2025

Counties in Massachusetts ranked by White Population

This list ranks the 14 counties in Massachusetts based on their 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 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest White population in Massachusetts

View All
  • 1
    Middlesex County
    White population in Middlesex County is 1,244,847
    70.25% of Middlesex County population is White
  • 2
    Worcester County
    White population in Worcester County is 726,980
    76.41% of Worcester County population is White
  • 3
    Essex County
    White population in Essex County is 634,726
    71.00% of Essex County population is White
  • 4
    Norfolk County
    White population in Norfolk County is 561,314
    72.14% of Norfolk County population is White
  • 5
    Bristol County
    White population in Bristol County is 492,453
    77.46% of Bristol County population is White

List of 14 counties in Massachusetts by White Population

View Methodology
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Rank by White Population
County
White Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Massachusetts White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Middlesex County 1,244,847 70.25% 22.57%
2 Worcester County 726,980 76.41% 13.18%
3 Essex County 634,726 71.00% 11.51%
4 Norfolk County 561,314 72.14% 10.18%
5 Bristol County 492,453 77.46% 8.93%
6 Suffolk County 473,128 51.10% 8.58%
7 Plymouth County 440,313 76.48% 7.98%
8 371,759 69.62% 6.74%
9 213,087 86.71% 3.86%
10 140,294 83.19% 2.54%
11 119,101 87.19% 2.16%
12 67,078 89.42% 1.22%
13 18,711 81.81% 0.34%
14 11,395 70.52% 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 White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines 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 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 White alone, while others identify as White along with another race (such as White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and White .
  • We’ve used the “White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as 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 White .
  2. % of Total Massachusetts White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. 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 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 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 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.