Bessemer is a very small city located in the state of Michigan. With a population of 1,779 people and just one neighborhood, Bessemer is the 374th largest community in Michigan. Bessemer 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, Bessemer is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Bessemer is a city of service providers, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Bessemer who work in business and financial occupations (15.66%), office and administrative support (13.64%), and healthcare suport services (13.64%).
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 15.26% 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.
The city is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Bessemer has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Bessemer a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Bessemer spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 15.20 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
The population of Bessemer overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Bessemer, 22.34% have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Bessemer in 2022 was $27,191, which is lower middle income relative to Michigan and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $108,764 for a family of four. However, Bessemer contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Bessemer home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Bessemer residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Bessemer include Finnish, English, German, Italian, and Swedish.
The most common language spoken in Bessemer is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Native American languages.
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.
There is an especially high percentage of incarcerated people (0.8%) living in the neighborhood.
In addition, the neighborhood stands out within Michigan for its college student friendly environment. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood is home to a number of college students, is relatively walkable, and above average in safety. In combination, this makes it stand out for a good place for college students to consider. Because a number of college students live here, this neighborhood may be close to a college campus and offer certain amenities nearby geared towards the student body. While it's not an environment for everyone, ambitious scholars can enjoy seasonal excitement between semesters and school breaks, and parents can rest easy knowing that the area has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 9.8% of college-friendly places to live in MI.
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 30.8%, which is higher than 95.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Finnish and Czechoslovakian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 22.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Finnish ancestry and 2.7% have Czechoslovakian ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 10.8% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Polish at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.4% of the neighborhoods in America.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Bessemer are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 78.4% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 23.3% 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.
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, 32.7% 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 sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (23.5%), and 19.6% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 98.4% of households. Some people also speak Polish (10.8%).
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 Bessemer, MI, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Finnish (22.8%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (19.6%), and residents who report German roots (11.3%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (9.4%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (7.0%), 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 under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (53.6% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (79.6%) 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 (7.8%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.