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 a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Medford home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Medford real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

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 22.17% 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 is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Medford, the average commute to work is 31.96 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the city, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of Medford’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

For the size of the city, public transportation in Medford is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking the subway. For Medford, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.

If knowledge is power, Medford is a pretty powerful place. 57.59% of the adults in Medford have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Medford in 2022 was $61,508, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $246,032 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 Polish.

Medford also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 24.16%.

The most common language spoken in Medford is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French Creole.