People QuickFacts Essex County Massachusetts Population, 2012 estimate 755,618 6,646,144 Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 743,167 6,547,629 Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012 1.7% 1.5% Population, 2010 743,159 6,547,629 Persons under 5 years, percent, 2011 5.8% 5.6% Persons under 18 years, percent, 2011 22.7% 21.3% Persons 65 years and over, percent, 2011 14.4% 14.0% Female persons, percent, 2011 51.9% 51.6%  White persons, percent, 2011 (a) 88.1% 84.1% Black persons, percent, 2011 (a) 5.6% 7.8% American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2011 (a) 0.8% 0.5% Asian persons, percent, 2011 (a) 3.4% 5.6% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander persons, percent, 2011 (a) 0.1% 0.1% Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2011 2.0% 2.0% Persons of Hispanic or Latino Origin, percent, 2011 (b) 16.9% 9.9% White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2011 75.7% 76.4%  Living in same house 1 year & over, percent, 2007-2011 87.6% 86.5% Foreign born persons, percent, 2007-2011 14.7% 14.7% Language other than English spoken at home, percent age 5+, 2007-2011 23.6% 21.4% High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-2011 88.4% 88.9% Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-2011 36.4% 38.7% Veterans, 2007-2011 46,486 412,617 Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2007-2011 27.5 27.5  Housing units, 2011 307,559 2,818,940 Homeownership rate, 2007-2011 64.9% 63.6% Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2007-2011 43.0% 41.8% Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2007-2011 $362,300 $343,500 Households, 2007-2011 284,940 2,522,409 Persons per household, 2007-2011 2.54 2.49 Per capita money income in the past 12 months (2011 dollars), 2007-2011 $34,858 $35,051 Median household income, 2007-2011 $65,785 $65,981 Persons below poverty level, percent, 2007-2011 10.6% 10.7%     Business QuickFacts Essex County Massachusetts Private nonfarm establishments, 2010 17,877 169,790 Private nonfarm employment, 2010 263,022 2,928,545 Private nonfarm employment, percent change, 2000-2010 -6.9 -5.1 Nonemployer establishments, 2010 56,198 472,534  Total number of firms, 2007 68,102 596,790 Black-owned firms, percent, 2007 3.6% 3.4% American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned firms, percent, 2007 0.3% 0.4% Asian-owned firms, percent, 2007 2.7% 4.5% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms, percent, 2007 S 0.0% Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2007 5.9% 3.3% Women-owned firms, percent, 2007 29.7% 29.8%  Manufacturers shipments, 2007 ($1000) 17,488,661 86,428,959 Merchant wholesaler sales, 2007 ($1000) 12,405,726 95,275,672 Retail sales, 2007 ($1000) 9,822,136 88,082,966 Retail sales per capita, 2007 $13,399 $13,553 Accommodation and food services sales, 2007 ($1000) 1,301,497 14,917,210 Building permits, 2011 725 7,725     Geography QuickFacts Essex County Massachusetts Land area in square miles, 2010 492.56 7,800.06 Persons per square mile, 2010 1,508.8 839.4 FIPS Code 009 25 Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH Metro Area   (a) Includes persons reporting only one race. (b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories. FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data NA: Not available D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information X: Not applicable S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown F: Fewer than 100 firms Source: US Census Bureau State & County QuickFacts