The One Minute Geographer: Massachusetts (4): Demography, Social Well-Being and Immigration
What’s up with the 7 million people in Massachusetts? Population grew 7.4% from 2010 to 2020, a rate exactly the same as the US as a whole. Massachusetts, of course, is a very urbanized state, ranking second, after New Jersey, with 92% of its population living in densely urbanized regions.
Massachusetts is a great place to live based on various measures of social well-being. It scores in the top five among the 50 states on almost any index we commonly think of, and it scores low on none. The Annie Casey Foundation scores Massachusetts in 1st place on its index of child well-being, a composite index of more than twenty variables. Just two examples: Massachusetts has both the lowest infant mortality and the lowest teen birth rate in the US.
On measures of income, Massachusetts ranked 4th in median household income with a figure a hair under $80,000 in 2019. It ranks 3rd in per capita income (about $36,600). But not everyone is wealthy. The state ranks 8th best in percentage of people in poverty — 9.4% when the US average is 10.5%.
Massachusetts has a high female-to-male ratio, as do many highly urbanized states. It ranks 5th with 100 women for every 94 men. Massachusetts is a very Catholic state, ranking 4th with 38% of its population…
