Mathews is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 525 people and just one neighborhood, Mathews is the 327th largest community in Virginia.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Mathews is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Mathews is a town of service providers, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Mathews who work in healthcare suport services (16.20%), food service (15.92%), and sales jobs (12.85%).
Also of interest is that Mathews has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Residents will find that the town is relatively quiet. This is because it is not over-populated, and it has fewer college students, renters, and young children - all of whom can be noisy at times. So, if you're looking for a relatively peaceful place to live, Mathews is worth considering.
Mathews 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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
One of the benefits of Mathews is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 18.87 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
Mathews is a very car-oriented town. 96.93% of residents commute to work in a private automobile rather than by other means, such as public transit, bicycling, or walking. This is because Mathews is a small town , and most people who live here have to drive out of town for work, and the town population is not large nor dense enough to support an extensive public transportation system. Mathews has a lot of rural roads, and houses can be far apart. Many residents drive out of town for regular shopping trips as well.
Being a small town, Mathews does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
In terms of college education, the citizens of Mathews rank slightly lower than the national average. 14.86% of adults 25 and older in Mathews have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, while 21.84% of adults have a 4-year degree or higher in the average American community.
The per capita income in Mathews in 2022 was $23,912, which is low income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $95,648 for a family of four. However, Mathews contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Mathews home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Mathews residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Mathews include English, German, Irish, European, and Scottish.
The most common language spoken in Mathews is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.
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.
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.
If you're nearing retirement age, or in retirement, the is an excellent choice for you to consider for top-quality retirement living. This neighborhood is rated by NeighborhoodScout as among the top 5.5% of retiree-friendly neighborhoods in Virginia, combining peace and quiet, safety from crime, and offering diverse housing options from which retirees can choose. Maybe it's because of these amenities that a large proportion of the residents here are college educated seniors, mixed with other age groups. For these and other reasons, NeighborhoodScout identifies this neighborhood as a top-notch place to consider if you are thinking of or planning to retire in Virginia.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Scots-Irish and Cuban ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 15.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Scots-Irish ancestry and 3.6% have Cuban ancestry.
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 Mathews are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 50.7% of the neighborhoods in America. With 22.7% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 73.4% of U.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, 43.8% 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 30.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (23.4%), and 6.0% in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions.
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 neighborhood is English, spoken by 97.1% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.
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 Mathews, VA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Scots-Irish (15.6%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (9.5%), and residents who report Irish roots (6.1%), and some of the residents are also of Cuban ancestry (3.6%), along with some Scottish ancestry residents (1.8%), 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 between 30 and 45 minutes commuting one-way to work (33.6% of working residents), which is at or a bit above the average length of a commute across all U.S. neighborhoods.
Here most residents (71.9%) 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 (9.8%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.