Berlin is a very small town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 3,425 people and just one neighborhood, Berlin is the 288th largest community in Massachusetts. Berlin has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Berlin, where the median household income is $122,411.00.
Housing costs in Berlin are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.
Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Berlin is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Berlin is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Berlin who work in computer science and math (11.90%), office and administrative support (10.53%), and management occupations (9.82%).
Also of interest is that Berlin has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Of important note, Berlin is also a town of artists. Berlin has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Berlin’s character.
A relatively large number of people in Berlin telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 31.03% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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.
In addition, Berlin is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.
Overall, Berlin’s crime rate is one of the lowest in the nation, which makes a great place to live if safety is an important concern.
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!) Berlin 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. Berlin has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Berlin than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Berlin may be for you.
One downside of living in Berlin is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Berlin, the average commute to work is 33.56 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.
Being a small town, Berlin does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
If knowledge is power, Berlin is a pretty powerful place. 54.39% of the adults in Berlin have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
The per capita income in Berlin in 2022 was $64,003, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $256,012 for a family of four.
The people who call Berlin home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Berlin residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Berlin include Irish, English, German, Italian, and French.
The most common language spoken in Berlin is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and French.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, if you are planning to retire in Massachusetts, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in Massachusetts, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 99.3% of neighborhoods in MA. If a Massachusetts retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit. In addition to being an excellent choice for active retirees, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates and highly educated executives.
In the neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 31.0% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 95.4% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.
If you love row houses and attached homes, you will probably really like the neighborhood. The ambiance, the charm, of row houses is something special. And in sheer abundance of row houses, this neighborhood truly stands out. The real estate here has a higher proportion of row houses and attached homes than nearly any neighborhood in America. In fact, 23.9% of the residential real estate here is classified as row houses and attached homes.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more French Canadian and Finnish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 5.2% of this neighborhood's residents have French Canadian ancestry and 1.2% have Finnish ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.1% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Portuguese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 95.3% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 Berlin are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 85.3% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% 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 100.0% of America'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, 57.0% 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 15.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (15.2%), and 12.0% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 91.3% of households.
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in Berlin, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (22.5%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (15.2%), and residents who report German roots (8.7%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (8.6%), along with some French ancestry residents (5.3%), among others.
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (29.1% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (63.8%) 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.