Massachusetts

Massachusetts by the Numbers:
Key Statistical Data and Facts

Key Details

• Massachusetts is the 15th most populated state, with approximately 7 million residents as of 2022.
• In 2020, Massachusetts had 2.7 million households with an average of 2.48 people each.
• Women comprise 51.1% of the population, while men comprise 49.9%.
• Sworn into office in 2023, Maura Healey serves as the 73rd governor of the state.
• After completing four years of study, 50.2 % of individuals who participated in the labor force had earned at least a bachelor's degree from a college or university.
• In 2021, the median household income was $89,026, and around 10% of people lived below the poverty line.
• Massachusetts has one of the lowest divorce rates compared to other states, with an estimated rate of 1%.
• The average life expectancy in Massachusetts is 80.1 years old.

Massachusetts Population Demographics

Massachusetts is the 15th most populated state. According to 2021 Census estimates, the Bay State is home to approximately 7,029,917 people. The state population dipped by 0.7% between 2020 and 2022. Children under five constituted 5% of the state's population, while individuals under 18 accounted for 19.5% of the state population. Seniors aged 65 and over made up 17.4% of residents. Between genders, females constituted 51.1%, compared to 49.9% for men.

Massachusetts Housing

According to the US Census

2,714,448 households

According to 2020 census estimates, Massachusetts has 2,714,448 households, with an average of 2.48 persons per household.

3,017,901 housing

The Old Colony state also has a total of 3,017,901 housing units.

62.4 %

of those units are owner-occupied.

$2,365 to $875

Between 2017 and 2021, the median selected monthly cost ranged from $2,365 (with a mortgage) to $875 (without a mortgage). During the same period, 87.5% of people lived in the same house they were in the previous year.

$1,429

Renters also paid a monthly gross rent of $1,429 on average.

Massachusetts Racial Demographics

Asians comprised 7.2% of the population in 2020, while black people comprised a little under 7%. The percentage of residents who belong to two or more groups doubled between 2010 and 2020, reaching 4.7%.

Estimates for the racial composition of Massachusetts in 2022 included:

Elections in Massachusetts

As of 2023, Massachusetts has a Democratic trifecta. In 2022, democrats gained control of the governorship and retained control of the Massachusetts State Legislature. Previously, it had a divided government, with a Republican governor and a Democratic majority in both legislative chambers.

The Bay State also has a Democratic triplex, which exists when Democrats hold the positions of Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General. As of 2023, Maura Healey is the governor of Massachusetts. She was elected governor in 2022, defeating Geoff Diehl. Healey's victory made her the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts (as well as one of the first openly lesbian women).

2020 Presidential Election

Since 1928, Massachusetts has leaned toward the Democratic Party and has maintained enormous Democratic margins. In 2020, Massachusetts was one of six states (along with Hawaii, Vermont, Maryland, California, and New York) where Joe Biden received more than 60% of the vote.

Joe Biden

Donald Trump

Massachusetts Voting Statistics

According to data published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 2,511,46 voters participated in the Massachusetts State Election on November 8, 2022. This equates to a voter turnout rate of 51.42% in the 2022 midterm elections.

Although more than half of state residents voted in the 2022 midterm elections, voter turnout was low in the poorest municipalities. In cities with high poverty rates, like Lynn and New Bedford, the voter turnout was at most 35%. But in affluent communities like Eastham, Carlisle, and Mount Washington, up to 70% of registered voters turned out to vote.

General Election

How Educated Is Massachusetts

As of 2023, Massachusetts has one of the highest levels of educational attainment in the country, and its economy is heavily reliant on a highly skilled labor population. The Bay State has the highest average university quality and the highest percentage of residents with bachelor's, graduate, and professional degrees.

According to statistics produced by the Economic Policy Institute from the United States Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, 50.2% of individuals who participated in the state's labor force in 2016 had earned at least a bachelor's degree from a college or university after completing a minimum of four years of study. In 2021, about 25% of citizens aged 25 and older had a Bachelor's degree, and 22.% of the state residents had a high school diploma or an equivalent.

Massachusetts Employment Rate

According to the United States Bureau of Labor, the unemployment rate in Massachusetts reached an all-time high of 16.4% in April 2020. It declined, hitting a low of 3.9% in December 2021 and 3.3% in April 2023.

Between August 2021 and August 2022, Massachusetts added 126,400 payroll jobs, lowering the unemployment rate by 1.9 % to 3.6 %. Furthermore, the number of private-sector payroll jobs in Massachusetts increased by 140,100 (a 4.5 % increase) during this period. The employment total rose by 75,045.

Average Income in Massachusetts

Massachusetts is often identified as one of the wealthiest states in the United States due to its high educational attainment, many well-paying jobs, and high median income. As of 2022, the median household income in Massachusetts is $89,026. The average or mean household income is $123,174, and the per capita income is $48,617.

High-Income households that earn more than $200,000 each year account for 16.3% of all households in Massachusetts. Still, approximately 10.4 % of the state’s population lives below the poverty line.

Families in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Marriage Rates

Massachusetts Divorce Rates

Massachusetts has one of the lowest divorce rates in the country compared to other states. With a divorce rate of 2.7% in 2011, Massachusetts was ranked as having the fifth lowest divorce rate of U.S states. The divorce rate reached a record low of 1.0 (divorces per 1,000 population) in 2021.

Life Expectancy in Massachusetts

In 2018, Massachusetts had the sixth-highest life expectancy in the U.S., estimated at 80.1 years old. A woman's average longevity in the Commonwealth was anticipated to be 82.5 years, while a man's average lifespan was projected to be 77.7 years.

Although Massachusetts is relatively wealthy, educated, and has easy access to top medical care, there are considerable disparities in life expectancy across the state. In 2018, when the state had the sixth highest life expectancy in the country, there was a significant disparity within the state. For example, the average life expectancy in a low-income neighborhood in New Bedford was 68.1, whereas it was 94.2 in a primarily white and affluent district in Newton.

Because life expectancy is linked to various economic criteria, such as education, income, race, and access to health care, societal factors like these likely drive these variations. For example, the areas of the state with low life expectancy and median income, such as New Bedford, are usually characterized by residents who have barely completed high school and those who are unemployed and lack health insurance.

On the other hand, neighborhoods with an increased life expectancy, such as Newton, have a higher proportion of residents who have completed high school, are covered by health insurance, and have suitable occupations. Because of these variations, residents of the state have significantly different health outcomes.

Massachusetts Crime Rates

As of 2023, Massachusetts's crime rate is lower than the national average. In 2022, the state recorded 252,083 crimes, with a crime rate of 3656.78 per 100,000 population. This represented a 24.89% rise from 2019, when the state recorded 201,843 offenses and a crime rate of 2928.44 per 100,000 people.

Violent crime

A violent crime is defined as an act that physically harms another person or threatens to do so. Acts involving the use of a weapon are also considered violent crimes. This category includes aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder (homicide).

In 2020, the state recorded 18,328 violent crime cases, including 170 homicides, 1,896 cases of sexual assault, and 16,262 cases of aggravated assault.

These figures have been steadily rising since that year. In 2021, 18,378 violent crimes were registered in the state, a 0.27 % increase from the previous year. The state's officials recorded 19,853 occurrences of violent crime in 2022, a rise of 8.03% from 2021.

Property crime

These offenses are also classed as theft crimes in Massachusetts. These types of crimes involve stealing and destroying another person's property without force or the threat of force. In Massachusetts, theft and property crimes often involve the following charges: robbery, shoplifting, motor vehicle theft, embezzlement, burglary, forgery, identity theft, credit card theft, and purchasing or receiving stolen property. Most of these crimes are primarily considered larceny under state law.

The total number of property crimes committed in the Commonwealth fell by 31% between 1987 and 2011. During the 25-year period, the rate of property crime per 100,000 persons in Massachusetts declined by 40%, from 3,770.16 offenses per 100,000 people to 2,279.58 violations, a drop of 2,279.58 /.

Massachusetts Incarceration Rate

According to statistics from the National Institute of Corrections,

100,000 population

In 2020, Massachusetts imprisonment rate was 103 per

16 state prisons and 19 jails

According to the National Institute of Corrections, the Commonwealth has 16 state prisons and 19 jails dispersed throughout 14 counties.

6 762

As of December 31, 2020, the number of detainees under the supervision of the state's correctional authorities was 6,762 persons being kept in custody by private prisons or municipal jails.

34,620 people

Approximately 34,620 people were on probation, and 1,316 were on parole.

However, the state's prison population has decreased by more than 40% in the last decade. Between January 1, 2012 (when the population was 11,723) and January 1, 2021 (when the population was 6,848), the number of people under the administration of the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MA DOC) decreased by 42%. There was also a 17% decrease in the jurisdiction population, between January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, from 8,292 to 6,848.

Massachusetts Bankruptcy Rate

2022

4,427 bankruptcy cases

In 2020, 4,427 bankruptcy petitions were filed in Massachusetts, including 3,321 Chapter 7 petitions, 69 Chapter 11 petitions, 1,020 Chapter 11 filings, and five other bankruptcy cases. This represented a 41.84% decline from the number of cases filed in 2019, which was 7,612. The state has reported fewer bankruptcy filings since then. There were 3,384 bankruptcy cases in 2022, including 2,199 Chapter 7 cases, 55 Chapter 11 cases, 1124 Chapter 13 cases, and six others.

According to U.S. courts, the number of people filing for bankruptcy reduced by over 30%, from approximately 775,000 cases in 2019 to less than 545,000 cases in 2020.

Weird Laws in Massachusetts

Laws are to maintain peace and order. The law organizes how a society operates. Massachusetts state is no exception. However, several laws in the states may sound weird to residents and visitors. Below are some of Massachusetts’s laws that may sound bizarre but are true.