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| Suffolk County, Massachusetts | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of Massachusetts |
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 Massachusetts's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | May 10th, 1643 |
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| Seat | Boston |
| Largest City | Boston |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
120 sq mi (311 km²) 58 sq mi (150 km²) 62 sq mi (161 km²), 52% |
| PopulationEst. - (2015) - Density |
778,121 13,229/sq mi (5,108/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Named for: Suffolk | |
Suffolk County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of 2014, the population was 767,254 making it the fourth-most populous county in Massachusetts. The county seat is Boston, the state capital and largest city. The county government was abolished in late 1999, and so Suffolk County today functions only as an administrative subdivision of state government and a set of communities grouped together for some statistical purposes.
Suffolk County is included in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The county was created by the Massachusetts General Court on May 10, 1643, when it was ordered "that the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four shires". Suffolk initially contained Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Dedham, Braintree, Weymouth, and Hingham. The county was named after Suffolk, England, which means "southern folk."
In 1731, the extreme western portions of Suffolk County, which included Uxbridge, were split off to become part of Worcester County. In 1793, most of the original Suffolk County (including Milton) except for Boston, Chelsea, Hingham, and Hull (which remained in Suffolk) split off and became Norfolk County. Hingham and Hull would leave Suffolk County and join Plymouth County in 1803. Revere was set off from Chelsea and incorporated in 1846 and Winthrop was set off from Revere and incorporated in 1852. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Boston annexed several adjacent cities and towns including Hyde Park, Roxbury, West Roxbury, and Dorchester from Norfolk County and Charlestown and Brighton from Middlesex County, resulting in an enlargement of Suffolk County.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 120 square miles (310 km2), of which 58 square miles (150 km2) is land and 62 square miles (160 km2) (52%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Massachusetts by land area and smallest by total area.
Suffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1790 | 44,865 | — | |
| 1800 | 28,015 | −37.6% | |
| 1810 | 34,381 | 22.7% | |
| 1820 | 43,940 | 27.8% | |
| 1830 | 62,163 | 41.5% | |
| 1840 | 95,773 | 54.1% | |
| 1850 | 144,517 | 50.9% | |
| 1860 | 192,700 | 33.3% | |
| 1870 | 270,802 | 40.5% | |
| 1880 | 387,927 | 43.3% | |
| 1890 | 484,780 | 25.0% | |
| 1900 | 611,417 | 26.1% | |
| 1910 | 731,388 | 19.6% | |
| 1920 | 835,522 | 14.2% | |
| 1930 | 879,536 | 5.3% | |
| 1940 | 863,248 | −1.9% | |
| 1950 | 896,615 | 3.9% | |
| 1960 | 791,329 | −11.7% | |
| 1970 | 735,190 | −7.1% | |
| 1980 | 650,142 | −11.6% | |
| 1990 | 663,906 | 2.1% | |
| 2000 | 689,807 | 3.9% | |
| 2010 | 722,023 | 4.7% | |
| Est. 2015 | 778,121 | 7.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 |
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As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 722,023 people, 292,767 households, and 140,412 families residing in the county. The population density was 12,415.6 inhabitants per square mile (4,793.7/km2). There were 315,522 housing units at an average density of 5,425.6 per square mile (2,094.8/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 56.0% white, 21.6% black or African American, 8.2% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 9.7% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 19.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 16.4% were Irish, 10.4% were Italian, 5.2% were English, and 2.0% were American.
Of the 292,767 households, 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.1% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 52.0% were non-families, and 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 31.5 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $50,597 and the median income for a family was $58,127. Males had a median income of $48,887 versus $43,658 for females. The per capita income for the county was $30,720. About 15.7% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.1% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.
Data is from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
| Rank | Town | Area (land) | Per capita income |
Median household income |
Median family income |
Population | Number of households |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winthrop | City | 2.0 sq mi (5.2 km2) | $36,624 | $61,744 | $81,647 | 17,430 | 7,356 |
| Massachusetts | State | $35,051 | $65,981 | $83,371 | 6,512,227 | 2,522,409 | ||
| 2 | Boston | City | 48.42 sq mi (125.41 km2) | $33,158 | $51,739 | $61,035 | 609,942 | 247,621 |
| Suffolk County | County | $32,034 | $51,638 | $60,342 | 713,089 | 286,437 | ||
| United States | Country | $27,915 | $52,762 | $64,293 | 306,603,772 | 114,761,359 | ||
| 3 | Revere | City | 5.9 sq mi (15.3 km2) | $25,085 | $50,592 | $58,345 | 50,845 | 19,425 |
| 4 | Chelsea | City | 2.2 sq mi (5.7 km2) | $20,214 | $43,155 | $46,967 | 34,872 | 12,035 |
