Somerville, Massachusetts Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Somerville, MA Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
-
A+
Health Top grade
-
B
Income Around average
-
A+
Education Top grade
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population
| Metric | Somerville | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 81,027 | 7,031,620 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 19202.5 | 666.0 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.23% | 0.53% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 33.4 | 39.0 | 37.3 |
| Households | 35,715 | 2,777,931 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Somerville grew by 7.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 81,027 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Somerville is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 32.7% of residents. That is 11.1 points above Massachusetts as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 26,458 32.7% +11.1 pts
- Millennials 29–44 26,332 32.5% +10.6 pts
- Gen X 45–60 11,784 14.5% -6.6 pts
- Boomers 61–79 8,097 10.0% -7.3 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Massachusetts, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.1% of the people living in Somerville and men 48.9%.
- Women 51.1% Massachusetts 51.2%
- Men 48.9% Massachusetts 48.8%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Somerville
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Somerville has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.
| Metric | Somerville | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $132,942 | $104,336 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 6.60% | 4.91% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 3.0% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Somerville is about 27% higher than in Massachusetts.
Housing
| Metric | Somerville | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $545,588 | $494,523 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $2,519 | $1,761 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 34.2% | 62.5% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Somerville is about 18.0 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $2,519 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Somerville spend about 62 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 260 hours, about 10.8 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Somerville | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 31.2 | 25.6 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 62.5 | 51.1 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 260 | 213 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $8,067 | $6,603 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 31.4% | 18.6% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 20,580 | 14,741 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 4,133 | 2,164 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in Somerville is 31 minutes, longer than the 26 minutes in Massachusetts.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Somerville has a education index of A+, which means it is exceptionally educated.
| Metric | Somerville | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 64.2% | 42.7% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.19 | 2.44 | 2.53 |
Health
Somerville has a health index of A+, which means it is exceptionally healthy.
| Metric | Somerville | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 80.6 | 80.5 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 7.3% | 11.8% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 9.4% | 13.9% | 19.0% |
Somerville, MA Compared With Nearby Cities
Somerville, MA is the 2nd largest of the 6 cities compared here, 81,027 residents against a local median of 59,237. Nothing separates Somerville, MA sharply from the cities around it. Each measure below lands within 15% of the local median, close enough that the differences are within what survey sampling alone would produce.
The largest of those small differences is median home price, 13% below the local median at $545,588 against $624,999. Somerville, MA has the 5th highest median home price of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerville, MA | 81,027 | $132,942 #2/6 | $545,588 #5/6 | 31.2 min #3/6 |
| Cambridge, MA | 117,266 | $131,513 | $678,104 | 23.7 min |
| Medford, MA | 59,237 | $130,524 | $483,160 | 30.1 min |
| Everett, MA | 49,993 | $85,158 | $624,999 | 32.8 min |
| Malden, MA | 66,048 | $100,648 | $556,837 | 32.4 min |
| Arlington, MA | 46,270 | $151,416 | $1,743,589 | 31.5 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Somerville, Massachusetts.
How big is Somerville, Massachusetts by population?
About 81,027 people live in Somerville, Massachusetts, in 35,715 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 33.4, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 4 years.
Is Somerville, Massachusetts urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Somerville, Massachusetts has 19,203 people per square mile, a density typical of a city. That is about 222 times the U.S. average of 86.
Is Somerville, Massachusetts an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 4.1 times the median household income ($545,588 against $132,942), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $2,519 a month takes about 23% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How strong is the job market in Somerville, Massachusetts?
Unemployment in Somerville, Massachusetts is only 3.0%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.
What share of adults in Somerville, Massachusetts have a college degree?
64.2% of adults in Somerville, Massachusetts hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 6 in 10), well above the U.S. share of 31.6%.
Analyze any area in the US
Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.
Explore the map →