Worcester, Massachusetts Population 2021

185,174

Worcester is a city located in Worcester County Massachusetts. With a 2020 population of 185,174, it is the 2nd largest city in Massachusetts (after Boston) and the 138th largest city in the United States . Worcester is currently declining at a rate of -0.07% annually but its population has increased by 2.28% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 181,045 in 2010. Worcester reached it's highest population of 203,486 in 1950. Spanning over 38 miles, Worcester has a population density of 4,956 people per square mile.

The average household income in Worcester is $68,613 with a poverty rate of 19.98%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $1,095 per month, and the median house value is $227,100. The median age in Worcester is 34.7 years, 33.2 years for males, and 36.1 years for females.

Worcester serves as the county seat for Worcester County. Its location in Central Massachusetts has earned it the nickname, “Heart of the Commonwealth.”

Diversity and Population Statistics

Nearly 21% of the population is of Hispanic or Latino origin. Worcester has always been appealing to immigrants from all around the globe, and many different ethnicities can be found living within the city, including French, Puerto Ricans, Poles, Lebanese, Indians, and Brazilians—to name a few.

Worcester Population Growth

Worcester’s population grew significantly throughout its early years, primarily due to immigration. A community of just over 2,400 people at the beginning of the 19th century exploded to over 118,000 in the next century. This number continued to rise until reaching its peak of 203,486 in 1950. After this, the population began to drop until finally growth was re-recorded in 1990. Since the last census in 2010, the population is up nearly 2% indicating that this city is growing once again.

Worcester Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Worcester was:

White: 69.16%
Black or African American: 13.29%
Asian: 7.40%
Other race: 5.52%
Two or more races: 3.96%
Native American: 0.61%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.06%

The current population of Worcester, Massachusetts is 185,174 based on our projections of the latest US Census estimates. The US Census estimates the 2018 population at 185,555.The last official US Census in 2010 recorded the population at 181,045.

Worcester, Massachusetts Population 2021

Population by Race

Race	Population	Percentage
White	128,042	69.16%
Black or African American	24,604	13.29%
Asian	13,695	7.40%
Some Other Race	10,227	5.52%
Two or More Races	7,340	3.96%
American Indian and Alaska Native	1,124	0.61%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	111	0.06%

Worcester Population by Race

Worcester Population Pyramid $2021

Worcester Population by Age

Worcester Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Worcester Household Types

Type	Owner	Renter
Married	65.2%	34.8%
Male	46.8%	53.2%
All	41.3%	58.7%
Non Family	29.1%	70.9%
Female	26.9%	73.1%

41.3%

Rate of Home Ownership

Worcester Households and Families

Type	Count	Average Size	Owned
All	71,595	2.38	41.3
Non Family	33,806	1.29	29.1
Married	22,824	3.27	65.2
Female	11,056	3.49	26.9
Male	3,909	3.52	46.8

3.21

Average Family Size

2.38

Average Household Size

Worcester Households by Type

Education Attained	Count	Percentage
Less Than 9th Grade	6,469	5.32%
9th to 12th Grade	12,112	9.97%
High School Graduate	35,552	29.26%
Some College	20,580	16.94%
Associates Degree	10,070	8.29%
Bachelors Degree	22,527	18.54%
Graduate Degree	14,204	11.69%

Worcester Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Worcester Educational Attainment by Race

Race	Total	High School	Bachelors
White	73,524	66,823	25,847
Hispanic	22,756	15,320	2,402
Black	14,238	12,133	3,948
Asian	9,082	7,011	4,030
Other Race	6,425	3,965	833
2+ Races	2,697	2,278	554
Native American	672	458	66
Islander	41	41	26

The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 100.00%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among islander people with a rate of 63.41%.

Worcester Educational Attainment by Race

Name	Average	Male	Female
Overall	$41,172	$45,157	$36,352
Less Than 9th Grade	$28,408	$31,965	$23,635
High School Graduate	$34,568	$40,404	$26,655
Some College	$37,947	$43,141	$34,610
Bachelors Degree	$49,295	$55,361	$45,207
Graduate Degree	$67,508	$71,458	$63,953

$41,172

Average Earnings

$45,157

Average Male

$36,352

Average Female

Worcester Earnings by Educational Attainment

Worcester Language by Age

Worcester Language

65.39% of Worcester residents speak only English, while 34.61% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 15.95% of the population.

Worcester Language

Worcester Poverty by Race

Name	Total	In Poverty	Poverty Rate
White	92,215	15,071	16.34%
Hispanic	39,278	12,142	30.91%
Black	23,444	3,955	16.87%
Other	9,985	2,518	25.22%
Asian	13,015	2,288	17.58%
Multiple	6,874	1,898	27.61%
Native	1,097	316	28.81%
Islander	100	15	15.00%

19.98%

Overall Poverty Rate

18.25%

Male Poverty Rate

21.65%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Worcester

The race most likely to be in poverty in Worcester is Hispanic, with 30.91% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Worcester is Islander, with 15.00% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 1.87%. Among those working part-time, it was 19.93%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 36.03%.

Worcester Poverty

Name	Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade	32.26%
High School	18.94%
Some College	13.26%
Bachelors or Greater	8.36%

Worcester Poverty Rate by Education

Rate	Poverty
Female Unemployed	43.51%
Male Unemployed	27.83%
Female Employed	7.85%
Male Employed	5.07%

Worcester Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Worcester Income by Household Type

Name	Median	Mean
Households	$48,139	$68,613
Families	$63,893	$82,585
Married Families	$84,617	$102,363
Non Families	$33,496	$49,034

Income by Household Type

Worcester Marital Status

Marriage Rates

33.2%

Overall Marriage Rate

34.9%

Male Marriage Rate

31.6%

Female Marriage Rate

Worcester Married by Age and Sex

Worcester Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is 55-64, while the female age group most likely to be married is 55-64.

Worcester Marital Status by Race

Worcester Marital Status

7,692

Number of Veterans

7,167

Male Veterans

525

Female Veterans

War	Veterans
Vietnam	2,697
Second Gulf War	1,162
First Gulf War	1,070
Korea	602
World War II	492

Worcester Veterans by War

Age Group	Veterans
75+	2,082
65 to 74	1,886
35 to 54	1,611
55 to 64	1,516
18 to 34	597

Worcester Veterans by Age

Name	Veterans	% of Total
White	6,853	6.31%
Hispanic	524	1.84%
Black	473	2.72%
Asian	171	1.50%
2+ Races	91	2.24%
Other Race	53	0.68%
Native American	51	6.55%

Worcester Veterans by Race

Worcester Veterans by Education

10.26%

Veteran Poverty Rate

33.59%

Veteran Disability Rate

Worcester Veterans by Education

60.3%

Labor Force Participation

56.9%

Employment Rate

5.6%

Unemployment Rate

Worcester Employment by Age

Worcester Employment by Race

Worcester Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

56.12%

Born in Worcester

79.15%

Native Born

20.85%

Foreign Born

9.96%

Non Citizen

10.89%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

79.15% of Worcester residents were born in the United States, with 56.12% having been born in Massachusetts. 9.96% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.

Worcester Place of Birth

Year	Population	Growth	Annual Growth Rate
2021	185,174	-127	-0.07%
2020	185,301	-127	-0.07%
2019	185,428	-127	-0.07%
2018	185,555	230	0.12%
2017	185,325	466	0.25%
2016	184,859	232	0.13%
2015	184,627	68	0.04%
2014	184,559	1,232	0.67%
2013	183,327	752	0.41%
2012	182,575	188	0.10%
2011	182,387	628	0.35%
2010	181,759	9,111	0.52%
2000	172,648	2,889	0.17%
1990	169,759	7,960	0.48%
1980	161,799	-14,773	-0.87%
1970	176,572	-10,015	-0.55%
1960	186,587	-16,899	-0.86%
1950	203,486	9,792	0.49%
1940	193,694	-1,617	-0.08%
1930	195,311	15,557	0.83%
1920	179,754	33,768	2.10%
1910	145,986	27,565	2.11%
1900	118,421	33,766	3.41%
1890	84,655	26,364	3.80%
1880	58,291	17,186	3.55%
1870	41,105	16,145	5.12%
1860	24,960	7,911	3.89%
1850	17,049	9,552	8.56%
1840	7,497	3,324	6.03%
1830	4,173	1,173	3.36%
1820	3,000	400	1.44%
1810	2,600	200	0.80%
1800	2,400	300	1.34%
1790	2,100		0.00%

Worcester, Massachusetts Population 2021

Diversity and Population Statistics

Worcester Population Growth

Worcester Demographics

Worcester, Massachusetts Population 2021

Population by Race

Worcester Population by Race

Worcester Population Pyramid $2021

Worcester Median Age

Worcester Adults

Worcester Age Dependency

Worcester Sex Ratio

Worcester Population by Age

Worcester Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Worcester Household Types

Worcester Households and Families

Worcester Households by Type

Worcester Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Worcester Educational Attainment by Race

Worcester Educational Attainment by Race

Worcester Earnings by Educational Attainment

Worcester Language by Age

Worcester Language

Worcester Language

Worcester Poverty by Race

Poverty in Worcester

Worcester Poverty

Worcester Poverty Rate by Education

Worcester Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Worcester Income by Household Type

Income by Household Type

Worcester Marital Status

Marriage Rates

Worcester Married by Age and Sex

Worcester Marriage

Worcester Marital Status by Race

Worcester Marital Status

Worcester Veterans by War

Worcester Veterans by Age

Worcester Veterans by Race

Worcester Veterans by Education

Worcester Veterans by Education

Worcester Employment by Age

Worcester Employment by Race

Worcester Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Place of Birth

Worcester Place of Birth

Worcester Population by Year