Clifton Forge is a very small town located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 3,388 people and just one neighborhood, Clifton Forge is the 154th largest community in Virginia. Much of the housing stock in Clifton Forge was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Clifton Forge is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Clifton Forge is a town of professionals, service providers, and production and manufacturing workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Clifton Forge who work in healthcare (12.91%), maintenance occupations (10.54%), and teaching (9.06%).
Of important note, Clifton Forge is also a town of artists. Clifton Forge has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Clifton Forge’s character.
As is often the case in a small town, Clifton Forge doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The education level of Clifton Forge citizens, measured as those with bachelor's degrees or advanced degrees, is similar to the national average for all American cities and towns. 18.85% of adults 25 and older in Clifton Forge have a college degree.
The per capita income in Clifton Forge in 2022 was $24,530, which is low income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $98,120 for a family of four. However, Clifton Forge contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Clifton Forge is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Clifton Forge home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Clifton Forge residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Clifton Forge include German, Irish, English, Italian, and French.
The most common language spoken in Clifton Forge is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
While most Americans do drive to work alone each day, the neighborhood stands out by having 93.5% of commuters doing so, which is a higher proportion of people driving alone to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.2% of all American neighborhoods.
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 Clifton Forge are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 92.2% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 11.1% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 52.6% of U.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, 46.5% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 22.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (19.8%), and 11.0% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.0% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (2.6%).
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 neighborhood in Clifton Forge, VA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (16.9%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (10.5%), and residents who report English roots (6.0%), and some of the residents are also of French ancestry (2.5%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (2.5%), 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 (39.1% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (93.5%) 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.