English Population in Massachusetts by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The English population in Massachusetts totals 671,339, with representation in every incorporated city included in this analysis. Leading communities are found in Boston (35,630), followed by Plymouth town (11,957) and Worcester (11,617), reflecting a strong urban presence. Despite this broad municipal footprint, the statewide count exceeds the combined city totals - suggesting that many English residents may live in unincorporated areas or towns below the population threshold used here. The analysis below explores how English communities are distributed across Massachusetts and how this compares with broader patterns nationwide.

Top 5 cities with the largest English population in Massachusetts

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  • 1
    Boston
    English population in Boston is 35,630
    5.37% of Boston population is English
  • 2
    Plymouth town
    English population in Plymouth town is 11,957
    19.08% of Plymouth town population is English
  • 3
    Worcester
    English population in Worcester is 11,617
    5.65% of Worcester population is English
  • 4
    Cambridge
    English population in Cambridge is 10,090
    8.57% of Cambridge population is English
  • 5
    Somerville
    English population in Somerville is 7,383
    9.17% of Somerville population is English

Overview of English population in Massachusetts

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents Massachusetts with 671,339 English residents (9.6% of 7.0 million total state population), ranking the state at the 62nd percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for English demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate Massachusetts's English population of 9.6% exceeds the national average of 9.1% by a factor of 1.1.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey records show Massachusetts hosts 671,339 English residents, representing 2.2% of the nation's total English population of 30.1 million, establishing the state as a significant demographic concentration center within national boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Massachusetts maintains 86.1 English Americans per square mile, representing just over ten times the national average of 8.5 per square mile, placing the state among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations nationally.
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333 Cities in Massachusetts Ranked by English Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show English populations across all incorporated cities in Massachusetts, with no cities recording zero residents identified as Americans of English birth or descent. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Massachusetts ranked by English population count
Rank by English Population
City
English Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Massachusetts English Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Boston 35,630 5.37% 5.31%
2 Plymouth town 11,957 19.08% 1.78%
3 Worcester 11,617 5.65% 1.73%
4 Cambridge 10,090 8.57% 1.50%
5 Somerville 7,383 9.17% 1.10%
6 New Bedford 7,138 7.09% 1.06%
7 Barnstable Town 6,673 13.55% 0.99%
8 6,639 7.50% 0.99%
9 6,127 6.04% 0.91%
10 6,084 6.49% 0.91%
11 6,031 8.95% 0.90%
12 5,919 13.96% 0.88%
13 5,319 11.56% 0.79%
14 5,251 8.36% 0.78%
15 5,145 11.06% 0.77%
16 5,015 8.40% 0.75%
17 4,881 11.21% 0.73%
18 4,806 8.32% 0.72%
19 4,797 13.24% 0.71%
20 4,719 14.37% 0.70%
21 4,616 4.02% 0.69%
22 4,528 7.67% 0.67%
23 4,527 6.99% 0.67%
24 4,494 13.59% 0.67%
25 4,483 8.27% 0.67%
26 4,429 2.86% 0.66%
27 4,405 12.03% 0.66%
28 4,353 11.94% 0.65%
29 4,322 9.77% 0.64%
30 4,163 12.76% 0.62%
31 4,083 14.26% 0.61%
32 4,071 9.76% 0.61%
33 4,041 15.67% 0.60%
34 4,034 13.49% 0.60%
35 3,997 3.80% 0.60%
36 3,981 15.64% 0.59%
37 3,948 9.03% 0.59%
38 3,936 10.24% 0.59%
39 3,893 12.55% 0.58%
40 3,874 12.97% 0.58%
41 3,869 15.88% 0.58%
42 3,788 9.15% 0.56%
43 3,781 15.63% 0.56%
44 3,759 18.71% 0.56%
45 3,724 9.04% 0.55%
46 3,705 11.89% 0.55%
47 3,703 11.55% 0.55%
48 3,686 18.05% 0.55%
49 3,672 14.63% 0.55%
50 3,651 22.66% 0.54%
50 3,651 15.72% 0.54%
51 3,538 12.67% 0.53%
52 3,436 12.72% 0.51%
53 3,399 8.36% 0.51%
54 3,360 6.33% 0.50%
55 3,328 13.23% 0.50%
56 3,326 13.53% 0.50%
57 3,254 3.22% 0.48%
58 3,213 11.78% 0.48%
59 3,139 5.69% 0.47%
60 3,121 16.30% 0.46%
61 3,118 15.33% 0.46%
62 3,103 16.82% 0.46%
63 3,101 18.93% 0.46%
64 3,093 11.76% 0.46%
65 3,084 22.83% 0.46%
66 3,061 10.38% 0.46%
67 2,992 12.49% 0.45%
68 2,958 16.23% 0.44%
69 2,947 12.71% 0.44%
70 2,856 14.98% 0.43%
71 2,853 12.48% 0.43%
72 2,804 14.72% 0.42%
73 2,795 4.27% 0.42%
74 2,778 10.59% 0.41%
75 2,776 8.14% 0.41%
76 2,738 17.24% 0.41%
77 2,707 6.98% 0.40%
78 2,666 11.18% 0.40%
79 2,580 16.94% 0.38%
80 2,562 10.20% 0.38%
81 2,558 18.51% 0.38%
82 2,528 7.17% 0.38%
83 2,517 8.84% 0.37%
84 2,512 14.54% 0.37%
85 2,503 12.59% 0.37%
86 2,502 16.90% 0.37%
87 2,457 15.78% 0.37%
88 2,407 11.42% 0.36%
89 2,399 7.41% 0.36%
90 2,392 13.05% 0.36%
91 2,328 11.66% 0.35%
92 2,305 14.74% 0.34%
93 2,297 12.59% 0.34%
94 2,294 5.51% 0.34%
95 2,290 15.88% 0.34%
96 2,285 9.94% 0.34%
97 2,252 16.34% 0.34%
98 2,248 13.10% 0.33%
99 2,239 11.32% 0.33%
100 2,235 12.97% 0.33%
101 2,207 12.68% 0.33%
102 2,202 14.72% 0.33%
103 2,166 13.45% 0.32%
104 2,138 7.48% 0.32%
105 2,119 12.95% 0.32%
105 2,119 17.72% 0.32%
106 2,085 15.08% 0.31%
107 2,075 13.22% 0.31%
108 2,015 14.09% 0.30%
109 1,987 10.73% 0.30%
110 1,986 13.00% 0.30%
111 1,972 17.51% 0.29%
112 1,968 6.90% 0.29%
113 1,943 6.19% 0.29%
114 1,912 8.86% 0.28%
115 1,911 10.22% 0.28%
115 1,911 13.32% 0.28%
116 1,902 15.46% 0.28%
117 1,862 10.95% 0.28%
118 1,861 6.14% 0.28%
119 1,840 7.52% 0.27%
120 1,838 17.60% 0.27%
121 1,837 12.41% 0.27%
122 1,828 10.86% 0.27%
123 1,827 15.81% 0.27%
124 1,825 15.67% 0.27%
125 1,808 13.64% 0.27%
126 1,765 11.61% 0.26%
127 1,749 9.88% 0.26%
128 1,746 16.84% 0.26%
129 1,745 6.09% 0.26%
130 1,740 14.83% 0.26%
131 1,728 11.36% 0.26%
132 1,696 13.12% 0.25%
132 1,696 8.85% 0.25%
133 1,686 13.01% 0.25%
134 1,664 26.24% 0.25%
135 1,661 16.83% 0.25%
136 1,654 15.58% 0.25%
137 1,652 13.05% 0.25%
138 1,649 4.35% 0.25%
139 1,638 16.14% 0.24%
140 1,637 14.04% 0.24%
141 1,612 19.91% 0.24%
142 1,606 13.61% 0.24%
143 1,590 17.48% 0.24%
143 1,590 12.41% 0.24%
144 1,579 14.81% 0.24%
145 1,563 29.42% 0.23%
146 1,554 16.86% 0.23%
147 1,548 8.23% 0.23%
148 1,542 5.30% 0.23%
149 1,529 2.55% 0.23%
150 1,526 15.43% 0.23%
151 1,523 9.91% 0.23%
152 1,520 9.67% 0.23%
153 1,502 8.50% 0.22%
154 1,483 21.26% 0.22%
154 1,483 9.15% 0.22%
155 1,468 17.27% 0.22%
156 1,466 18.07% 0.22%
157 1,445 16.61% 0.22%
158 1,436 10.75% 0.21%
159 1,433 9.85% 0.21%
160 1,396 18.17% 0.21%
161 1,387 15.04% 0.21%
162 1,380 20.77% 0.21%
163 1,378 18.20% 0.21%
164 1,370 11.03% 0.20%
165 1,351 19.63% 0.20%
166 1,346 11.90% 0.20%
167 1,328 20.23% 0.20%
168 1,326 16.00% 0.20%
169 1,320 14.58% 0.20%
170 1,303 17.18% 0.19%
171 1,298 15.53% 0.19%
172 1,280 10.72% 0.19%
173 1,267 18.24% 0.19%
174 1,263 18.77% 0.19%
175 1,258 14.88% 0.19%
176 1,242 13.47% 0.19%
177 1,236 6.69% 0.18%
178 1,215 10.62% 0.18%
179 1,202 11.38% 0.18%
180 1,192 23.21% 0.18%
181 1,191 8.32% 0.18%
182 1,188 12.91% 0.18%
183 1,164 22.93% 0.17%
184 1,158 8.67% 0.17%
185 1,155 19.60% 0.17%
186 1,132 7.34% 0.17%
187 1,122 12.18% 0.17%
188 1,111 13.62% 0.17%
189 1,108 8.96% 0.17%
190 1,104 17.51% 0.16%
191 1,101 20.51% 0.16%
192 1,091 16.07% 0.16%
193 1,088 1.23% 0.16%
194 1,081 24.55% 0.16%
195 1,079 14.46% 0.16%
196 1,073 18.60% 0.16%
197 1,072 6.55% 0.16%
198 1,046 12.88% 0.16%
199 1,044 12.30% 0.16%
200 1,036 17.95% 0.15%
201 1,031 19.46% 0.15%
202 1,024 14.40% 0.15%
203 1,013 14.44% 0.15%
203 1,013 10.80% 0.15%
204 1,006 14.91% 0.15%
205 1,004 11.85% 0.15%
206 997 12.27% 0.15%
207 996 9.86% 0.15%
208 994 15.21% 0.15%
209 990 17.89% 0.15%
210 969 19.79% 0.14%
211 956 9.20% 0.14%
212 949 8.38% 0.14%
213 948 14.13% 0.14%
214 942 16.38% 0.14%
215 939 9.65% 0.14%
216 926 15.37% 0.14%
217 912 14.98% 0.14%
218 908 8.20% 0.14%
219 907 18.66% 0.14%
220 906 11.71% 0.14%
220 906 5.09% 0.14%
221 899 8.98% 0.13%
222 896 11.05% 0.13%
223 879 19.38% 0.13%
224 849 10.98% 0.13%
225 842 6.06% 0.13%
226 840 1.71% 0.13%
227 813 6.84% 0.12%
228 804 14.11% 0.12%
229 800 11.14% 0.12%
230 793 14.50% 0.12%
231 791 15.19% 0.12%
232 783 17.91% 0.12%
233 769 12.38% 0.11%
234 759 11.94% 0.11%
235 750 26.09% 0.11%
236 741 20.14% 0.11%
237 686 3.29% 0.10%
238 683 13.83% 0.10%
239 678 13.57% 0.10%
240 649 22.12% 0.10%
241 618 12.54% 0.09%
242 610 9.82% 0.09%
243 607 7.41% 0.09%
244 601 11.19% 0.09%
245 580 11.64% 0.09%
246 578 27.80% 0.09%
246 578 21.28% 0.09%
247 574 16.40% 0.09%
248 568 17.82% 0.08%
249 561 8.95% 0.08%
250 541 1.37% 0.08%
251 535 10.26% 0.08%
252 525 15.56% 0.08%
253 521 14.15% 0.08%
254 504 15.22% 0.08%
255 492 24.59% 0.07%
256 477 26.37% 0.07%
257 468 14.06% 0.07%
257 468 14.06% 0.07%
258 464 12.11% 0.07%
259 442 25.16% 0.07%
260 441 9.31% 0.07%
261 423 14.76% 0.06%
262 419 28.39% 0.06%
263 405 15.16% 0.06%
264 403 10.91% 0.06%
265 398 23.76% 0.06%
266 393 21.05% 0.06%
267 386 21.08% 0.06%
268 379 11.40% 0.06%
269 375 8.64% 0.06%
270 371 22.15% 0.06%
271 368 10.69% 0.05%
272 356 11.28% 0.05%
273 351 13.63% 0.05%
274 319 18.72% 0.05%
274 319 19.66% 0.05%
275 318 10.48% 0.05%
276 307 14.98% 0.05%
277 305 18.34% 0.05%
278 299 28.26% 0.04%
279 280 14.85% 0.04%
280 278 8.60% 0.04%
281 276 7.56% 0.04%
282 271 16.53% 0.04%
283 263 5.53% 0.04%
284 262 22.34% 0.04%
285 257 19.29% 0.04%
286 256 14.83% 0.04%
287 253 24.00% 0.04%
287 253 13.13% 0.04%
288 252 15.00% 0.04%
289 247 12.90% 0.04%
290 243 14.48% 0.04%
291 242 19.64% 0.04%
292 241 25.00% 0.04%
293 236 10.70% 0.04%
294 230 16.52% 0.03%
295 229 29.28% 0.03%
295 229 15.27% 0.03%
296 213 20.08% 0.03%
297 205 9.67% 0.03%
297 205 13.54% 0.03%
298 200 23.23% 0.03%
299 199 21.51% 0.03%
300 197 10.79% 0.03%
301 192 24.06% 0.03%
302 181 11.90% 0.03%
303 168 20.59% 0.03%
304 166 18.69% 0.02%
305 164 9.52% 0.02%
306 157 17.14% 0.02%
307 154 15.96% 0.02%
308 151 12.96% 0.02%
309 150 24.08% 0.02%
310 139 18.96% 0.02%
311 129 12.66% 0.02%
312 125 9.46% 0.02%
313 120 11.65% 0.02%
314 119 18.31% 0.02%
315 117 9.74% 0.02%
316 116 13.29% 0.02%
317 105 8.31% 0.02%
318 97 15.37% 0.01%
319 76 9.82% 0.01%
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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 city in Massachusetts by their English population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines English population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having English ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as English alone, while others identify as English along with another race (such as English and German).
  • We’ve used the “English alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the English population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as English alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as English .
  2. % of Total Massachusetts English Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. English 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 English 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.
  • City that don’t have any reported English 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 English populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.