Essex County, Massachusetts

A county in Massachusetts, ranked 3 of 14 by population.

CountyFIPS 25009

Within Massachusetts

Essex County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Salem, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population: 826,653; +18,854 (+2.3%) since 2020
Land area: 492.5; square miles. A further 40.6% of the total area is water
Population density: 1,678; people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat: Salem; Essex County has no county government.
Established: 1643; 382 years ago
Largest city: Lynn city; Population 104,236.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Essex County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Essex County, Massachusetts from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined — Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 755 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Essex County ranks

Position among the 14 counties of Massachusetts, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

Measure	Value	In Massachusetts	Nationally
Population	826,653	3rd of 14	78th of 3,144
Land area	492.5 sq mi	9th of 14	2,111th of 3,144
Population density	1,678 per sq mi	4th of 14	89th of 3,144
Median household income	$101,883	6th of 14	154th of 3,143

Full data for Essex County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
Measure	Value	Source and vintage
Population	826,653	Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 2020	807,799	Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?	809,943	Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area	492.5 sq mi	2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area	336 sq mi	2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area	828.5 sq mi	2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?	1,678 per sq mi	Computed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income	$101,883	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value	$619,100	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age	41.2	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households	313,147	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units	329,776	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths: +1,553; 8,632 births, 7,079 deaths
Net migration: -1,075; More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 4 areas bordering Essex County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering area	State	Shared border	Population
Middlesex County	Massachusetts	39 mi	1,669,979
Rockingham County	New Hampshire	35 mi	324,077
Suffolk County	Massachusetts	25 mi	791,891
Hillsborough County	New Hampshire	0.6 mi	433,415

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Side by side

All 14 counties of Massachusetts

Open the interactive Massachusetts county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.