Riverside is a somewhat small village located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 8,940 people and two associated neighborhoods, Riverside is the 235th largest community in Illinois. Much of the housing stock in Riverside was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic villages in the country. Riverside home prices are not only among the most expensive in Illinois, but Riverside real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Riverside is a decidedly white-collar village, with fully 93.63% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Riverside is a village of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Riverside who work in management occupations (21.94%), sales jobs (11.66%), and office and administrative support (9.64%). Of important note, Riverside is also a village of artists. Riverside has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Riverside’s character. Also of interest is that Riverside has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. A relatively large number of people in Riverside telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 18.26% 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. In addition, Riverside is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel. Because of many things, Riverside is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Riverside really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Riverside perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live. One downside of living in Riverside, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 33.08 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly village. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead. In Riverside, a lot of people use the train to get to work every day though Riverside is a relatively small village. Those that ride the train are primarily traveling out of town to good jobs in other cities.If knowledge is power, Riverside is a pretty powerful place. 63.74% of the adults in Riverside have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Riverside in 2022 was $64,469, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $257,876 for a family of four. Riverside is an extremely ethnically-diverse village. The people who call Riverside home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Riverside residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Riverside also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 32.00% of the village’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Riverside include Irish, Italian, German, Polish, and English. The most common language spoken in Riverside is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Slavic languages.
