Girard is a very small city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 1,747 people and just one neighborhood, Girard is the 597th largest community in Illinois. Girard has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.
Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Girard is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Girard is a city of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Girard who work in food service (13.61%), teaching (10.76%), and management occupations (10.25%).
One downside of living in Girard, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.48 minutes every day commuting to work.
As is often the case in a small city, Girard doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The population of Girard has a very low overall level of education: only 9.26% of people over 25 hold a 4-year college degree or higher.
The per capita income in Girard in 2022 was $22,143, which is low income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $88,572 for a family of four. However, Girard contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Girard home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Girard residents report their race to be White, followed by Native Hawaiian. Important ancestries of people in Girard include German, English, Irish, Italian, and Slovak.
The most common language spoken in Girard is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and German/Yiddish.
Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Girard, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Slovak ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Slovak 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 Girard are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 62.4% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 16.7% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 63.3% 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, 43.4% 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 21.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (19.3%), and 15.9% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 99.1% of households. Some people also speak Polish (3.3%).
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 Girard, IL, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (24.9%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (19.7%), and residents who report Irish roots (11.4%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (5.9%), along with some French ancestry residents (4.3%), 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 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (31.2% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.
Here most residents (75.7%) 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 (6.8%) and 6.1% 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.