county

Suffolk County, MA

Demographic and economic profile of Suffolk County, MA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Suffolk County anchors Boston's urban core, producing a GDP per capita of $192,209 against median worker earnings of $53,851—a spread that reflects a high-output economy concentrated in sectors well above the average worker's wage. Nearly half the adult population (49.9%) holds a bachelor's degree or higher, supporting a labor force of roughly 557,000 with a 70.2% participation rate, though unemployment runs at 6.2% and the poverty rate reaches 16.5%. The county skews young at a median age of 33.9, has shed 1.2% of its population over five years, and presents high entry costs for workers—median rent of $2,069/month and a homeownership rate of just 36.6%—alongside a foreign-born share of 29.8%.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

793,144

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$95,631

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

33.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.2% since 2018

Suffolk County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone362,430 (46.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone143,125 (18.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race91,296 (11.6%)
  • Asian Alone72,712 (9.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone65,330 (8.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races46,948 (6.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish142,919
  2. 2.Other Indo-European36,961
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)27,544
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)27,375
  5. 5.Vietnamese9,971

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

16.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

70.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

13.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

29.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

14,271

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$192,209

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$56,920

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance132,340
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services82,314
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services40,202
  4. 4.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing37,736
  5. 5.Retail Trade (Group)34,486

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations235,485
  2. 2.Service Occupations80,125
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations72,408
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations31,800
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations19,296

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.53×)83,120
  2. 2.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.29×)37,754
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.28×)131,334
  4. 4.Information (LQ 1.15×)9,475
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.05×)40,413

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$680,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$2,069/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

36.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $500,000 to $749,99939,244 (32.9%)
  • $750,000 to $999,99927,330 (22.9%)
  • $1,000,000 to $1,499,99914,230 (11.9%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99912,127 (10.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9996,827 (5.7%)
  • $2,000,000 or More6,321 (5.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

49.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

87.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

70.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$53,851

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

30.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

31.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone151,736 (35.4%)
  • Public Transit95,735 (22.4%)
  • Worked At Home85,075 (19.9%)
  • Walked51,219 (12.0%)
  • Carpooled26,301 (6.1%)
  • Bicycle8,245 (1.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.