County outline
Where Essex County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 59.4% of Essex County’s measured area and water for 40.6%. Its combined area converts to 2,145.8 square kilometers or approximately 530,233 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 492.514 | 1,275.605 | 315,209 |
| Water | 335.975 | 870.171 | 215,024 |
| Total | 828.489 | 2,145.777 | 530,233 |
How Essex County compares
By original Census land area, Essex County ranks #9 of 14 in Massachusetts and #2111 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 0.912 times the Massachusetts county-equivalent median of 540.2 square miles. It accounts for 6.3% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Massachusetts ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Essex County
The Census Bureau estimates that 826,653 people lived in Essex County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #78 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #3 of 14 in Massachusetts. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 809,943, the population has grown by 16,710 (+2.1%), compared with +1.7% for Massachusetts as a whole.
With 492.5 square miles of land, that is 1,678 people per square mile (648 per km²), placing Essex County #98 nationally for density and #4 in Massachusetts. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Massachusetts median is 673. Put another way, there are about 0.381 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 807,799 | 807,387 | 810,054 | 817,647 | 826,170 | 826,653 |
| Change | — | −412 | +2,667 | +7,593 | +8,523 | +483 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Essex County
Essex County is divided into 34 cities and towns. In Massachusetts, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Lynn city, with 104,236 residents (12.6% of the county). The largest by land is Haverhill city, at 33 mi², or 6.7% of the county’s land. The county seat, Salem city, has 45,381 residents. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Groveland town grew fastest since then (+5.2%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lynn city | 104,236 | +2.9% | 10.7 | 2.2% |
| Lawrence city | 89,320 | +0.2% | 6.93 | 1.4% |
| Haverhill city | 68,361 | +0.9% | 33 | 6.7% |
| Peabody city | 55,953 | +2.7% | 16.2 | 3.3% |
| Methuen city | 54,584 | +2.9% | 22.2 | 4.5% |
| Salem cityCounty seat | 45,381 | +2% | 8.294 | 1.7% |
| Beverly city | 43,363 | +1.6% | 15.1 | 3.1% |
| Andover town | 37,014 | +1.2% | 30.8 | 6.3% |
| North Andover town | 32,161 | +3.6% | 26.3 | 5.3% |
| Gloucester city | 30,627 | +3% | 26.2 | 5.3% |
| Danvers town | 29,211 | +4% | 13.3 | 2.7% |
| Saugus town | 29,179 | +2% | 10.8 | 2.2% |
| Marblehead town | 20,583 | +0.7% | 4.379 | 0.9% |
| Newburyport city | 19,148 | +4.7% | 8.35 | 1.7% |
| Amesbury city | 17,588 | +1.3% | 12.3 | 2.5% |
Show the other 19 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swampscott town | 15,183 | +0.5% | 3.022 |
| Ipswich town | 14,131 | +2.5% | 32.1 |
| Lynnfield town | 13,274 | +2.2% | 9.855 |
| Middleton town | 9,895 | +1.2% | 13.4 |
| Salisbury town | 9,530 | +3.3% | 15.4 |
| Georgetown town | 8,577 | +1.2% | 12.9 |
| Boxford town | 8,520 | +3.9% | 23.6 |
| Hamilton town | 7,674 | +1.5% | 14.2 |
| Rockport town | 7,126 | +1.9% | 6.988 |
| Groveland town | 7,102 | +5.2% | 8.88 |
| Newbury town | 6,895 | +2.6% | 23.4 |
| Merrimac town | 6,818 | +1.4% | 8.499 |
| Topsfield town | 6,626 | +1% | 11.9 |
| Rowley town | 6,356 | +3.1% | 18.2 |
| Manchester-by-the-Sea town | 5,475 | +1.5% | 9.23 |
| Wenham town | 4,952 | −0.5% | 7.659 |
| West Newbury town | 4,709 | +4.7% | 13.4 |
| Essex town | 3,770 | +2.4% | 14 |
| Nahant town | 3,331 | −0.1% | 1.076 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Essex County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Essex County is a central county of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area, in the Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA metropolitan division. Its 7 county equivalents have 5,034,221 residents on 3,486.3 square miles of land; Essex County accounts for 14.1% of the land and 16.4% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #84 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #11 by population. It belongs to the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH Combined Statistical Area.
| County equivalent | Population 2025 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|
| Middlesex County | 1,669,979 | 817.9 |
| Essex County | 826,653 | 492.5 |
| Suffolk County | 791,891 | 58.3 |
| Norfolk County | 739,749 | 396.1 |
| Plymouth County | 546,829 | 658.5 |
| Rockingham CountyNew Hampshire | 324,077 | 695.6 |
| Strafford CountyNew Hampshire | 135,043 | 367.5 |
ZIP codes
46 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Essex County; 44 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
01810018260183001832018330183401835018400184101843018440184501860018760190101902019040190501906019070190801913019150192101922019230192901930019370193801940019440194501949019500195101952019600196501966019690197001982019830198401985
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Essex County
Essex County shares a land border with 4 county equivalents, including 2 in New Hampshire. It has more land than 1 of them. The largest neighbor is Hillsborough County (876.5 mi²) and the smallest is Suffolk County (58.3 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Essex County forms a block of 2,940.8 mi² of land, of which it holds 16.7%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Essex | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough CountyNew Hampshire | 876.5 | 1.8× larger | Compare |
| Middlesex County | 817.9 | 1.7× larger | Compare |
| Rockingham CountyNew Hampshire | 695.6 | 1.4× larger | Compare |
| Suffolk County | 58.3 | 8.5× smaller | Compare |
How big is Essex County compared with U.S. states?
Essex County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2.1 times as much. Massachusetts’s county land could hold about 16 areas the size of Essex County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 22.2 miles (35.7 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Essex County?
Essex County has more land than 1,111 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Essex County at #1,120 nationally by total area, 991 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.
Its water share is 40.6%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 39.4 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Essex County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2110 | Pemiscot County, Missouri | 492.6 | Compare |
| #2111 | Essex County, Massachusetts | 492.5 | This county |
| #2112 | Breathitt County, Kentucky | 492.4 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 42.642708, -70.864909. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,275,605,848 m²; AWATER: 870,172,222 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Essex County?
Essex County, Massachusetts has 492.5 square miles (1,275.6 km²) of land and 336 square miles of water, for a total area of 828.5 square miles. It ranks #2111 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Essex County the largest county in Massachusetts?
No. Essex County ranks #9 of 14 in Massachusetts by land area. The largest is Worcester County, with 1,510.7 square miles of land.
What counties border Essex County?
Essex County shares a land border with Middlesex County, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Suffolk County, and Hillsborough County, New Hampshire.
What is the population of Essex County?
The Census Bureau estimates Essex County had 826,653 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #78 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 1,678 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Essex County?
The county seat of Essex County is Salem.
What cities and towns are in Essex County?
Essex County has 34 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Lynn city, Lawrence city, Haverhill city, Peabody city, and Methuen city.
Is Essex County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 7 county equivalents and 5,034,221 residents.
How many ZIP codes are in Essex County?
46 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Essex County, and 44 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Essex County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2.1 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Essex County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 315,209 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 530,233 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.