Hays, KS (Fort Hays State University)

There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.

The neighbors in the Fort Hays State University neighborhood in Hays are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 95.7% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 59.0% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 96.8% 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 Fort Hays State University neighborhood, 33.9% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 27.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (21.2%), and 15.5% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the Fort Hays State University neighborhood is English, spoken by 91.6% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (3.9%).

Ethnicity / Ancestry

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 Fort Hays State University neighborhood in Hays, KS, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (34.5%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (13.4%), and residents who report Italian roots (6.9%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (5.5%), along with some Mexican ancestry residents (5.0%), 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 Fort Hays State University neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (81.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (56.6%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (28.5%) and 11.9% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.