Haines is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Alaska. With a population of 1,657 people and just one neighborhood, Haines is the 41st largest community in Alaska.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Haines is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Haines is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Haines who work in teaching (13.34%), sales jobs (12.17%), and office and administrative support (11.58%).
Also of interest is that Haines has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
A relatively large number of people in Haines telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 10.41% 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.
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!) Haines 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. Haines has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Haines than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Haines may be for you.
One of the nice things about Haines is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Haines spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 15.39 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be.
The education level of Haines citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 37.74% of adults in Haines have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.
The per capita income in Haines in 2022 was $34,787, which is lower middle income relative to Alaska, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $139,148 for a family of four. However, Haines contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Haines is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Haines home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Haines residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Haines include German, Italian, Irish, English, and British.
The most common language spoken in Haines is English. Other important languages spoken here include Native American languages 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 1 people per square mile living here, this neighborhood is less crowded than 99.4% of America. is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. 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, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 35.8%, which is higher than 96.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In the neighborhood, 1.5% of people ride a ferry to work each day. This is a very high percentage compared to most places. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this is a higher level of ferry ridership than in 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
Also, in the neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 12.5% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 96.3% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
If you are planning to retire in Alaska, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in Alaska, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 98.9% of neighborhoods in AK. If a Alaska retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 70.6% 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 98.6% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
Each year, fewer and fewer Americans make their living as farmers, foresters, or fishers. But the neighborhood truly stands out among U.S. neighborhoods. According to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, this neighborhood has a greater proportion of farmers, foresters, or fishers than 96.6% of all American neighborhoods. This is truly a unique cultural characteristic of this neighborhood.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more British and Native American ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 7.0% of this neighborhood's residents have British ancestry and 4.5% have Native American ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.4% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Native American languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 neighborhood in Haines are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 46.7% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 1.8% 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 75.7% of America's neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 32.8% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional 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 28.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (22.5%), and 11.5% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.2% of households.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in Haines, AK, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (16.2%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (10.0%), and residents who report Italian roots (9.6%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (9.1%), along with some British ancestry residents (7.0%), among others.
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 neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (70.6% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (54.2%) 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 (20.7%) and 12.5% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work 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.
