Part Of Wayland Among Top 10 Richest Places In MA: Census

MASSACHUSETTS — The median household income in Massachusetts in 2020 was $84,385, according to recently-released Census estimates, making it the third-richest state behind Maryland ($87,063) and New Jersey ($85,245).

The American Community Survey 5-year estimates also showed Massachusetts ranked 10th among states for people living below the poverty line. In Massachusetts, 6.8 percent of households had income less than $24,999 in 2020, putting the Bay State below the national poverty rate of 9 percent.

The Cochituate area in Wayland — located at the south end of town near the Framingham and Natick lines — ranked among the top 10 richest places in the state. The area has a population just under 7,000 people, which is about half of Wayland's total population. The area straddles Lake Cochituate and Dudley Pond.

We've listed the richest and poorest places below. We've also put together spreadsheet showing the estimated 2020 median income for every town in Massachusetts tracked by the Census data.

The 25 Richest Places In Massachusetts

1. Boxford — $221,153
2. Green Harbor (Marshfield) — $218,157
3. Dover — $217,284
4. Wellesley — $213,684
5. Lexington — $185,686
6. Cochituate (Wayland) — $175,729
7. Needham — $174,707
8. Winchester — $173,058
9. Hingham — $172,768
10. Cordaville (Southborough) — $167,593
11. South Duxbury — $165,516
12. Marshfield Hills — $157,981
13. Newton — $154,398
14. Sharon — $148,009
15. Medfield — $147,858
16. Cedar Crest (Marshfield) — $157,891
17. Lynnfield — $145,594
18. Hopkinton — $141,713
19. North Pembroke — $141,389
20. Milton — $141,050
21. Belmont — $140,500
22. Topsfield — $139,077
23. Wilmington — $133,873
24. West Concord — $132,619
25. Reading — $131,515

The 10 Poorest Places In Massachusetts

The places in Massachusetts with the lowest median income in 2020 fell into two, broad categories: small, rural towns, mostly in the western part of the state and former industrial cities that entered a long decline in the second half of the 20th century.

1. Onset — $33,614
2. Turners Falls — $38,063
3. Wareham Center — $40,217
4. Lenox — $40,294
5. Springfield — $41,571
6. Holyoke — $42,537
7. Ware — $42,905
8. Great Barrington — $43,870
9. Adams — $43,932
10. Lawrence — $45,045