County · Massachusetts

Worcester County, Massachusetts

Worcester County, Massachusetts. Worcester County had 888,502 residents in 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, up 3.1% since 2020, faster than Massachusetts (+1.7%). It holds 90 places (5 cities, villages and boroughs, 55 towns and townships and 30 census-designated) and 191 census tracts. GEOID 25027.

Worcester County is the county of the Worcester, MA metropolitan statistical area (the Census Bureau's July 2023 delineation).

Residents, July 2025 estimate

888,502

Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 862,111 · ACS 2020-2024: 867,788

Median household income

$95,939

±$1,131 (90% margin)
Massachusetts: $103,960

Median home value

$423,700

±$3,371 (90% margin)
Massachusetts: $562,100

Median gross rent

$1,426

±$19 (90% margin)
Massachusetts: $1,762

How many people live in Worcester County, and is it growing?

The 2020 Census counted 862,111 residents in Worcester County. The Census Bureau estimates 888,502 for July 1, 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, faster than Massachusetts (+1.7%). The 2020-2024 American Community Survey puts the population at 867,788 over 1,511 square miles of land.

July 2020→2021 +5,129 (862,157)
2021→2022 +4,282 (866,439)
2022→2023 +7,786 (874,225)
2023→2024 +9,497 (883,722)
2024→2025 +4,780 (888,502)

Worcester County in Massachusetts. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.

Counts, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with the change from 2015-2019
Measure	Worcester County	Massachusetts	Change since 2015-2019
Total population	867,788	7,044,056	+43,016
Households	335,826±1,207	2,785,042	+25,875
Average household size	2.50±0.01	2.44	−0.06
Housing units	355,185±112	3,030,406	+20,081

Worcester County's population since 2000

From 750,963 in 2000 to 888,502 in 2025: up 18.3%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.

2000 Census 750,963
2005 (estimate) 781,265
2010 Census 798,552
2015 (estimate) 818,446
2020 Census 862,111
2025 (estimate) 888,502

Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); PEP Vintage 2025 (CO-EST2025); 2020 Census · Check it at data.census.gov

What cities and towns are in Worcester County?

Worcester County holds 90 places: 5 cities, villages and boroughs (incorporated places), 55 towns and townships (county subdivisions with their own government) and 30 census-designated places. The largest is Worcester with 213,862 residents (2025 estimate). Places that cross a county line are listed with the share of their 2020 residents who live in this county.

Places in Worcester County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Ring: estimate with a coefficient of variation over 40%.

Worcester	city	206,518	207,055±50	$70,102	$374,400	19.6%	100%
Leominster	city	43,782	43,909±36	$83,816	$380,400	9.2%	100%
Fitchburg	city	41,946	41,798±32	$73,040	$336,400	15.6%	100%
Shrewsbury	town	38,325	38,876±41	$139,302	$592,300	3.7%	100%
Milford	town	30,379	30,431±35	$96,365	$476,700	7.6%	100%
Milford CDP	CDP	26,971	27,731±382	$93,310	$464,700	8.4%	100%
Westborough	town	21,567	21,944±31	$141,944	$685,300	6.3%	100%
Gardner	city	21,287	21,148±23	$67,518	$301,600	13.7%	100%
Holden	town	19,905	20,064±26	$141,923	$470,700	4.4%	100%
Grafton	town	19,664	19,902±65	$131,484	$525,300	6.3%	100%
Webster	town	17,776	17,748±66	$72,895	$361,500	12.7%	100%
Southbridge Town	city	17,740	17,928±32	$66,287	$294,800	15.3%	100%
Auburn	town	16,889	16,970±23	$116,711	$400,000	5.2%	100%
Northbridge	town	16,335	16,458±48	$111,319	$448,600	7.9%	100%
Northborough	town	15,741	15,750±26	$153,199	$620,000	3.7%	100%
Clinton	town	15,428	15,563±33	$89,781	$387,300	8.6%	100%
Uxbridge	town	14,162	14,473±41	$124,725	$441,100	3.6%	100%
Millbury	town	13,831	13,961±38	$118,790	$450,100	5.0%	100%
Oxford	town	13,347	13,385±34	$103,862	$374,900	7.7%	100%
Charlton	town	13,315	13,435±19	$117,587	$427,500	2.5%	100%
Webster CDP	CDP	12,194	12,228±505	$63,837	$333,100	16.0%	100%
Spencer	town	11,992	12,008±28	$80,533	$382,000	11.0%	100%
Athol	town	11,945	12,011±63	$69,316	$268,100	16.3%	100%
Dudley	town	11,921	11,929±17	$84,604	$392,600	6.4%	100%
Lunenburg	town	11,782	11,902±24	$112,828	$463,900	4.2%	100%
Leicester	town	11,087	11,113±35	$105,173	$413,100	3.8%	100%
Southborough	town	10,450	10,493±23	$196,808	$821,100	3.7%	100%
Winchendon	town	10,364	10,440±55	$75,690	$323,800	18.5%	100%
Sturbridge	town	9,867	9,960±20	$136,759	$425,800	3.7%	100%
Sutton	town	9,357	9,452±24	$147,125	$523,100	5.8%	100%
Blackstone	town	9,208	9,255±21	$94,191	$404,400	8.0%	100%
Rutland	town	9,049	9,353±32	$145,707	$462,800	2.1%	100%
Douglas	town	8,983	9,207±19	$152,267	$470,600	4.8%	100%
Athol CDP	CDP	8,486	8,801±568	$67,394	$248,700	21.0%	100%
Lancaster	town	8,441	8,606±19	$134,833	$519,100	1.4%	100%
Westminster	town	8,213	8,374±19	$106,331	$422,000	2.3%	100%
Clinton CDP	CDP	8,166	7,658±657	$79,516	$375,600	9.2%	100%
Templeton	town	8,149	8,252±19	$101,154	$358,500	10.6%	100%
Upton	town	8,000	8,189±38	$155,508	$576,700	3.2%	100%
Sterling	town	7,985	8,183±23	$129,063	$498,800	6.0%	100%
West Boylston	town	7,877	7,782±21	$104,551	$440,000	6.6%	100%
Harvard	town	6,851	6,927±38	$213,996	$833,600	4.5%	100%
Whitinsville	CDP	6,750	7,115±733	$96,145	$449,600	10.3%	100%
Northborough CDP	CDP	6,474	6,392±679	$133,839	$560,500	2.1%	100%
Ashburnham	town	6,315	6,415±17	$118,809	$390,700	6.8%	100%
Mendon	town	6,228	6,325±19	$132,256	$616,000	7.1%	100%
Hopedale	town	6,017	6,027±20	$115,722	$466,100	2.9%	100%
Oxford CDP	CDP	5,928	5,671±731	$89,623	$345,700	11.4%	100%
Spencer CDP	CDP	5,810	5,661±550	$59,931	$341,300	15.8%	100%
Bolton	town	5,665	5,737±23	$205,449	$796,000	2.9%	100%
Barre	town	5,530	5,572±18	$107,727	$394,300	8.2%	100%
Paxton	town	5,004	5,002±20	$134,083	$472,300	1.4%	100%
Warren	town	4,975	5,009±19	$66,082	$333,700	9.0%	100%
Boylston	town	4,849	4,948±30	$140,962	$578,600	6.4%	100%
North Brookfield	town	4,735	4,760±27	$79,285	$359,100	12.9%	100%
Hubbardston	town	4,328	4,371±30	$123,500	$371,600	4.3%	100%
Westborough CDP	CDP	4,255	4,699±491	$106,200	$584,900	9.7%	100%
Winchendon CDP	CDP	4,160	4,331±558	$55,809	$276,300	23.6%	100%
Hopedale CDP	CDP	3,939	4,360±458	$107,909	$424,800	3.7%	100%
West Brookfield	town	3,833	3,859±22	$95,613	$354,000	8.5%	100%
Princeton	town	3,495	3,529±30	$158,750	$520,500	4.2%	100%
Brookfield	town	3,439	3,460±18	$81,250	$341,900	8.9%	100%
Millville	town	3,174	3,160±34	$127,188	$444,600	4.6%	100%
Berlin	town	3,158	3,378±15	$121,336	$616,600	5.0%	100%
Upton CDP	CDP	3,090	3,234±584	$110,900	$476,300	3.4%	100%
Fiskdale	CDP	2,797	2,311±383	$112,400	$409,300	7.7%	100%
Cordaville	CDP	2,703	2,989±521	$165,375	$765,900	2.4%	100%
East Douglas	CDP	2,702	2,987±574	$138,309	$434,600	8.8%	100%
Hardwick	town	2,667	2,684±15	$75,000	$346,700	11.0%	100%
Sturbridge CDP	CDP	2,385	2,443±360	$131,568	$418,400	3.2%	100%
North Brookfield CDP	CDP	2,256	2,659±441	$77,740	$272,200	17.0%	100%
East Brookfield	town	2,224	2,166±257	$81,042	$381,200	7.1%	100%
Rutland CDP	CDP	2,179	2,019±411	$95,724	$406,600	1.0%	100%
Baldwinville	CDP	2,117	2,528±837	$51,917	$328,900	18.1%	100%
Oakham	town	1,851	1,639±126	$102,000	$420,100	4.4%	100%
South LancasterGEOID 2564460	CDP	1,838	2,177±688	$109,173	$421,400	1.3%	100%
Lunenburg CDP	CDP	1,789	2,057±456	$109,662	$494,800	1.5%	100%
Phillipston	town	1,726	1,895±264	$94,692	$372,400	5.7%	100%
Devens	CDP	1,697	1,723±206	$189,250	$556,800	25.3%	82%
West Brookfield CDP	CDP	1,375	1,563±337	$76,625	$313,700	13.4%	100%
Warren CDPGEOID 2573055	CDP	1,333	1,426±616	$40,365	$248,800	11.4%	100%
East Brookfield CDP	CDP	1,292	1,445±269	$69,837	$364,700	7.9%	100%
Royalston	town	1,250	1,460±303	$102,109	$346,300	11.8%	100%
Petersham	town	1,194	1,185±108	$110,750	$392,400	8.8%	100%
South AshburnhamGEOID 2562780	CDP	1,136	1,500±451	$126,071	$370,300	6.2%	100%
Barre CDPGEOID 2503705	CDP	1,029	673±324	$75,202	$348,000	2.4%	100%
New Braintree	town	996	973±153	$99,500	$408,800	7.2%	100%
Brookfield CDP	CDP	824	828±263	$81,563	$370,400	12.9%	100%
West WarrenGEOID 2578445	CDP	721	613±357	$66,921	$284,500	4.4%	100%
Petersham CDPGEOID 2553085	CDP	225	312±74	$107,813	$389,100	6.1%	100%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 place-by-county parts · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Worcester County?

The median resident of Worcester County is 40.2 years old; 20.6% are under 18 and 17.0% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 70.3%, then Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) at 13.7%. 14.5% of residents were born outside the United States.

Age, origin and education, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure	Worcester County	Massachusetts	Change since 2015-2019
Median age	40.2±0.2	40.0	no clear change
Under 18 years	20.6%±0.1 pts	19.4%	–
65 years and over	17.0%±0.1 pts	17.9%	–
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	13.7%	13.3%	+2.2 pts
White alone, not Hispanic	70.3%±0.3 pts	66.6%	−6.1 pts
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic	4.8%±0.1 pts	6.4%	+0.3 pts
Asian alone, not Hispanic	5.3%±0.1 pts	7.3%	+0.4 pts
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0.1%±0.1 pts	0.1%	–
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0.0%±0.1 pts	0.0%	–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	4.7%±0.3 pts	5.1%	–
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	1.1%±0.2 pts	1.2%	–
Born outside the United States	14.5%±0.4 pts	18.0%	+2.4 pts
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+)	22.3%±0.4 pts	25.1%	–
Civilian veterans (age 18+)	5.0%±0.2 pts	4.3%	–
With a disability	13.4%±0.3 pts	12.3%	–
No health insurance coverage	2.5%±0.2 pts	2.6%	no clear change
High school graduate or higher (age 25+)	91.2%±0.4 pts	91.4%	–
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+)	39.7%±0.6 pts	47.3%	+3.3 pts
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+)	16.8%±0.4 pts	21.8%	–
Moved from another state in the past year	1.7%±0.1 pts	2.2%	–

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 Worcester County earn?

Half of Worcester County's 335,826 households earn less than $95,939 a year (±$1,131), against $103,960 in Massachusetts. In 2015-2019 the median was $91,907 in 2024 dollars, so it rose by $4,032 after inflation. 10.3% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Worcester County	Massachusetts	Change since 2015-2019
Median household income	$95,939±$1,131	$103,960	+$4,032
Mean household income	$124,653±$1,427	$144,950	–
Per capita income	$48,914±$542	$57,897	+$2,672
People below the poverty line	10.3%±0.5 pts	10.0%	no clear change
Children under 18 below the poverty line	12.1%±1.1 pts	11.7%	no clear change
Households receiving SNAP	15.9%±0.5 pts	14.7%	–
Households with a broadband subscription	92.9%±0.4 pts	92.8%	–

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 Worcester County?

Owners occupy 65.8% of Worcester County's occupied homes and renters 34.2%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $423,700 by its owner (±$3,371). The median renter pays $1,426 a month including utilities, and 40.5% of renters pay 35% or more of their income on rent.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Worcester County	Massachusetts	Change since 2015-2019
Median home value (owner-occupied)	$423,700±$3,371	$562,100	+$78,367
Median gross rent	$1,426±$19	$1,762	+$121
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent	40.5%±1.4 pts	41.8%	+2.5 pts
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage	$2,387±$19	$2,726	–
Owner-occupied homes	65.8%±0.5 pts	62.5%	no clear change
Housing units	355,185±112	3,030,406	+20,081
Homeowner vacancy rate	0.5%±0.1 pts	0.6%	–
Rental vacancy rate	3.3%±0.5 pts	3.5%	–
Single-family detached homes	56.7%±0.5 pts	51.1%	–
Mobile homes	0.8%±0.1 pts	0.8%	–
Built 2020 or later	0.7%±0.1 pts	1.0%	–
Built 1939 or earlier	27.5%±0.5 pts	30.5%	–

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 Worcester County building?

Builders took permits for 1,690 new housing units across Worcester County in 2025 (776 single-family), 1.9 per 1,000 residents.

2019 1,774 units
2020 1,681 units
2021 1,895 units
2022 2,124 units
2023 1,215 units
2024 2,506 units
2025 1,690 units

Source: Building Permits Survey, annual county files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey

How do people in Worcester County get to work?

70.5% of Worcester County's workers drive alone and 15.6% work from home. The average trip to work takes 29.2 minutes. The unemployment rate in 2020-2024 averaged 5.3%.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Worcester County	Massachusetts	Change since 2015-2019
In the labor force (age 16+)	66.5%±0.4 pts	67.0%	–
Unemployment rate	5.3%±0.3 pts	5.2%	no clear change
Drove alone to work	70.5%±0.7 pts	61.2%	–
Carpooled	7.8%±0.4 pts	7.0%	–
Public transportation	1.5%±0.2 pts	6.5%	–
Walked	2.2%±0.2 pts	4.1%	–
Worked from home	15.6%±0.5 pts	18.6%	+9.9 pts
Mean travel time to work	29.2 min±0.4	29.1 min	no clear change

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 are Worcester County's census tracts?

Worcester County is divided into 191 census tracts. Among those with a reliable estimate, median household income runs from $23,661 (Tract 7107) to $220,406 (Tract 7424.01).

All 191 census tracts of Worcester County, with their figures

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) · Check it at data.census.gov

How does Worcester County compare with Massachusetts's other counties?

Worcester County's rank among Massachusetts's counties with a reliable estimate (1 = highest)
Measure	Rank
Population	2nd of 14
Growth 2020-2025	2nd of 14
Residents per square mile	9th of 14
Median household income	7th of 14
Median home value	10th of 14
Median gross rent	8th of 14
Poverty rate	7th of 14
Bachelor's degree or higher	12th of 14
Median age	10th of 14

Every county in Massachusetts

Source: PlainCities ranks 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 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 Worcester County 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' school search.