2025

Counties in Massachusetts ranked by Non-Hispanic White Population

This list ranks the 14 counties in Massachusetts based on their Non-Hispanic White population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 13, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Non-Hispanic White population in Massachusetts

View All
  • 1
    Middlesex County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Middlesex County is 1,081,878
    61.05% of Middlesex County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 2
    Worcester County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Worcester County is 618,267
    64.98% of Worcester County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 3
    Essex County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Essex County is 531,979
    59.51% of Essex County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 4
    Norfolk County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Norfolk County is 507,345
    65.21% of Norfolk County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 5
    Bristol County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Bristol County is 443,459
    69.75% of Bristol County population is Non-Hispanic White

List of 14 counties in Massachusetts by Non-Hispanic White Population

View Methodology
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Rank by Non-Hispanic White Population
County
Non-Hispanic White Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Massachusetts Non-Hispanic White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Middlesex County 1,081,878 61.05% 22.83%
2 Worcester County 618,267 64.98% 13.05%
3 Essex County 531,979 59.51% 11.23%
4 Norfolk County 507,345 65.21% 10.71%
5 Bristol County 443,459 69.75% 9.36%
6 Plymouth County 408,417 70.94% 8.62%
7 Suffolk County 345,199 37.28% 7.28%
8 278,624 52.18% 5.88%
9 197,541 80.38% 4.17%
10 127,318 75.49% 2.69%
11 109,751 80.35% 2.32%
12 62,358 83.13% 1.32%
13 16,828 73.58% 0.36%
14 9,884 61.17% 0.21%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks counties in Massachusetts by their Non-Hispanic White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Non-Hispanic White Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Non-Hispanic White, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Non-Hispanic White alone, while others identify as Non-Hispanic White along with another race (such as Non-Hispanic White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White .
  • We’ve used the “Non-Hispanic White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Non-Hispanic White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Non-Hispanic White alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Non-Hispanic White .
  2. % of Total Massachusetts Non-Hispanic White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Non-Hispanic White population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Non-Hispanic White populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported Non-Hispanic White population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Non-Hispanic White populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.