Massachusetts - Demographics

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Massachusetts was 6,587,536 on July 1, 2011, a 0.61% increase since the 2010 United States Census.

Massachusetts had an estimated 2009 population of 6,593,587. As of 2000, Massachusetts was estimated to be the third most densely populated U.S. state, with 809.8 people per square mile, behind New Jersey and Rhode Island. Massachusetts in 2008 included 919,771 foreign-born residents.

Most Bay Staters live within the Boston Metropolitan Area, also known as Greater Boston, which in its most expansive sense includes New England's two largest cities, Boston and Worcester. The state's only other metropolitan area is the Springfield Metropolitan Area, also known as Greater Springfield. Centered in the Connecticut River Valley, Greater Springfield includes the revitalizing city of Springfield, and an eclectic array of college towns, (e.g. Amherst and Northampton) and rural areas to the north and west. Geographically, the center of population of Massachusetts is located in the town of Natick.

Like the rest of the northeastern United States, the population of Massachusetts has continued to grow in the past few decades, although at a slower pace than states in the South or West. The latest census estimates show that Massachusetts's population grew by 3.9% since 2000, compared with nearly 10% nationwide. In their decisions to leave Massachusetts, most former residents cited high housing costs and a high cost of living. Another factor has been the transformation from a manufacturing economy into one based on high technology, leaving limited employment options for lower-skilled workers, particularly males.

Foreign immigration is more than making up for these losses, causing the state's population to continue to grow as of the 2010 Census (particularly in Massachusetts gateway cities where costs of living are lower). 40% of foreign immigrants were from Central or South America, according to a 2005 Census Bureau study. Many residents who have settled in Greater Springfield claim Puerto Rican descent. Many areas of Massachusetts showed relatively stable population trends between 2000 and 2010. Exurban Boston and coastal areas grew the most rapidly, while Berkshire County in far Western Massachusetts and Barnstable County on Cape Cod were the only counties to lose population as of the 2010 Census. Both of these counties feature many "second homes," and constitute major centers of Massachusetts tourism.

In 2005, 79% of the state population spoke English, 7% spoke Spanish, 3.5% spoke Portuguese, and 1% spoke either French or Chinese.