County profile

Middlesex County / Cambridge, MA

Reading this county

Middlesex County is Cambridge and Somerville at one end and Lowell at the other, with Newton, Waltham and Framingham between them. The phrase "the shot heard round the world" comes from a poem Ralph Waldo Emerson published in 1837 about the fight at Concord's North Bridge, in this county. Schools here test at the top of the country, and a median home costs $794K against a typical household income of $118K.

ACT/SAT Scores: #1: No county in the country averages higher on the ACT and SAT. Arlington, Lexington, Lincoln and Newton helped start METCO in 1966 and still take its pupils. >99% of 3,143 counties
Bike Score: 96: A Bike Score of 96 in the city of Cambridge, and only four counties score higher. A 2019 ordinance ties new separated lanes to street rebuilds. >99% of 2,726 counties
Population Growth: ↓-0.9%: The county's population fell 0.9% in 2025, a steeper drop than in 87% of counties. Cambridge let multifamily housing into every residential neighbourhood in February 2025. <87% of 3,143 counties
Farmers Markets: 49: 49 farmers markets here, and only three counties in the country count more. At the Central Square and Kendall Square markets, $15 of SNAP buys $30 of tokens. >99% of 3,143 counties
The trade-off — Median Home Price: $794K⁴: A median home costs $794K against a typical household income of $118K, close to seven to one. An overlay in Cambridge lets a fully affordable project go up denser than base zoning. >98% of 3,143 counties

Harvard was the first university in the United States, founded in 1636. It is located in Cambridge, MA. Not only is it a top-ranked university in the world, it boasts many famous alum such as Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Demographics and county data

Each comparison is against the US counties that publish the same measurement. Measurements where too many counties share a single value to be ranked show no comparison at all.

Abortion Regulation: Legal (Restricted)
ACT/SAT Scores: #1
Air Quality: 7.3¹
Alcohol Regulation: #39
All Occupations: $111K¹
American Indians/Alaskan Natives: ↓-1.7%
Amish, Mennonites, etc: ↓-2.4%⁷
Any Airport: 0h 14m
Any Natural Disaster: Low³
Architecture & Engineering: $100K¹⁰
Art Museums: 13
Arts, Design, Sports, Media & Entertainment: $85K¹⁰
Asian Americans: ↑11.0%
Asian Language Speakers: ↑6.4%
Avalanche: none³
Average School Rating: 70.2⁶
Beergardens & Brewpubs: 11
Bike Score: 96
Blacks/African Americans: ↓-3.9%
Boating: 379
Broadband Internet: 90%
Buddhists: ↑0.7%⁷
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance: $44K¹⁰
Business & Financial Operations: $97K¹⁰
Cannabis Regulation: Legal
Cat Friendly Rentals: 46%
Catholics: ↑33.5%⁷
City Population: 118K
Climate Change Risk: 2.8
Coastal Flooding: Very Low³
Cold Wave: Low³
Community & Social Service: $58K¹⁰
Commute Time: 32
Computer & Mathematical: $119K¹⁰
Construction & Extraction: $75K¹⁰
County Population: 1.61M
Cuisine Diversity: 56
Cycling: 41
Dentists: 10.2
Dog Friendly Rentals: 25%
Drought: Medium³
Earthquakes: Low³
Education, Training, & Library: $76K¹⁰
Educational Attainment: 37%
Elevation: 269'⁸
English Speakers: ↓-5.8%
Farmers Markets: 49
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry: $44K¹⁰
Fatal Dog Attacks: 0
Fatal Wildlife Attacks: 0
Fire Ants: none
Fishing: 164
Food Preparation & Serving Related: $38K¹⁰
Forests: 42%
Freshwater Access: 543
Gluten-Free Options: 24
Golf: 122
Gun Open Carry Regulation: Legal (w/Permit)
Hail: Very Low³
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical: $110K¹⁰
Healthcare Support: $40K¹⁰
Heat Wave: Low³
High School Graduation Rate: 92%¹
Hiking: 470
Hindus: ↑0.2%⁷
Hispanics/Latinos: ↓-1.5%
History Museums: 16
Home Ownership Rate: 62%
Homelessness: 157
Homicide Rate: 1¹
Hospitals: 11
Hurricanes: Very Low³
Ice Storms: Low³
Indo-European Language Speakers: ↑10.0%
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair: $64K¹⁰
Investment Potential: 23 / 100
Jehovah's Witnesses: ↓-0.6%⁷
Jews: ↑1.1%⁷
Landslide: Very Low³
LDS / Mormons: ↓-1.7%⁷
Legal: $157K¹⁰
Life Expectancy: 82¹
Life, Physical, & Social Science: $103K¹⁰
Lightning: Medium³
Live Music: 52
Major Airport: 0h 14m
Major City Proximity: 0h 12m
Major League Baseball: 0h 07m
Major League Soccer: 0h 41m
Management: $153K¹⁰
Median Age: 39 years¹¹
Median Home Price: $794K
Median Rental - 1 BR Apartment: $2,385
Median Rental - 2 BR Apartment: $2,873
Median Rental - 3 BR Apartment: $3,461
Median Rental - 4 BR Apartment: $3,809
Median Rental - Room: $1,525
Median Rental - Single Family Home: $3,227⁴
Median Rental - Studio Apartment: $2,239
Mental Health Providers: 60.2
Meth Labs: 1
Michelin Rated Restaurants: none
Minor League Baseball: 0h 50m
Mountains: 1,296'⁸
Multiracials: ↑0.5%
Muslims: ↑0.1%⁷
National Parks: 5h 14m
Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders: ↓-0.1%
NBA Basketball: 0h 09m
NFL Football: 0h 41m
NHL Hockey: 0h 09m
Not Religious / Atheists / Agnostics: ↑10.0%
Nuclear Strike: Direct Target
Obesity Rate: 22%¹
Office & Administrative Support: $53K¹⁰
Orthodox Christians: ↓-0.2%⁷
Other Language Speakers: ↑1.1%
Other Relocation Incentives: none
Park Score: 98%⁹
People 0-9 Years Old: ↓-1.1%
People 10-19 Years Old: ↓-0.9%
People 20-29 Years Old: ↑2.6%
People 30-39 Years Old: ↑2.5%
People 40-49 Years Old: ↑1.5%
People 50-59 Years Old: ↑0.1%
People 60-69 Years Old: ↓-2.1%
People 70-79 Years Old: ↓-2.1%
People 80+ Years Old: ↓-0.5%
Performing Arts: 2
Personal Care & Service: $43K¹⁰
Political Orientation: 97% Dems
Population Density: 1,995
Population Growth: ↓-0.9%
Poverty Rate: 7.1%
Primary Care Physicians: 12.6¹
Private/Home School Regulation: #9
Production: $49K¹⁰
Property Crime Rate: 1,654
Property Tax: 1.16%
Protective Service: $62K¹⁰
Protestants / Non-Denominationals: ↓-25.0%⁷
Rain: 43"
Regional Theatre: 2
River Flooding: Medium³
Sales & Related: $58K¹⁰
Sales Tax: 6.3%
Same Sex Households: ↑0.2%
Scenic Beauty: #28
Seacoast Proximity: 0h 13m
Seasons: 49 °F
Shark Attacks: 0
Single Parent Households: ↓-6.5%
Skiing: 0h 24m
Small or Major Airport: 0h 14m
Smokers: 12%¹
Snow: 59"
Spanish Speakers: ↓-0.5%
State Income Tax: 5.0%
Strong Wind: Very Low³
Summer Heat: 82 °F
Summer Mugginess: Sticky
Sunny Days: 201
Termite Infestation: Moderate
Tobacco Regulation: #3
Top School Rating: 96.8⁶
Tornadoes: Low³
Traffic: 2.29M
Transit Score: 70
Transportation & Material Moving: $48K¹⁰
Tsunami: none³
Typical Expenses: $200K⁵
Typical Expenses: $161K⁵
Typical Expenses: $120K⁵
Typical Expenses: $171K⁵
Typical Expenses: $65K⁵
Typical Expenses: $111K⁵
Typical Expenses: $84K⁵
Typical Expenses: $84K⁵
Typical Expenses: $124K⁵
Typical Expenses: $202K⁵
Typical Expenses: $100K⁵
Typical Expenses: $132K⁵
Unemployment Rate: 7.3%¹
Vegetarian Friendliness: 50+
Violent Crime Rate: 185²
Volcanic Activity: none³
Walk Score: 90
Water Quality: 3/4
Whites: ↓-4.8%
Wildfires: Very Low³
Windiness: 12 mph
Wineries: 6
Winter Cold: 34 °F
Winter Weather: Very Low³

Cities

Acton, Arlington, Arlington Heights, Ashby, Ashland, Ayer, Ayres City, Babbatasset Village, Baker Bridge, Beaver Brook Station, Bedford, Bedford Springs, Belmont, Bemis, Billerica, Boxboro Station, Boxborough, Braggville, Braggville Station, Brattle, Brookside Station, Burlington, Burtts Crossing, Cambridge, Camp Bob White, Camp Cabot, Camp Cielo Celeste, Camp Immaculate Heart, Camp Kiwanis, Camp Mary Day, Camp Massapoag, Camp Nashoba, Camp Ted, Camp Wakitatina, Carlisle, Carlisle Station, Cedarwood, Chelmsford, Clematis Brook Station, Coburnville, Cochituate, Collinsville, Concord, Countryside, Cummingsville, Devens, Dracut, Dunstable, East Acton, East Arlington, East Billerica, East Groton, East Holliston, East Lexington, East Littleton, East Pepperell, East Sudbury Station, East Watertown, Eliot, Everett, Farm Hill, Felchville, Follen Heights, Forge Village, Framingham, Framingham Center, Gleasondale, Gleasondale Station, Graniteville, Greenwood, Groton, Hanscom AFB, Havenville, Hayden Row, Hendersonville, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Kendal Green, Kenwood, Lake Forest Park, Lexington, Lincoln, Lindenwood, Littleton, Littleton Common, Lokerville, Long Pond Park, Lowell, Lower Village, Malden, Marlborough, Maynard, Medford, Melrose, Metcalf, Mishawum, Montrose, Mount Auburn, Munroe Station, Nabnasset, Natick, Newton, Nobscot, North Acton, North Billerica, North Chelmsford, North Lexington, North Natick, North Pepperell, North Reading, North Shirley, North Sudbury, North Tewksbury, North Wilmington, Nutting Lake, Oak Hill Park, Old Cambridge, Old City, Paper Mill Village, Parkerville, Pattenville, Payson Park, Pepperell, Pine Lake, Pine Rest, Pinehurst, Pingryville, Prospectville, Reading, Reading Highlands, Rio Vista, River Pines, Robin Hill, Saxonville, Shakerhill, Sherborn, Shirley, Shirley Center, Silver Hill, Silver Lake, Somerville, South Acton, South Billerica, South Chelmsford, South Lincoln, South Lowell, South Natick, South Row, South Sherborn, South Village, Spring Hill, Stoneham, Stow, Sudbury, Tewksbury, The Pines, Thompsonville, Tower Hill, Townsend, Townsend Harbor, Tyngsboro, Tyngsborough, Vose, Wakefield, Waltham, Wamesit, Watertown Town, Waverley, Wayland, Wedgemere, West Acton, West Bedford, West Chelmsford, West Concord, West Groton, West Natick, West Townsend, West Village, Westford, Westford Station, Westlands, Weston, Weston Station, Whitneys, Willowdale, Willows, Wilmington, Winchester, Winchester Highlands, Winnmere, Woburn, Woodville, Workmans Circle Camp