Shirley is a tiny town located in the state of Arkansas. With a population of 249 people and just one neighborhood, Shirley is the 285th largest community in Arkansas.
Unlike some towns, Shirley isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Shirley are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Shirley is a town of professionals, transportation and shipping workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Shirley who work in healthcare (11.76%), management occupations (11.76%), and office and administrative support (10.92%).
It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Shirley has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Shirley has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Shirley than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Shirley may be for you.
One downside of living in Shirley is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Shirley, the average commute to work is 35.40 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.
Shirley is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.
In terms of college education, the citizens of Shirley rank slightly lower than the national average. 16.20% of adults 25 and older in Shirley have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, while 21.84% of adults have a 4-year degree or higher in the average American community.
The per capita income in Shirley in 2022 was $22,295, which is lower middle income relative to Arkansas, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $89,180 for a family of four. However, Shirley contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Shirley also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 33.88% of its population below the federal poverty line.
The people who call Shirley home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Shirley residents report their race to be White. Important ancestries of people in Shirley include Irish, German, English, Polish, and Norwegian.
The most common language spoken in Shirley is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish 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.
This neighborhood has wide open spaces, few people, and lots of space to stretch out. If you like locations that fit that description, you may like this neighborhood. Based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, with only 39 people per square mile living here, this neighborhood is less crowded than 91.1% of 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.
More people work in manufacturing and as laborers here in the neighborhood than in 98.4% of the neighborhoods in America. Despite the loss of manufacturing jobs across the nation, this neighborhood remains a place where, compared to other parts of the country, you will find many laborers and manufacturers.
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. 12.7% 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 97.7% of all neighborhoods in America.
If you're planning where to retire, the neighborhood in Shirley is a great option to consider. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive retirement dream area analysis, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety ratings compared to other neighborhoods in AR, offers a wide range of housing options, and has already attracted an enviable mix of college educated seniors. This neighborhood ranks as better for retirement living than 86.9% of the neighborhoods in Arkansas. If you are considering retiring to Arkansas, this is a good neighborhood to look at.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more French ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 10.0% of this neighborhood's residents have French ancestry.
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 Shirley are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 85.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 35.6% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 86.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.
In the neighborhood, 47.9% 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 26.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (17.2%), and 9.0% 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 98.2% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Italian.
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 Shirley, AR, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (16.0%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (14.8%), and residents who report English roots (12.9%), and some of the residents are also of French ancestry (10.0%), along with some Mexican ancestry residents (8.6%), 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 under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (46.2% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America. However, there is also a significant group of residents (12.7%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (72.6%) 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 (21.9%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.