Westover is a tiny borough located in the state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 351 people and just one neighborhood, Westover is the 1035th largest community in Pennsylvania. Much of the housing stock in Westover was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs in the country.
When you are in Westover, you'll notice that it is more blue-collar than most other communities in America. 36.57% of Westover’s employed work in blue-collar jobs, while America averages only 27.7% that do. Overall, Westover is a borough of service providers, transportation and shipping workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Westover who work in personal care services (16.42%), sales jobs (7.46%), and healthcare (7.46%).
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 17.91% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.
Residents will find that the borough 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, Westover is worth considering.
In Westover, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 40.32 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.
Being a small borough, Westover does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
In Westover, just 9.96% of people over 25 hold a college degree, which is very low compared to the rest of the nation, whereas the average among all cities is 21.84%.
The per capita income in Westover in 2022 was $25,500, which is low income relative to Pennsylvania, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $102,000 for a family of four. However, Westover contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Westover is a somewhat ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Westover home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Westover residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Westover also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 12.15% of the borough’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Westover include German, Irish, Polish, Italian, and English.
The most common language spoken in Westover is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 9.6% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.0% of all neighborhoods in America.
NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research identifies the neighborhood as having one of the highest concentrations of people employed in manufacturing or as laborers of any neighborhood in America. In fact, despite the loss of manufacturing jobs nationally, this neighborhood has 41.6% of its working residents employed in such fields, which is a higher proportion than 95.0% of American neighborhoods.
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 93.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Dutch ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 6.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Dutch ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 11.6% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak German/Yiddish at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 Westover 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 17.7% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 65.1% of U.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, 41.6% of the working population is employed in manufacturing and laborer 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 25.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (16.9%), and 12.7% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
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 87.3% of households. Other important languages spoken here include German/Yiddish, Italian and Polish.
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 neighborhood in Westover, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (19.7%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (8.5%), and residents who report Dutch roots (6.5%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (5.9%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (5.7%), 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 between 30 and 45 minutes commuting one-way to work (30.8% of working residents), which is at or a bit above the average length of a commute across all U.S. neighborhoods. However, there is also a significant group of residents (9.6%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (78.4%) 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 (11.1%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.