Essex County, Massachusetts

Essex County is a located in the northeastern part of the  of. As of 2000, the population was 723,419. It has two s:  and.

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

Essex County is famous as the area that districted into a salamander-like shape in 1812 that gave rise to the word.

Law and government
Like an increasing number of Massachusetts counties, Essex County exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government. All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1999. 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, commissioner, or county employees. 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 2,146 (829 ). 1,297 km² (501 sq mi) of it is land and 849 km² (328 sq mi) of it (39.57%) is water. Essex County is adjacent to (north), the  (east),  (south), and  (west). All county land is incorporated.

Essex County includes the, , and much of the.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (south)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 723,419 people, 275,419 households, and 185,081 families residing in the county. The was 558/km² (1,445/sq mi). There were 287,144 housing units at an average density of 221/km² (574/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 86.44%, 2.60% or , 0.23% , 2.34% , 0.04% , 6.20% from , and 2.15% from two or more races. 11.04% of the population is or  of any race. 18.4% were of, 15.1% , 9.9% , 5.6% and 5.0%  ancestry according to. 80.8% spoke, 10.2% , 1.4% , 1.2% and 1.0%  as their first language.

There were 275,419 households out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.10% were living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.80% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 30.30% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,576, and the median income for a family was $63,746. Males had a median income of $44,569 versus $32,369 for females. The for the county was $26,358. About 6.60% of families and 8.90% of the population were below the, including 11.90% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.

In 2006, Essex County received the dubious honor of being named number one on Forbes Magazine's list of most overpriced places to live in the U.S. The magazine cited high living costs and expensive real estate as the major reasons Essex County was picked over cities with higher mean real estate values (San Diego, New York, Honolulu.)

Cities, towns, and villages*
* Villages are census division, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)
 * (a village of Rockport)

Education
Essex County is home to several libraries and schools, both public and private.

Libraries

 * Merrimack Valley Library Consortium - Northern Essex and Middlesex County Libraries
 * North of Boston Library Exchange - Southern Essex and Middlesex County Libraries

Secondary education

 * Amesbury Public Schools
 * serves and
 * Brooks School - North Andover
 * GDA - Governor Dummer Academy - Newbury
 * Pentucket Regional School District - Groveland, Merrimac, West Newbury.
 *  Triton Regional School District - Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury.
 * Masconomet Regional School District
 * Masconomet Regional High School serves, and
 * Phillips Andover Academy
 * St. Johns Prep - Danvers
 * Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School

Essex National Heritage Area
On, , Essex was authorized. The heritage area is Essex County, a 500-square mile area between the Atlantic Coast and the Merrimack Valley. It includes thousands of historic sites and districts that illuminate colonial settlement, the development of the shoe and textile industries, and the growth and decline of the maritime industries — including fishing, privateering, and the China trade.