City · Massachusetts
Methuen, Massachusetts
Methuen, city, in Essex County, Massachusetts. Methuen had 54,584 residents on July 1, 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, up 2.9% since 2020 and the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates put it at 53,475 (±40). GEOID 2540675.
Residents, July 2025 estimate
54,584
Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: – · ACS 2020-2024: 53,475 ±40
Median household income
$113,310
±$6,977 (90% margin)
Massachusetts: $103,960
Median home value
$499,700
±$16,529 (90% margin)
Massachusetts: $562,100
Median gross rent
$1,749
±$91 (90% margin)
Massachusetts: $1,762
Where is Methuen and what county is it in?
Methuen is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts. It covers 22.2 square miles of land.
Methuen is in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan statistical area, which takes in 7 counties (Census Bureau delineation, July 2023).
Source: 2024 Gazetteer and 2020 place-by-county files, U.S. Census Bureau · Census reference files
How many people live in Methuen, and is it growing?
The Census Bureau estimates that 54,584 people lived in Methuen on July 1, 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, faster than Massachusetts (+1.7%). The 2020-2024 American Community Survey, a five-year sample, puts the population at 53,475 (±40).
| Measure | Methuen | Essex County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total population | 53,475±40 | 813,054 | – |
| Households | 18,691±534 | 313,147 | – |
| Average household size | 2.83±0.08 | 2.54 | – |
| Housing units | 19,191±510 | 329,776 | – |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); Census PEP Vintage 2025 (SUB-EST2025, CO-EST2025); 2020 Census P.L. 94-171 · Check it at data.census.gov
Who lives in Methuen?
The median resident of Methuen is 39.9 years old; 21.3% are under 18 and 17.2% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 54.3%, then Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) at 33.1%. 23.9% of residents were born outside the United States.
| Measure | Methuen | Essex County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 39.9±1.7 | 41.2 | – |
| Under 18 years | 21.3%±1.3 pts | 20.8% | – |
| 65 years and over | 17.2%±1.4 pts | 18.5% | – |
| Male | 48.3%±1.5 pts | 48.6% | – |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 33.1%±3.1 pts | 24.1% | – |
| White alone, not Hispanic | 54.3%±3.3 pts | 64.5% | – |
| Black or African American alone, not Hispanic | 4.6%±1.6 pts | 3.5% | – |
| Asian alone, not Hispanic | 4.7%±1.3 pts | 3.5% | – |
| American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic | 0.0%±0.1 pts | 0.0% | – |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic | 0.0%±0.1 pts | 0.0% | – |
| Two or more races, not Hispanic | 2.8%±0.8 pts | 3.5% | – |
| Some other race alone, not Hispanic | 0.5%±0.2 pts | 0.8% | – |
| Born outside the United States | 23.9%±2.4 pts | 19.1% | – |
| Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+) | 39.7%±3.1 pts | 28.7% | – |
| Civilian veterans (age 18+) | 3.6%±0.7 pts | 4.3% | – |
| With a disability | 12.4%±1.2 pts | 12.3% | – |
| No health insurance coverage | 3.3%±0.8 pts | 2.8% | – |
| High school graduate or higher (age 25+) | 88.6%±1.4 pts | 90.1% | – |
| Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+) | 31.0%±2.0 pts | 43.0% | – |
| Graduate or professional degree (age 25+) | 11.0%±1.5 pts | 17.9% | – |
| Lived in the same house a year earlier | 92.2%±1.6 pts | 90.8% | – |
| Moved from another state in the past year | 0.7%±0.6 pts | 1.4% | – |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov
What do households in Methuen earn?
Half of Methuen's 18,691 households earn less than $113,310 a year (±$6,977), against $101,883 in Essex County and $103,960 in Massachusetts. 7.9% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Measure | Methuen | Essex County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $113,310±$6,977 | $101,883 | – |
| Mean household income | $128,197±$6,763 | $140,098 | – |
| Per capita income | $46,042±$2,277 | $54,665 | – |
| People below the poverty line | 7.9%±1.4 pts | 9.4% | – |
| Children under 18 below the poverty line | 7.4%±3.0 pts | 11.9% | – |
| Households receiving SNAP | 16.6%±2.1 pts | 16.6% | – |
| Households with a computer | 94.6%±1.4 pts | 95.2% | – |
| Households with a broadband subscription | 92.2%±1.8 pts | 92.4% | – |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov
What does housing cost in Methuen?
Owners occupy 72.3% of Methuen's occupied homes and renters 27.7%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $499,700 by its owner (±$16,529). The median renter pays $1,749 a month including utilities, and 41.0% of renters pay 35% or more of their income on rent.
| Measure | Methuen | Essex County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $499,700±$16,529 | $619,100 | – |
| Median gross rent | $1,749±$91 | $1,756 | – |
| Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent | 41.0%±6.7 pts | 46.4% | – |
| Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage | $2,478±$89 | $2,867 | – |
| Owner-occupied homes | 72.3%±2.4 pts | 63.5% | – |
| Renter-occupied homes | 27.7%±2.4 pts | 36.5% | – |
| Housing units | 19,191±510 | 329,776 | – |
| Homeowner vacancy rate | 0.2%±0.3 pts | 0.3% | – |
| Rental vacancy rate | 1.2%±1.1 pts | 2.6% | – |
| Single-family detached homes | 59.0%±2.5 pts | 49.6% | – |
| Mobile homes | 0.0%±0.2 pts | 0.4% | – |
| Built 2020 or later | 0.8%±0.3 pts | 0.7% | – |
| Built 2010 to 2019 | 5.2%±1.5 pts | 5.2% | – |
| Built 1939 or earlier | 25.9%±2.5 pts | 34.6% | – |
| Households with no vehicle | 6.0%±1.3 pts | 9.3% | – |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov
How many new homes is Methuen building?
Builders took permits for 58 new housing units in Methuen in 2025 (10 in single-family houses), 1.1 per 1,000 residents against 1.7 across Massachusetts.
Counts of units in permits a local office issued; not every permitted unit is built. A year marked with months was reported for part of the year.
Source: Building Permits Survey, annual place files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey
How do people in Methuen work and get to work?
74.1% of Methuen's workers drive alone and 12.2% work from home. The average trip to work takes 27.7 minutes. The unemployment rate in 2020-2024 averaged 5.8%.
| Measure | Methuen | Essex County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the labor force (age 16+) | 69.5%±1.5 pts | 67.5% | – |
| Unemployment rate | 5.8%±1.2 pts | 5.1% | – |
| Drove alone to work | 74.1%±2.8 pts | 67.6% | – |
| Carpooled | 9.7%±1.8 pts | 7.3% | – |
| Public transportation | 1.1%±0.6 pts | 3.5% | – |
| Walked | 1.0%±0.5 pts | 2.7% | – |
| Worked from home | 12.2%±2.2 pts | 16.4% | – |
| Mean travel time to work | 27.7 min±1.2 | 28.5 min | – |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov
How does Methuen compare with other places in Massachusetts?
By the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimates, Methuen is the 756th-most populous of the 19,476 U.S. incorporated places that have one and the 24th-most populous of 58 in Massachusetts.
Methuen is not ranked by income or the other survey measures: those rankings include places of 1,000 or more residents (2020 Census) with a reliable estimate.
| Measure | Rank | Of |
|---|---|---|
| Population, July 2025 estimate | 24th | 58 |
Methuen's figures with every place in Massachusetts (CSV)
Every place in Massachusetts, sortable · Compare Methuen with other places
Source: PlainCities ranks computed from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed
How reliable are the figures for Methuen?
6 of the 57 figures for Methuen on this page carry a coefficient of variation over 40% and are marked with a ring: they come from a small sample, so read them as rough.
The American Community Survey samples about one household in eight over five years, so every figure is an estimate with a 90% margin of error (shown under each value). A ring marks an estimate whose coefficient of variation is over 40%. A change is called only when the gap between the two periods is larger than their combined 90% margin (the square root of the sum of the two squared margins), the Census Bureau's test. How to read a margin of error.
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026): margins of error as published · ACS technical documentation
How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections
Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Methuen are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' public schools in Methuen.