Brightwood is a very small town located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 1,064 people and just one neighborhood, Brightwood is the 281st largest community in Virginia.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Brightwood is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Brightwood is a town of sales and office workers, service providers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Brightwood who work in office and administrative support (22.01%), management occupations (17.19%), and healthcare suport services (9.33%).
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 21.90% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.
One downside of living in Brightwood, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.43 minutes every day commuting to work.
In terms of college education, Brightwood is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 18.20% of adults 25 and older in Brightwood have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Brightwood in 2022 was $31,180, which is middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $124,720 for a family of four. However, Brightwood contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Brightwood home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Brightwood residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Brightwood include German, English, Irish, Czech, and Scots-Irish.
The most common language spoken in Brightwood 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.
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. 9.7% 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 95.1% of all neighborhoods in America.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Welsh and English ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.0% of this neighborhood's residents have Welsh ancestry and 20.9% have English 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 Brightwood are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 58.3% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 6.6% 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 59.7% of America's neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
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 clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 24.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (22.3%), and 20.5% in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.1% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (3.9%).
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 Brightwood, VA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (21.8%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (20.9%), and residents who report Irish roots (15.3%), and some of the residents are also of Scottish ancestry (3.9%), along with some South American ancestry residents (3.2%), 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 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (38.5% 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 (9.7%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (64.0%) 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 (6.7%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.