Medford is a larger medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 58,744 people and 14 associated neighborhoods, Medford is the 21st largest community in Massachusetts. Medford has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.
Housing costs in Medford are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.
Also of interest is that Medford has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
A relatively large number of people in Medford telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 18.55% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
One thing that you will notice about Medford is that there is a good-sized population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. Many singles consider Medford a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.
Medford is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
One downside of living in Medford, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.37 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
Like elsewhere in America, most people in Medford use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Medford‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the subway. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.
Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Medford, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Medford is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 55.96% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.
The per capita income in Medford in 2022 was $58,522, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $234,088 for a family of four. However, Medford contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Medford is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Medford home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Medford residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Medford include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Haitian.
Medford also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 23.62%.
The most common language spoken in Medford is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.