Official Federal Data
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
FIPS 25021 · Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH · Population 730,082
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$130,739 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.1% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$75.1B ▲
GDP
58.8% ▲
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
$130,739 ▲
Per Capita
$71,758 ▲
Mean Household
$183,022 ▲
Poverty Rate
6.7% ▲
Median Income Comparison
Norfolk County$130,739
Massachusetts$103,960
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 20.5%
18-34 · 21.5%
35-54 · 26.5%
55-64 · 13.8%
65+ · 17.8%
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+
94.4%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.8 pts
58.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +23.1 pts
28.4%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +14.3 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
730,082
Population
414,956
Labor Force
Employed
394,106
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.1% ▲ +0.5 pts YoY
Mean Commute 6 min above national avg
32.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
22.8%
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 23.1 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 57,368 workers (22.3% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $66,803.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $75.1B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $160,813 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $33,365, a 4.8x 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
Finance & Insurance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
11,847
Cluster Employment
2.04x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Private Households
2.28x 1,047
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
2.04x 11,847
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
2.02x 4,053
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
1.80x 4,612
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
1.64x 2,067
Telecommunications
1.62x 2,155
Educational Services
1.57x 11,407
Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
1.50x 6,415
Personal and Laundry Services
1.50x 5,289
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.07x
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
58 employed
0.09x
Air Transportation
112 employed
0.14x
Mining (except Oil and Gas)
58 employed
0.18x
Wood Product Manufacturing
160 employed
0.27x
Primary Metal Manufacturing
219 employed
0.31x
Machinery Manufacturing
763 employed
0.36x
Support Activities for Transportation
658 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Private Households concentrates at 2.28x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 9 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
$683,900 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$2,149 ▲
Rent/Mo
68.7% ▼
Owner-Occ
4% ▼
Vacancy
5.2x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents (County Average)
Renter-household-weighted average across 28 town FMR areas · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$2,356/mo$1,631 to $2,359
1 Bedroom
$2,473/mo$1,761 to $2,476
2 Bedroom
$2,938/mo$2,311 to $2,941
3 Bedroom
$3,523/mo$2,889 to $3,526
4 Bedroom
$3,890/mo$3,060 to $3,894
30% of monthly median household income (~$3,268/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 5.2x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$3,268/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
451,124 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 6 min above national avg
32.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
22.8%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
87%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
58.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
94.4% ▲
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
22.4%
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
59.7%
Service
12.3%
Sales & Office
17.1%
Construction / Maint.
4.9%
Production / Transport
5.9%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 394,106 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Succession risk is real: 22.4% 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
Norfolk County shows emerging potential for private households attraction, with a 2.28x concentration and 1,047 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 22.4% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.
The interconnected base across private households, insurance carriers and related activities, and publishing industries and telecommunications 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 Norfolk County, Massachusetts, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Norfolk County, Massachusetts?
730,082 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Norfolk County, Massachusetts?
$130,739 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Norfolk County, Massachusetts?
4.1% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Norfolk County, Massachusetts?
$75.1B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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