in America. 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 41.2%, which is higher than 97.7% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
The neighborhood is a great option for families, as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's research on this neighborhood. The combination of top public schools, low crime rates, and owner-occupied single family homes, make this neighborhood among the top 9.7% of family-friendly neighborhoods in the state of West Virginia. Many other families also live here, making it easy to socialize and develop a sense of community. In addition, families here highly value education, as is reflected by the strength of the local schools.
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 Alma are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 65.2% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 6.7% 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 59.6% 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, 28.1% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 26.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (23.3%), and 22.2% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 98.5% of households. Some people also speak Italian (2.1%).
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 Alma, WV, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (10.2%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (9.4%), and residents who report German roots (8.3%), and some of the residents are also of Dutch ancestry (3.2%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (1.2%), 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 between 30 and 45 minutes commuting one-way to work (48.9% of working residents), which is at or a bit above the average length of a commute across all U.S. neighborhoods.
Here most residents (82.1%) 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 (11.2%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.