Cumberland+Community

Alexa Levesque
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 * || Community Description: Cumberland (02864)

The families who live in the 02864 zip code in the town of Cumberland, Rhode Island seem to fit the overall profile of the entire state. This is true for most of the family indicators such as median household income ($50,502), which is very close to the median of the entire state ($53,636), and only slightly lower than the average of the nation ($51,425). This area does have a higher percentage of families below the poverty line (11.7%) than the state (10.6%) and the nation (9.9%). Since this town seems to match the dynamics of the rest of the state it is safe to say that the socioeconomic status of Cumberland is average in comparison to the rest of the country. With these statistics for median income, it can also be inferred that most households either have one average-earning income, or two low-earning incomes, in the households. This, according to the average incomes of both Rhode Island and the country as a whole, is also the norm at the state and national levels.[1] ||  || In Cumberland, the overwhelming majority of the citizens are white (30,016) followed by the next largest race, Asian (1,031). Every other race is a vast minority in the town with only 420 African Americans and 768 Hispanic citizens. With relatively low minority numbers in the town, this means that there is probably also a relatively low number of immigrants in the town and therefore also less of a need for English Language Learners classes and programs in the schools. These racial percentages are also pretty far off from those of Rhode Island and the rest of the nation which both have much higher percentages of Black and Latino residents.[2] Since Cumberland as a whole seems to be relatively average, one would assume that there are low numbers of welfare or WIC participation. One of the things that stuck out most however, is that 50% of children in WIC participation, which seems like an overwhelming amount to me. This strikes me as odd because while the median income for the 02863 zip code is average, the median income of the entire town is much higher at,69,511 therefore, there must be a large amount concentrated in smaller areas. Also, only 2% of children are enrolled in a full-time kindergarten compared to the state's 64% enrollment rate of kindergarteners. This could mean a few things, either the parents are able to find alternative means of childcare, or more likely, they do not see kindergarten as a worthwhile part of their child's life.(Kidscount, Cumberland)[3] There is also a relatively high number of women who receive delayed prenatal care during their pregnancy. This percentage is higher than the relatively low teen-birth rate, meaning that there are even adults who do not seek out the care that they need for their child's well-being. There is a relatively low prevalence of neglect however; there is a high level (35%) of cited incidents of domestic violence that occurred while children were present. Excluding that statistic though, Cumberland has much lower rates. Many of these statistics however, could be skewed and not true to the zip code that the charter schools are in. Since this school services the lower-income end of the town, and parts of Central Falls that are also very low-income.[4] As a whole, Cumberland appears to be an average, or even affluent community. Once a closer look is taken at statistics however, it seems to be true that there are large concentrations of low-income families living in the state.

> Bureau, U. S. Census. “American FactFinder - Results.” Web. 7 Nov. 2012. > Bureau, U. S. Census. “American FactFinder - Results.” Web. 7 Nov. 2012. > “Rhode Island KIDS COUNT: Data - All Indicators - City / Town Fact Sheets.” Web. 12 Nov. 2012. > “Rhode Island KIDS COUNT: Data - All Indicators - City / Town Fact Sheets.” Web. 12 Nov. 2012.
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