Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Middlesex County is a located in the  of. It is the most populous county in Massachusetts. As of the, the was 1,465,396. The of Massachusetts is located in Middlesex County, in the town of. Its s are and. The county government was abolished in 1997 but the county itself still survives as a legal venue and for other administrative purposes.

The county was created by the on May 10, 1643, when it was ordered "that the whole  within this jurisdiction be divided into four ". Middlesex initially contained, , , , , , , and.

Law and government
Like an increasing number of Massachusetts counties, Middlesex County exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government. All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1997. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county region, but there is no county council or commissioner. However, communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services. See also: League of Women Voters page on Massachusetts counties.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 848 (2,195 ). 823 sq mi (2,133 km²) of it is land and 24 sq mi (62 km² ) of it (2.84%) is water.

The region comprises much of the southern portion of the county.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 1,465,396 people, 561,220 households, and 360,864 families residing in the county. The was 1,780/sq mi (687/km²). There were 576,681 housing units at an average density of 270/km² (700/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 85.88%, 3.36% or , 0.15% , 6.26% , 0.04% , 2.07% from , and 2.24% from two or more races. 4.55% of the population were or  of any race. 20.0% were of, 15.7% and 8.0%  ancestry according to. 79.6% spoke, 4.3% , 2.7% , 1.6% , 1.6% or  and 1.5%  as their first language. Middlesex county is the most-Irish county in the entire country

There were 561,220 households out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.30% were living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.70% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.50% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 33.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $60,821, and the median income for a family was $74,194. Males had a median income of $49,460 versus $36,288 for females. The for the county was $31,199. About 4.30% of families and 6.50% of the population were below the, including 7.20% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.

Middlesex County is the 10th richest county in the country, according to .

Cities and towns
Most municipalities in Middlesex County have a form of government; the remainder are cities, and are so designated on this list. Villages listed below are census or postal divisions, but have no separate corporate existence from the cities and towns in which they are located.


 * , a village of Ayer, and 
 * , a village of Billerica
 * , a village of Billerica
 * , a city and
 * , a village of Chelmsford
 * , a village of Concord
 * , a city
 * , a village of Framingham
 * , a village of Framingham
 * , a region of Framingham south of state rte. 9
 * , a village of Littleton
 * , a city and
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of, and Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Pepperell
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , officially called a town but legally a city
 * , a village of Wayland
 * , a city
 * , a village of Littleton
 * , a city and
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of, and Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Newton
 * , a village of Pepperell
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , officially called a town but legally a city
 * , a village of Wayland
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , officially called a town but legally a city
 * , a village of Wayland
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , officially called a town but legally a city
 * , a village of Wayland
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , officially called a town but legally a city
 * , a village of Wayland
 * , a city
 * , a village of Wayland
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city
 * , a city