Holyoke, MA (Oakdale)

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 Oakdale neighborhood in Holyoke are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 78.5% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 23.2% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 73.3% of U.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 Oakdale neighborhood, 35.7% 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 27.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (23.8%), and 12.6% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the Oakdale neighborhood is English, spoken by 71.6% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (26.5%).

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 Oakdale neighborhood in Holyoke, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Puerto Rican (35.3%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (11.4%), and residents who report French roots (5.7%), and some of the residents are also of French Canadian ancestry (5.2%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (3.9%), 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 Oakdale neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (44.5% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (84.1%) 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 (5.1%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.