Grayland is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Washington. With a population of 847 people and just one neighborhood, Grayland is the 276th largest community in Washington.
Unlike some towns, Grayland isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Grayland are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Grayland is a town of service providers, managers, and construction workers and builders. There are especially a lot of people living in Grayland who work in management occupations (17.24%), healthcare suport services (12.41%), and food service (9.66%).
Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 12.41% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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.
Another notable thing is that Grayland is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.
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!) Grayland 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. Grayland has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Grayland than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Grayland may be for you.
Grayland is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Grayland spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 14.39 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be.
As is often the case in a small town, Grayland doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
In terms of college education, Grayland is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 18.77% of adults 25 and older in Grayland have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Grayland in 2018 was $50,777, which is wealthy relative to Washington and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $203,108 for a family of four. However, Grayland contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Grayland is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Grayland home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Grayland residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Grayland include German, Irish, English, Dutch, and Swedish.
The most common language spoken in Grayland 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.
Real Estate
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 34 people per square mile living here, this neighborhood is less crowded than 92.0% of America. Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.
In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 47.1% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 98.4% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
People
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, an interesting characteristic about the neighborhood is that there are more incarcerated people living here than 99.7% of neighborhoods in the U.S. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, currently with 1 out of every 100 adults in the country are incarcerated as a punishment for crimes committed. The extremely high incarceration rate of this neighborhood could mean that a prison, juvenile detention facility or other correctional facility occupies a large proportion of the neighborhood, or contains a large portion of the neighborhood's population.
Also, neighborhoodScout's exclusive research revealed that 93.9% of the adult residents in the neighborhood do not have a 4-year college degree, which is a lower rate of college graduated adults than found in 96.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
Occupations
The neighborhood has a greater proportion of government workers living in it than 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. This is a unique feature of this neighborhood, and one that shapes its character.
Furthermore, it used to be that most Americans lived on the farm, or otherwise made their living from the land, the forests, or the sea. With global trade and an economy increasingly based on providing services to one another, fewer people farm, fish or harvest timber now than at any time in American history. But according to NeighborhoodScout's leading analysis, the neighborhood stands apart from most American neighborhood due to the proportion of its residents still working in these fields. With 7.8% of the workforce so employed, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of such workers than 98.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Length of Commute
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 58.3% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.5% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
Diversity
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Native American ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 5.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Native American ancestry.
Migration / Stability
The freedom of moving to new places versus the comfort of home. How much and how often people move not only can create diverse and worldly neighborhoods, but simultaneously it can produce a loss of intimacy with one's surroundings and a lack of connectedness to one's neighbors. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research has identified this neighborhood as unique with regard to the transience of its populace. In the neighborhood, a greater proportion of the residents living here today did not live here five years ago than is found in 95.2% of U.S. Neighborhoods. This neighborhood, more than almost any other in America, has new residents from other areas.
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 Grayland are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 82.5% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America'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, 34.1% of the working population is employed in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions. 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 31.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in executive, management, and professional occupations (24.2%), and 23.5% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 92.8% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (2.3%).
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the neighborhood in Grayland, WA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (7.9%). There are also a number of people of Native American ancestry (5.9%), and residents who report Sub-Saharan African roots (4.9%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (4.7%), along with some Mexican ancestry residents (2.9%), 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 (58.3% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (87.3%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
