Historical United States Census totals for Middlesex County, Massachusetts

This article shows U.S. Census totals for Middlesex County, Massachusetts, broken down by municipality, from 1900 to 2000.

Like most areas of New England, Middlesex County is (and has been at all times since well before the 20th century) entirely divided into incorporated municipalities. There is no unincorporated territory. For any census, adding up the totals for each municipality should yield the county total.

There are two types of municipalities in Massachusetts, towns and cities. The tables below differentiate between towns and cities.

For more information on the New England municipal system, see New England town.

Corporate changes since 1900

There have been no changes in Middlesex County’s municipality roster since 1900.

1900

County Total: 565,696

1910

County Total: 669,915

1920

County Total: 778,352

1930

County Total: 934,924

1940

County Total: 971,390

1950

County Total: 1,064,569

1960

County Total: 1,238,742

1970

County Total: 1,398,397

1980

County Total: 1,367,034

1990

County Total: 1,398,468

2000

County Total: 1,466,394

Notes

1970 Census

The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 1970 census totals subsequent to their initial release. Middlesex County went through two rounds of revisions. The 1970 total for Middlesex County was originally reported as 1,397,268; for the city of Newton, 91,066; and for the town of Ayer, 7,393. Later, the county total was revised to 1,398,355, with Newton’s total changing to 91,263 and Ayer’s to 8,283. Newton’s total remained, but the totals for the county and for Ayer were later revised again to those shown in the list above. At least part of the issue with Ayer appears to have been an assignment error between Ayer and the neighboring town of Harvard, in Worcester County (the two towns shared in part the then-active Fort Devens military base); Harvard also went through two rounds of revisions, and in both the original and final totals, the collective population of Ayer and Harvard is the same.

2000 Census

The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 2000 census totals subsequent to their initial release. The 2000 total for Middlesex County was originally reported as 1,465,396; for the town of Chelmsford, 33,858, and for the town of Shirley, 6,373. The totals were later revised to those shown in the list above. At least part of the issue with Shirley may have been an assignment error between Shirley and the neighboring town of Lancaster, in Worcester County (the two towns shared in part the former Fort Devens military base); as a result of the revisions, Shirley’s total increased and Lancaster’s dropped, although not by exactly the same amount.

Special note regarding Watertown

Watertown is among eleven municipalities in Massachusetts whose status as towns or cities is a matter of some ambiguity. This ambiguity is the result of questions around the legal status of towns which have since the 1970s, through home-rule petition, adopted forms of government that resemble city government and do not include the elements traditionally associated with town government (e.g., a board of selectmen, a town meeting). Of the eleven communities that have done so, all but one have generally continued to use the title "town" and are usually referred to by residents as "towns", but the Massachusetts Secretary of State's Office considers all eleven to be legally cities. Other sources within state government often refer to all eleven municipalities as towns, however. Massachusetts seems to be the only New England state where this type of issue has arisen, even though other New England states also have municipalities which have adopted what amount to city forms of government but continue to call themselves "towns". In the other states, it does not appear that any need to officially label such municipalities as "cities" has been identified.

For purposes of the New England town page and its attendant pages, the ten affected communities which call themselves "towns", including Watertown, are classified as towns. The reader should be aware, however, that some sources will identify these municipalities as cities. Watertown adopted its present form of government in 1980.

The Census Bureau has been inconsistent in its handling of these municipalities. The Census Bureau listed all as towns through the 1990 Census. For the 2000 Census, some were inexplicably listed as towns and some as cities, a situation which continues in current Census materials. In the 2000 Census, Watertown was one of those listed as a city.

See also

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