Maps Show ‘Class Divide’ in Waltham, Greater Boston

Waltham is known as a technology corridor that was the center of the Industrial Revolution. It's not a surprise that new Census data shows the "creative class" dominates the city.

The “creative class” has the highest share in Waltham, followed by the “service class," according to a report by The Atlantic Cities, which uses a map to show how class lines divide within and among Census tracts.

Creative individuals dominate Waltham, as well as many other affluent suburbs to the north and west of Boston, according to the Atlantic Cities report, which uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. 

In fact, the creative class — which includes professionals working in the science and technology, business, arts, media, law and healthcare industries — makes up about more than 41 percent of the metro area’s workforce. That’s just short of the service class, which includes food service, retail, clerical and administrative positions and comprises 43.4 percent of the regional workforce, the report says.

Members of the working class make up less than 15 percent of the regional workforce, according to the Atlantic Cities report, which contrasts that figure with the image of “Boston metro’s blue collar past as a port and center of textile and shoe manufacturing.”

According to the report, members of Metro Boston’s creative class earn an average of $84,403; the working class an average of $42,765 in wages and the service class an average of $33,738. All three of those are better than the national averages.

Waltham's local class lines refelct the shrinking of the region's working class and the creative class's dominance over the working class.

The Atlantic Cities report draws Waltham into twelve Census tracts spread across the city. Three tracts are domainted by service class individuals and those include the area of North Waltham north of Totten Pond Road (We will this North Waltham), a small area of the West End to Route 128 (call it West End) and a small part of South Waltham we will call South Waltham) to the Newton line. The other tracts, dominated by the creative class, dominatet the remaining tracts.

Now, You Tell Us:

What do you think about these so-called "class divides?" A commenter who posted on a simliar article published by Somerville Patch posited that the "creative class" is the new working class. Do you agree?