Spanaway, WA (Elk Plain)

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 Elk Plain neighborhood in Spanaway are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 75.5% of the neighborhoods in America. With 21.0% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 70.2% 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 Elk Plain neighborhood, 31.5% 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 clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (21.3%), and 17.8% in executive, management, and professional occupations.

Languages

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 Elk Plain neighborhood is English, spoken by 68.4% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.

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 Elk Plain neighborhood in Spanaway, WA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (17.1%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (6.4%), and residents who report English roots (4.1%), and some of the residents are also of Puerto Rican ancestry (3.9%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (3.0%), among others. In addition, 17.8% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.

Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in Elk Plain neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (35.9% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.

Here most residents (82.4%) 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 (9.6%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.