Massachusetts had about 7.2 million people in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is 1.8% more than the 7.029 million of the 2020 census. Massachusetts is the sixteenth most populous U.S. state.

Massachusetts experiences significant population churn, with some Bay Staters leaving every year and many others arriving, including immigrants from across the United States and the world. 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.Population and Population Centers by State: 2010 . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 5, 2017.

Population The population in 2025 was 7,154,084, making Massachusetts the 16th most populous state. The population density, 895 people per square mile, ranks Massachusetts the third densest of the fifty states (fifth including District of Columbia and Puerto Rico).

The following statistics are from the U.S. Census Bureau and associated estimates.

Age 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. +Est. Age Distribution (2022)AgePercentTotals0–910.1%702,09210–1912%840,92620–2913.9%970,14530–3913.7%953,96340–4912.1%847,22650–5913.3%928,75160–6912.7%885,48470–798%559,86780+4.2%293,520 The state's population is 49% male and 51% female; the total sex ratio of Massachusetts is 94.3 male/100 female.

Health indicators In 2020, the average life expectancy (at birth) was 79.0 years old, which was the fifth-highest in the US.

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.

Birth rate In 2021, the fertility rate in Massachusetts was 49 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 (~4.9%), the fourth-lowest in the US. 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.

Ancestry

According to the 2015–2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the largest ancestry groups in Massachusetts are:

Ancestry Percentage ofMassachusettspopulation Percentage ofUnited Statespopulation Difference Irish 19.77% 9.71% +10.06pp Italian 12.27% 5.14% +7.13pp English 9.20% 7.24% +1.96pp French 5.90% 2.34% +3.56pp German 5.67% 13.25% -7.58pp Polish 4.40% 2.80% +1.60pp Portuguese 4.07% 0.42% +3.65pp American 3.81% 6.24% -2.43pp French Canadian 3.75% 0.64% +3.11pp Sub-Saharan African 2.25% 1.15% +1.09pp Scottish 2.14% 1.66% +0.47pp West Indian 2.04% 0.92% +1.12pp Swedish 1.55% 1.15% +0.40pp Russian 1.46% 0.80% +0.66pp European 1.26% 1.66% -0.40pp Brazilian 1.25% 0.14% +1.11pp Greek 1.16% 0.39% +0.77pp Arab 1.05% 0.62% +0.43pp Lithuanian 0.65% 0.19% +0.46pp Canadian 0.64% 0.20% +0.44pp Scotch-Irish 0.63% 0.93% -0.30pp British 0.56% 0.60% -0.03pp Dutch 0.56% 1.19% -0.63pp Norwegian 0.54% 1.35% -0.81pp Eastern European 0.54% 0.27% +0.27pp

Massachusetts has the most Irish descendants of any state in the country and the fourth-most Italian descendent state in the country (after Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey) in percentage of total population. Irish Americans are mostly concentrated in the eastern and southeastern parts of the state; the South Shore region has an Irish-descendent population above 40% (giving it the nickname of the "Irish Riviera").

In the 2020 Census, 494,029 Massachusetts residents were identified as African American (of the total 7,029,917).This figure refers to those who report African American and no other race. African Americans make up more than 10% of the population in just one county: Suffolk (18.2%). African Americans in the seven counties of Suffolk (145,566), Middlesex (84,670), Norfolk (51,371), Worcester (48,022), Plymouth (45,132), Hampden (41,556), and Essex (33,524) make up more than 91% of all African Americans in the state.

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, Turkish, Lebanese, Syrian, Israeli, 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. 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, some remained. For example, the Wampanoag tribe maintains at reservations at Aquinnah; at Grafton, on Martha's Vineyard; and at Mashpee, on Cape Cod.Associated Press. Wampanoag Tribe Receives Federal Recognition WBZ-TV, Boston Massachusetts. Retrieved February 20, 2007.Weber, David. Mashpee Wampanoag Indians receive federal recognition The Boston Globe February 15, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2007. The Nipmuck maintain two state-recognized reservations in the central part of the state. Many Wampanoags and other native people live outside reservations.

+ Massachusetts Racial Breakdown of Population (2017) Race Percentage ofMassachusettspopulation Percentage ofUnited Statespopulation White 68.8% 60.9% White (Non-Hispanic) 67.0% 57.7% Hispanic (of any race) 13.0% 19.1% Black 7.1% 12.2% Asian 7.2% 5.9% Native Americans 0.3% 1.0% Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders0.0%0.2% Two or more races 10.7% 12.5%

Vital statistics 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. + Live Births by Single Race/Ethnicity of Mother Race 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 White 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%) 36,028 (53.7%) 35,107 (51.5%) Black 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%) 7,300 (10.9%) 7,752 (11.4%) Asian 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%) 5,268 (7.9%) 5,582 (8.2%) American Indian 151 (0.2%) 141 (0.2%) 80 (0.1%) 86 (0.1%) 76 (0.1%) 98 (0.1%) 71 (0.1%) 63 (0.1%) 57 (0.1%) 59 (0.1%) 50 (>0.1%) Hispanic (any race) 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%) 15,700 (23.4%) 16,521 (24.2%) Total 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%) 67,093 (100%) 68,184 (100%)

Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Languages The most common forms of American English spoken in Massachusetts, other than General American English, are the New England accent and the Boston accent.

+ Top 10 Non-English Languages Spoken in Massachusetts Language Percentage of population(as of 2010) Spanish 7.50% Portuguese 2.97% Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin) 1.59% French 1.11% French Creole 0.89% Italian 0.72% Russian 0.62% Vietnamese 0.58% Greek 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. Religion

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. In 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute determined 67% of the population of Massachusetts were Christian, and 23% of the population identified as irreligious.

, the religious affiliations of the people of Massachusetts, according to Pew Research Center were: Religion or Denomination % of PopulationCatholic34Atheist & Agnostics 12Baptist5Christian (no denomination specified)3Methodist2Lutheran2Presbyterian2Nothing in Particular20Pentecostal3Episcopal3Jewish3Muslim1Church of Christ1Congregational/United Church of Christ3.5Buddhist1Other3

Migration

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.