Italian Population in Middlesex County, MA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Italian population in Middlesex County, MA is recorded at 200,717 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Each city in Middlesex County, MA has some Italian population, but the county''s higher total suggests additional rural or non-municipal representation. The analysis below explores how Italian communities are spread across Middlesex County, MA and comparable counties throughout Massachusetts.

Top 5 cities with the largest Italian population in Middlesex County

View All
  • 1
    Medford
    Italian population in Medford is 10,613
    17.97% of Medford population is Italian
  • 2
    Somerville
    Italian population in Somerville is 9,111
    11.31% of Somerville population is Italian
  • 3
    Cambridge
    Italian population in Cambridge is 8,802
    7.47% of Cambridge population is Italian
  • 4
    Newton
    Italian population in Newton is 8,174
    9.24% of Newton population is Italian
  • 5
    Waltham
    Italian population in Waltham is 7,798
    12.05% of Waltham population is Italian

Overview of Italian population in Middlesex County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Middlesex County with 200,717 Italian residents (12.4% of 1.6 million total county population), placing the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 92nd percentile within Massachusetts for Italian population density, with demographic concentrations among the highest nationwide.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Middlesex County's Italian population of 12.4% surpassing both Massachusetts's state average of 11.3% and the national average of 4.9%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey indicate Middlesex County's 200,717 Italian residents constitute 25.4% of Massachusetts's total Italian population of 791,491, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 25.4% of all Massachusetts Italian Americans residing within county boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Middlesex County's density of 245.4 Italian Americans per square mile exceeds Massachusetts's average of 101.5 per square mile by two and a half times, establishing the county as a significant concentration center for Italian demographic communities.
  • Need additional overviews? Extended research data available for purchase and license. ➔

53 Cities in Middlesex County Ranked by Italian Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] confirm Italian populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Medford, Somerville, Cambridge, and Newton. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 53 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Middlesex County, MA ranked by Italian population count
Rank by Italian Population
City
Italian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Middlesex County Italian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Medford 10,613 17.97% 5.29%
2 Somerville 9,111 11.31% 4.54%
3 Cambridge 8,802 7.47% 4.39%
4 Newton 8,174 9.24% 4.07%
5 Waltham 7,798 12.05% 3.89%
6 Woburn 7,666 18.60% 3.82%
7 Billerica town 7,265 17.42% 3.62%
8 6,982 6.08% 3.48%
9 6,803 24.93% 3.39%
10 6,445 9.84% 3.21%
11 6,262 27.24% 3.12%
12 6,139 19.70% 3.06%
13 5,503 23.72% 2.74%
14 5,413 14.94% 2.70%
15 5,354 10.87% 2.67%
16 5,318 18.03% 2.65%
17 5,261 20.67% 2.62%
18 4,940 10.74% 2.46%
19 4,811 13.64% 2.40%
20 4,601 12.56% 2.29%
21 4,385 10.59% 2.18%
22 4,370 16.66% 2.18%
23 3,409 21.81% 1.70%
24 3,360 10.38% 1.67%
25 3,302 14.44% 1.65%
26 2,869 10.62% 1.43%
27 2,705 7.94% 1.35%
28 2,572 13.50% 1.28%
29 2,522 10.26% 1.26%
30 2,430 12.18% 1.21%
31 2,171 11.61% 1.08%
32 2,101 14.04% 1.05%
33 2,051 14.30% 1.02%
34 1,867 7.79% 0.93%
35 1,841 9.66% 0.92%
36 1,724 9.46% 0.86%
37 1,597 12.85% 0.80%
38 1,557 13.82% 0.78%
39 1,475 12.65% 0.73%
39 1,475 10.67% 0.73%
40 1,397 13.10% 0.70%
41 1,339 14.79% 0.67%
42 1,313 12.94% 0.65%
43 1,101 9.62% 0.55%
44 923 12.98% 0.46%
45 860 10.13% 0.43%
46 819 11.67% 0.41%
47 748 13.68% 0.37%
48 676 9.73% 0.34%
49 541 12.28% 0.27%
50 485 9.31% 0.24%
51 377 11.17% 0.19%
52 229 7.18% 0.11%
Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

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 Middlesex County, MA by their Italian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Italian 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 Italian 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 Italian alone, while others identify as Italian along with another race (such as Italian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Italian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Italian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Italian 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 Italian .
  2. % of Total Middlesex County Italian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Italian 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 Italian 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 Italian 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 Italian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

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