Kalamazoo is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of Michigan. With a population of 73,126 people and 44 associated neighborhoods, Kalamazoo is the 19th largest community in Michigan.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Kalamazoo is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Kalamazoo is a city of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Kalamazoo who work in food service (12.09%), office and administrative support (10.26%), and sales jobs (8.95%). A relatively large number of people in Kalamazoo telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 8.86% 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.Because there are quite a few people attending college in Kalamazoo, it is thought of as a college town. To the benefit of the many students in the area, Kalamazoo provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards their needs and activities. The citizens of Kalamazoo are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 37.05% of adults in Kalamazoo have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Kalamazoo in 2022 was $27,514, which is lower middle income relative to Michigan and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $110,056 for a family of four. However, Kalamazoo contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Kalamazoo is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Kalamazoo home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Kalamazoo residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Kalamazoo include German, English, Irish, Dutch, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Kalamazoo is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
