Counties in Massachusetts by households

Middlesex County had the highest households of 14 counties in 2023, at 630,939. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 5,048. The median was 192,606 and the figure for Massachusetts was 2.76 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest630,939Middlesex County
Lowest5,048Nantucket County
Median192,60614 counties
Massachusetts2,762,070History

Map of counties, 2023

Barnstable County: 102,981 countBerkshire County: 56,517 countBristol County: 232,202 countDukes County: 7,362 countEssex County: 311,676 countFranklin County: 31,498 countHampden County: 184,217 countHampshire County: 61,770 countMiddlesex County: 630,939 countNantucket County: 5,048 countNorfolk County: 281,408 countPlymouth County: 200,995 countSuffolk County: 322,184 countWorcester County: 333,273 count
  • Under 47K
  • 47K to 120K
  • 120K to 230K
  • 230K to 320K
  • 320K and over
count, 2023. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2023

Middlesex County: 630,939 countMiddlesex County630,939Worcester County: 333,273 countWorcester County333,273Suffolk County: 322,184 countSuffolk County322,184Essex County: 311,676 countEssex County311,676Norfolk County: 281,408 countNorfolk County281,408Bristol County: 232,202 countBristol County232,202Plymouth County: 200,995 countPlymouth County200,995Hampden County: 184,217 countHampden County184,217Barnstable County: 102,981 countBarnstable County102,981Hampshire County: 61,770 countHampshire County61,770Berkshire County: 56,517 countBerkshire County56,517Franklin County: 31,498 countFranklin County31,498Dukes County: 7,362 countDukes County7,362Nantucket County: 5,048 countNantucket County5,048Middlesex County: 630,939 countMiddlesex County630,939Worcester County: 333,273 countWorcester County333,273Suffolk County: 322,184 countSuffolk County322,184Essex County: 311,676 countEssex County311,676Norfolk County: 281,408 countNorfolk County281,408Bristol County: 232,202 countBristol County232,202Plymouth County: 200,995 countPlymouth County200,995Hampden County: 184,217 countHampden County184,217Barnstable County: 102,981 countBarnstable County102,981Hampshire County: 61,770 countHampshire County61,770Berkshire County: 56,517 countBerkshire County56,517Franklin County: 31,498 countFranklin County31,498Dukes County: 7,362 countDukes County7,362Nantucket County: 5,048 countNantucket County5,048
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count
Change on 2022
1Middlesex County630,939+0.2%
2Worcester County333,273+0.9%
3Suffolk County322,184+0.9%
4Essex County311,676+0.5%
5Norfolk County281,408+0.8%
6Bristol County232,202+1%
7Plymouth County200,995+1%
8Hampden County184,217+0.5%
9Barnstable County102,981+3%
10Hampshire County61,770+0.6%
11Berkshire County56,517+0.8%
12Franklin County31,498+0.8%
13Dukes County7,362+6.7%
14Nantucket County5,048+8.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of households, which equals the number of occupied housing units. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

People living in group quarters, such as college dormitories, nursing homes and prisons, are not in households.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households) (Counties in Massachusetts by households, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), Counties in Massachusetts by households, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/massachusetts-counties?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). Counties in Massachusetts by households, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/massachusetts-counties?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), Counties in Massachusetts by households, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/massachusetts-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households): Counties in Massachusetts by households, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/massachusetts-counties?period=2023. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households): Counties in Massachusetts by households, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/massachusetts-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/massachusetts-counties?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest households?

Middlesex County, with 630,939 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest households?

Nantucket County, with 5,048 in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Households: other rankings

Counties in Massachusetts: more rankings