Worcester County, Massachusetts

Worcester County population, land area and income

Worcester County had 881,248 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,510.7 square miles of land. It is the largest by land of Massachusetts's 14 county-equivalents. That works out to 583.3 people per square mile, 6.1 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top tenth nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Massachusetts has 503,121 residents; Worcester County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $93,561 is in the top tenth among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Worcester County's population changed since 2020

Worcester County gained 24,156 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 2.8%. That ranks 3rd of 14 in Massachusetts for growth. The median Massachusetts county changed by +2.2%, and the state as a whole by +2.0%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Worcester County recorded 35,888 births and 33,672 deaths, a natural change of +2,216. Net international migration added +26,002 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -8,404. The largest single component was international migration, which added 26,002 people.

Where Worcester County is

The Census internal point of Worcester County is at 42.311700, -71.940300. It sits in UTM zone 19N. The map shades Massachusetts's 14 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Worcester County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Worcester County

5 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Worcester County, 337,127 people together, or 38% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Worcester County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Worcester with 211,286.

Counties bordering Worcester County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 9 neighbors for Worcester County, including 4 across a state line. The most populous is Middlesex County, MA, with 1,668,956 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Middlesex County

  1,668,956 people

  30 mi ENE

• Norfolk County

  740,754 people

  40 mi ESE

• RI

  Providence County, RI

  675,912 people

  36 mi SSE

• Hampden County

  464,151 people

  38 mi WSW

• NH

  Hillsborough County, NH

  430,462 people

  43 mi NNE

• Hampshire County

  165,399 people

  37 mi W

• CT

  Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT

  97,701 people

  32 mi S

• NH

  Cheshire County, NH

  78,078 people

  45 mi NNW

• Franklin County

  70,871 people

  38 mi WNW

Distance to Boston and the nearest big city

Boston is 44.9 miles E of Worcester County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Worcester, MA (population 211,286), 7.4 miles away.

Worcester County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Worcester County is 25027: state code 25 for Massachusetts plus county code 027. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $93,561.