Massachusetts has an estimated population of 6.981 million as of 2022 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This represents a −0.7% decrease in population from the 2020 census, when the population was 7.029 million. Currently, Massachusetts is the sixteenth most populous U.S. state.
Massachusetts has seen both population increases and decreases in recent years. For example, while some Bay Staters are leaving, others are moving there including European, Asian, Hispanic, African, Middle Eastern, North American, and Australian immigrants. Massachusetts in 2020 included 1.2 million foreign-born residents.
Most Bay Staters live within a 60-mile radius of the State House on Beacon Hill, often called Greater Boston: the City of Boston, neighboring cities and towns, the North Shore, South Shore, the northern, western, and southern suburbs, and most of southeastern and central Massachusetts. Eastern Massachusetts is more urban than Western Massachusetts, which is primarily rural, save for the cities of Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, and Northampton, which serve as centers of population density in the Pioneer Valley of the Connecticut River. The center of population of Massachusetts is located in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick.[1]
The total population is 6,981,974, making it the 16th most populous state as of 2023 estimates.[2] Massachusetts has a density of 895 people per square mile, making it the third most dense of the fifty states (fifth including District of Columbia and Puerto Rico).[3]
The following additional demographic statistics are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau and associated estimates.[4]
The median age is 40.3 years. There are 5,645,986 people 18 years or older.
The population's age is distributed as follows.
| 0-9 | 10.1% | 702,092 | |
| 10-19 | 12% | 840,926 | |
| 20-29 | 13.9% | 970,145 | |
| 30-39 | 13.7% | 953,963 | |
| 40-49 | 12.1% | 847,226 | |
| 50-59 | 13.3% | 928,751 | |
| 60-69 | 12.7% | 885,484 | |
| 70-79 | 8% | 559,867 | |
| 80+ | 4.2% | 293,520 |
In 2020, the average life expectancy (at birth) was 79.0 years old, which was the fifth-highest in the US.[6] [7]
The majority of deaths in Massachusetts are attributable to cancer, as of the CDC's 2023 data. Other major causes of death in the state are heart disease, COVID-19, accidents, and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
In 2021, Massachusetts's age-adjusted death rate was 721.4 deaths per 100,000 residents.
In 2021, the fertility rate in Massachusetts was 49 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 (~4.9%), the fourth-lowest in the US.[8] Data from the American Community Survey 2022, which includes women ages 15–50, suggests a slightly lower fertility rate (4.3%).
People who gave birth in the past year, as of 2022 data, in Massachusetts were primarily in the 30–35 age range (11.2%) or in the 35–39 age range (8.1%).
Of births recorded by 2021 data, 31.8% were delivered via Cesarean section.
According to the 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the largest ancestry groups in Massachusetts are:[9] [10]
| Ancestry | Percentage of Massachusetts population | Percentage of United States population | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.77% | 9.71% | +10.06pp | ||
| 12.27% | 5.14% | +7.13pp | ||
| 9.20% | 7.24% | +1.96pp | ||
| 5.90% | 2.34% | +3.56pp | ||
| 5.67% | 13.25% | -7.58pp | ||
| 4.40% | 2.80% | +1.60pp | ||
| 4.07% | 0.42% | +3.65pp | ||
| 3.81% | 6.24% | -2.43pp | ||
| 3.75% | 0.64% | +3.11pp | ||
| 2.25% | 1.15% | +1.09pp | ||
| 2.14% | 1.66% | +0.47pp | ||
| 2.04% | 0.92% | +1.12pp | ||
| 1.55% | 1.15% | +0.40pp | ||
| 1.46% | 0.80% | +0.66pp | ||
| 1.26% | 1.66% | -0.40pp | ||
| 1.25% | 0.14% | +1.11pp | ||
| 1.16% | 0.39% | +0.77pp | ||
| 1.05% | 0.62% | +0.43pp | ||
| 0.65% | 0.19% | +0.46pp | ||
| 0.64% | 0.20% | +0.44pp | ||
| 0.63% | 0.93% | -0.30pp | ||
| 0.56% | 0.60% | -0.03pp | ||
| 0.56% | 1.19% | -0.63pp | ||
| 0.54% | 1.35% | -0.81pp | ||
| Eastern European | 0.54% | 0.27% | +0.27pp |
Massachusetts is the second-most Irish state in the country (after New Hampshire)[11] and the fifth-most Italian state in the country (after Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey)[12] in percentage of total population.[13] Irish Americans are mostly concentrated in the eastern and southeastern parts of the state; the South Shore region has an Irish population above 40% (giving it the nickname of the "Irish Riviera"[14]).[15]
Massachusetts has the most Moroccans, Brazilians, and Ugandans of any state in the country in percentage of total population. Massachusetts also has large communities of people of Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic descent; Armenian, Lebanese, Turkish, Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian, and Egyptian descent; and Italian and Spanish descent. Other influential ethnicities are Greek Americans, Lithuanian Americans, Polish Americans, German Americans and French Americans. Massachusetts "Yankees," of colonial English ancestry, still have a strong presence. French Canadian Americans form a significant part of the population in central and western Massachusetts, while Polish Americans are prevalent in the Springfield area and English Americans are common in the rural areas of western Massachusetts.
Boston's largest immigrant groups are from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and China.[16] Lowell, in the northeast of the state, is home to a large Cambodian (Khmer) community, second in the country only to the concentration of Cambodians in Long Beach, California. Massachusetts also has the fastest growing population of South Asians, including Indian people, who are concentrated in such areas of Greater Boston as Shrewsbury, Woburn, Malden, Quincy, Somerville, and Cambridge. Most of them have immigrated to work in medicine, business, engineering, computer science, and finance. There is a flux of Indians immigrating for higher education.
Massachusetts has one of the largest lusophone populations in North America. It has the largest Cape Verdean population and the second-largest Portuguese population (after California) of any state in the United States, and as a percentage of population is second to only Rhode Island for both ethnic groups. Fall River and New Bedford on the south coast have large populations of Portuguese, Brazilian, and Cape Verdean heritage, all of which are also prevalent in the Taunton and Brockton areas. There is a growing Brazilian population in the Boston area (especially in Framingham).
Although a number of the Native American people in New England died in King Philip's War of 1675 or fled the region,[17] some remained. For example, the Wampanoag tribe maintains at reservations at Aquinnah; at Grafton, on Martha's Vineyard; and at Mashpee, on Cape Cod.[18] [19] The Nipmuck maintain two state-recognized reservations in the central part of the state. Many Wampanoags and other native people live outside reservations.[20]
| Race | Percentage of Massachusetts population[21] | Percentage of United States population[22] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 67.0% | 57.7% | ||
| 68.8% | 60.9% | ||
| Hispanic (of any race) | 13.0% | 19.1% | |
| 7.1% | 12.2% | ||
| 7.2% | 5.9% | ||
| 0.3% | 1.0% | ||
| Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders | 0.0% | 0.2% | |
| 10.7% | 12.5% |
Note: Births in table don't add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.
| Race | 2013[23] | 2014[24] | 2015[25] | 2016[26] | 2017[27] | 2018[28] | 2019[29] | 2020[30] | 2021[31] | 2022[32] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 55,993 (78.0%) | 55,882 (77.7%) | 55,350 (77.4%) | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | |
| > Non-Hispanic White | 45,046 (62.7%) | 44,542 (61.9%) | 43,651 (61.0%) | 42,135 (59.1%) | 40,773 (57.7%) | 39,663 (57.4%) | 39,219 (56.7%) | 37,357 (56.2%) | 39,817 (57.6%) | 37,682 (54.9%) | |
| Black | 9,178 (12.8%) | 9,276 (12.9%) | 9,288 (13.0%) | 6,873 (9.6%) | 6,953 (9.8%) | 6,826 (9.9%) | 6,850 (9.9%) | 6,580 (9.9%) | 6,674 (9.7%) | 7,125 (10.4%) | |
| Asian | 6,460 (9.0%) | 6,599 (9.2%) | 6,713 (9.4%) | 6,422 (9.0%) | 6,067 (8.6%) | 6,183 (8.9%) | 6,228 (9.0%) | 5,826 (8.8%) | 5,471 (7.9%) | 5,630 (8.2%) | |
| American Indian | 157 (0.2%) | 151 (0.2%) | 141 (0.2%) | 80 (0.1%) | 86 (0.1%) | 76 (0.1%) | 98 (0.1%) | 71 (0.1%) | 63 (>0.1%) | 78 (0.1%) | |
| Hispanic (of any race) | 12,376 (17.2%) | 12,722 (17.7%) | 13,015 (18.2%) | 13,181 (18.5%) | 13,609 (19.2%) | 13,810 (20.0%) | 14,142 (20.5%) | 14,080 (21.2%) | 14,551 (21.0%) | 15,383 (22.4%) | |
| Total Massachusetts | 71,788 (100%) | 71,908 (100%) | 71,492 (100%) | 71,317 (100%) | 70,702 (100%) | 69,109 (100%) | 69,117 (100%) | 66,428 (100%) | 69,137 (100%) | 68,584 (100%) |
The most common forms of American English spoken in Massachusetts, other than General American English, are the New England accent and the Boston accent.
| Language | Percentage of population (as of 2010) | |
|---|---|---|
| 7.50% | ||
| 2.97% | ||
| Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin) | 1.59% | |
| 1.11% | ||
| 0.89% | ||
| 0.72% | ||
| 0.62% | ||
| 0.58% | ||
| 0.41% | ||
| Arabic and Cambodian (including Mon-Khmer) (tied) | 0.37% |
As of 2010, 78.93% (4,823,127) of Massachusetts residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 7.50% (458,256) spoke Spanish, 2.97% (181,437) Portuguese, 1.59% (96,690) Chinese (which includes Cantonese and Mandarin), 1.11% (67,788) French, 0.89% (54,456) French Creole, 0.72% (43,798) Italian, 0.62% (37,865) Russian, and Vietnamese was spoken as a main language by 0.58% (35,283) of the population over the age of five. In total, 21.07% (1,287,419) of Massachusetts's population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English.[33]
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives the largest single denominations are the Roman Catholic Church with 3,092,296; the United Church of Christ with 121,826; and the Episcopal Church with 98,963 adherents. Jewish congregations had about 275,000 members.[34] In 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute determined 67% of the population of Massachusetts were Christian, and 23% of the population identified as irreligious.[35]
, the religious affiliations of the people of Massachusetts, according to Pew Research Center were:[36]
| Religion or Denomination | % of Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 34 | |
| 12 | ||
| Baptist | 5 | |
| Christian (no denomination specified) | 3 | |
| Methodist | 2 | |
| Lutheran | 2 | |
| Presbyterian | 2 | |
| Nothing in Particular | 20 | |
| Pentecostal | 3 | |
| Episcopal | 3 | |
| Jewish | 3 | |
| Muslim | 1 | |
| Church of Christ | 1 | |
| Congregational/United Church of Christ | 3.5 | |
| Buddhist | 1 | |
| Other | 3 |
The latest (2009) estimated Census population figures show that Massachusetts has grown by over 3 percent, to 6,593,587 since 2000. This slow growth is likely attributable to the fact that Massachusetts continues to attract top scholars and researchers from across the United States as well as large numbers of immigrants, combined with steady emigration away from the state towards New Hampshire and southern and western regions of the U.S. because of high housing costs, weather, and traffic.
Recent census data shows that the number of immigrants living in Massachusetts has increased over 5% from 2000 to 2005. The biggest influxes are Latin Americans. According to the census, the population of Central Americans rose by 67.7% between 2000 and 2005, and the number of South Americans rose by 107.5%. And among South Americans, the largest group to increase appeared to be Brazilians, whose numbers rose by 131.4%, to 84,836.
Following the shift to a high-tech economy and the numerous factory closures, few jobs remain for low skilled male workers, who are dropping out of the workforce in large numbers. The percentage of men in the labor force fell from 77.7% in 1989 to 72.8% in 2005. This national trend is most pronounced in Massachusetts. In the case of men without high school diplomas, 10% have left the labor force between 1990 and 2000.[37]