Official Federal Data
Essex County, Massachusetts
FIPS 25009 · Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH · Population 813,054
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$101,883 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.6% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$60.7B ▲
GDP
43% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$101,883 ▲
Per Capita
$54,665 ▲
Mean Household
$140,098 ▲
Poverty Rate
9.4% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Essex County$101,883
Massachusetts$103,960
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 20.8%
18-34 · 21.3%
35-54 · 25.3%
55-64 · 14.1%
65+ · 18.5%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
90.1%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +0.5 pts
43%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +7.3 pts
17.9%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +3.8 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
813,054
Population
448,516
Labor Force
Employed
425,405
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.6% ▲ +0.5 pts YoY
Mean Commute 2 min above national avg
28.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
16.4%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 7.3 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 65,611 workers (26.2% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $65,117.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $60.7B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $147,298 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $32,819, a 4.5x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Health Care & Social Assistance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
31,492
Cluster Employment
1.85x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Fishing, Hunting and Trapping
10.54x 165
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
2.85x 5,952
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
2.23x 2,851
Food Manufacturing
1.96x 7,300
Printing and Related Support Activities
1.91x 1,377
Social Assistance
1.85x 19,302
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
1.83x 6,647
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
1.71x 108
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
1.70x 12,190
Machinery Manufacturing
1.67x 3,812
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.10x
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
77 employed
0.14x
Primary Metal Manufacturing
108 employed
0.21x
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
149 employed
0.26x
Wood Product Manufacturing
218 employed
0.27x
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
272 employed
0.28x
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
243 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Fishing, Hunting and Trapping concentrates at 10.54x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$619,100 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,756 ▲
Rent/Mo
63.5% ▼
Owner-Occ
5% ▼
Vacancy
6.1x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents (County Average)
Renter-household-weighted average across 34 town FMR areas · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$2,046/mo$1,565 to $2,359
1 Bedroom
$2,182/mo$1,730 to $2,476
2 Bedroom
$2,676/mo$2,270 to $2,941
3 Bedroom
$3,209/mo$2,722 to $3,526
4 Bedroom
$3,544/mo$3,006 to $3,894
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,547/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 6.1x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,547/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
493,463 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 2 min above national avg
28.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
16.4%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
84.6%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
43% ▲
HS Diploma+
90.1% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
45,350/yr
12,366/yr
9,752/yr
9,235/yr
5,123/yr
4,894/yr
3,980/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
23.3%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
46.2%
Service
16.1%
Sales & Office
19.3%
Construction / Maint.
7.2%
Production / Transport
11.1%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 425,405 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Succession risk is real: 23.3% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 31,353 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Essex County shows strong potential for fishing, hunting and trapping attraction, with a 10.54x concentration and 165 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 23.3% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.
The interconnected base across fishing, hunting and trapping, computer and electronic product manufacturing, and miscellaneous manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Essex County, Massachusetts, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Essex County, Massachusetts?
813,054 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Essex County, Massachusetts?
$101,883 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Essex County, Massachusetts?
4.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Essex County, Massachusetts?
$60.7B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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