Boykin is a tiny town located in the state of Alabama. With a population of 208 people and just one neighborhood, Boykin is the 378th largest community in Alabama.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Boykin is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Boykin is a town of service providers, sales and office workers, and production and manufacturing workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Boykin who work in maintenance occupations (30.56%), sales jobs (18.52%), and personal care services (11.11%).
Another notable thing is that Boykin is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.
Boykin’s overall crime rate ranks among the lowest in the nation, making it a very safe place to live.
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!) Boykin 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. Boykin has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Boykin than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Boykin may be for you.
In Boykin, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 40.96 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.
As is often the case in a small town, Boykin doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
In terms of college education, Boykin ranks among the least educated cities in the nation, as only 0.00% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Boykin in 2022 was $10,187, which is low income relative to Alabama and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $40,748 for a family of four.
The people who call Boykin home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Boykin residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Boykin include German, English, Yugoslavian, Other West Indian, and West Indian.
The most common language spoken in Boykin is English. Other important languages spoken here include African languages and Arabic.
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.
Modes of Transportation
In the neighborhood, 6.8% 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 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
Also, while most Americans do drive to work alone each day, the neighborhood stands out by having 90.3% of commuters doing so, which is a higher proportion of people driving alone to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.7% of all American neighborhoods.
Length of Commute
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 20.1% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.5% of all neighborhoods in America.
People
Single parenting is hard. But you don't have to tell the neighborhood about it; they already know. 29.9% of this neighborhood's households are run by single mothers, which is a higher concentration than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.5% of American neighborhoods. Further NeighborhoodScout research showed strong statistical correlations among high rates of children living in single parent households, and neighborhood crime, particularly violent crime, neighborhood poverty, and, importantly, the percentage of low weight births and rates of infant mortality.
In addition, the neighborhood stands out for having an average per capita income lower than 99.2% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
Also, the neighborhood is unique for having just 2.6% of adults here having earned a bachelor's degree. This is a lower rate of college graduates than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.5% of America's neighborhoods.
Real Estate
The neighborhood stands out for having the majority of its residential real estate made up of mobile homes. In fact, 56.2% of the occupied real estate here are mobile homes, which is a greater proportion than is found in 99.4% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. If you like mobile homes, this might be a great neighborhood in which to look for real estate.
In addition, unpopulated, and rural, the neighborhood is one of the least crowded neighborhoods in all of America. If you like open space, no traffic, and lots of room, this neighborhood may be just what you are looking for. According to NeighborhoodScout's leading research, this neighborhood is less densely populated than 97.5% of the neighborhoods in America.
Furthermore, 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 39.6%, which is higher than 97.4% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Occupations
From major sales accounts to fast-food workers, sales and service employees are often the backbone of the local economy. In the neighborhood, they truly stand out. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis identifies this neighborhood as having a higher percentage of sales and service workers than 97.9% of all American neighborhoods.
Migration / Stability
Do you like to be surrounded by people from all over the country or world, with different perspectives and life experiences? Or do you instead prefer to be in a neighborhood where most residents have lived there for a long time, creating a sense of cohesiveness? NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood stands out among American neighborhoods for the uniqueness of the mobility of its residents. More residents of the neighborhood live here today that also were living in this same neighborhood five years ago than is found in 97.6% of U.S. neighborhoods. This neighborhood is really made up of people who know each other, don't move often, and have lived here in this very neighborhood for quite a while.
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 Boykin are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 99.2% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 44.8% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 91.7% 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, 42.8% 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 manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 39.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (12.9%), and 4.8% in executive, management, and professional occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 97.3% of households. Some people also speak French (2.7%).
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 neighborhood in Boykin, AL, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (2.1%).
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 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (32.4% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans. However, there is also a significant group of residents (20.1%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (90.3%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also ride a ferry to get to work (6.8%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
