Massachusetts · Census place 21815
Essex, MA population, income and ZIP codes
Quick answer
The population of the city of Essex, Massachusetts (Essex, MA — Census place “Essex CDP”) is 1,775 residents, ranking #195 of 248 places in Massachusetts. Median household income is $156,094, the median home is worth $774,400 and median gross rent runs $1,750 a month. Looking for the Essex Massachusetts ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Essex, MA: 01929.
- Population
- 1,775Essex CDP residents
- Median household income
- $156,094Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
- Median home value
- $774,400Owner-occupied units
- Median gross rent
- $1,750Rent plus utilities, monthly
- Median age
- 42.2 yrsAll residents
- Homeownership rate
- 75.2%Owner-occupied households
Essex ZIP codes (Massachusetts)
Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Essex.
The Essex MA ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.
What the numbers mean in Essex CDP
Housing cost measured against local earnings.
A household earning the Essex CDP median would spend about 13.5% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 5.0× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 3.3% of residents and 75.2% of households own their home.
Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year
Essex CDP, MA in context
How this area compares with national benchmarks.
Essex CDP is a small town in Massachusetts, with 1,775 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #195 of 248 ranked by population — larger than 21% of them. The median age here is 42.2 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.
Households in Essex CDP earn a median of $156,094 a year, 98.7% above the national figure of $78,538 and 57% above the $99,537 median for the 222 Massachusetts cities we cover. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 3.3% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.
The typical owner-occupied home in Essex CDP is valued at $774,400, 155.2% above the national figure and 56% above the $497,400 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,750 a month, 24.5% above the national figure, or roughly $21,000 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 13.5% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 5×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 75.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. The rent line includes utilities paid by the tenant, a definition worth remembering when comparing it against a landlord's quoted rate.
No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.
Compare with nearby places
Places of similar size in Massachusetts.
- Bourne CDP 1,765
- Monson Center CDP 1,794
- Shelburne Falls CDP 1,755
- Rutland CDP 1,796
- Hanscom AFB CDP 1,745
- Lenox CDP 1,809
- Teaticket CDP 1,728
- South Deerfield CDP 1,822
Keep going
More Massachusetts coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this area.
- What is the population of Essex CDP?
- Essex CDP has 1,775 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #195 of 248 in Massachusetts.
- What is the median household income in Essex CDP?
- Median household income in Essex CDP is $156,094 a year, 98.7% above the national figure of $78,538.
- How much does it cost to rent or buy in Essex CDP?
- Median gross rent is $1,750 a month and the median home value is $774,400, so rent absorbs about 13.5% of median household income.
- Is Essex CDP affordable compared with the rest of the US?
- Homes cost about 5× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Essex CDP is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 13.5% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
- How current is this Essex CDP data?
- All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.