Chelsea, Massachusetts demographics

Chelsea, MA demographics: median age 34.4; 22.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Chelsea city, Massachusetts · Incorporated city · GEOID 2513205. The survey estimates a population of 39,908 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Chelsea is 34.4 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.3 years. There are 13,716 households (±635). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	34.4 ±1.3	40.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 39,908
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
Under 18	9,724 ±856	24.4% ±2.1 pp	19.4%	22.0%
18–34	10,641 ±837	26.7% ±2.1 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	15,355 ±1,028	38.5% ±2.6 pp	38.9%	38.0%
65 and older	4,188 ±520	10.5% ±1.3 pp	17.9%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 39,908
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
Male	20,113 ±787	50.4% ±2.0 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	19,795 ±798	49.6% ±2.0 pp	51.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 39,908
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
White alone	8,666 ±1,255	21.7% ±3.1 pp	68.6%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	3,274 ±872	8.2% ±2.2 pp	6.8%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	248 ±204 · low precision	0.6% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.9%
Asian alone	832 ±234	2.1% ±0.6 pp	7.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±29 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	6,915 ±1,218	17.3% ±3.1 pp	5.8%	7.1%
Two or more races	19,973 ±1,864	50.0% ±4.7 pp	11.1%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 39,908
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	13,048 ±1,224	32.7% ±3.1 pp	86.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	26,860 ±1,222	67.3% ±3.1 pp	13.3%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 13,716
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
Married-couple family	4,621 ±475	33.7% ±3.1 pp	45.9%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,125 ±272	8.2% ±1.9 pp	4.7%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	2,284 ±413	16.7% ±2.9 pp	11.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	4,354 ±550	31.7% ±3.7 pp	28.8%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,332 ±293	9.7% ±2.1 pp	8.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 13,716
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
Households with people under 18	4,855 ±417	35.4% ±2.6 pp	27.9%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	8,861 ±731	64.6% ±4.4 pp	72.1%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 13,716
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	4,354 ±550	31.7% ±3.7 pp	28.8%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,088 ±434	22.5% ±3.0 pp	33.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,969 ±357	14.4% ±2.5 pp	16.5%	15.3%
Four-person households	2,206 ±357	16.1% ±2.5 pp	13.5%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,114 ±290	8.1% ±2.1 pp	5.2%	5.9%
Six-person households	347 ±141	2.5% ±1.0 pp	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	638 ±206	4.7% ±1.5 pp	0.9%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 39,908
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
Native	21,514 ±1,238	53.9% ±3.1 pp	82.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	18,394 ±1,237	46.1% ±3.1 pp	18.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 36,778
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
English only	10,796 ±1,096	29.4% ±2.9 pp	74.9%	77.7%
Spanish	22,226 ±1,292	60.4% ±3.4 pp	9.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	505 ±251	1.4% ±0.7 pp	1.9%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	8 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	350 ±169	1.0% ±0.5 pp	1.0%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,050 ±454	2.9% ±1.2 pp	6.1%	2.0%
Korean	56 ±53 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	216 ±135 · low precision	0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision	2.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	177 ±122 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	13 ±24 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	146 ±92 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.3%	1.1%
Arabic	658 ±529 · low precision	1.8% ±1.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	577 ±289 · low precision	1.6% ±0.8 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 27,062
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	8,037 ±875	29.7% ±3.1 pp	8.6%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	8,610 ±756	31.8% ±2.6 pp	22.6%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	3,156 ±546	11.7% ±2.0 pp	14.1%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,259 ±429	4.7% ±1.6 pp	7.5%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	3,856 ±470	14.2% ±1.7 pp	25.5%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,144 ±328	7.9% ±1.2 pp	21.8%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 38,833
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Massachusetts	U.S.
Same house	33,817 ±1,048	87.1% ±2.5 pp	88.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,595 ±487	4.1% ±1.3 pp	5.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,560 ±569	4.0% ±1.5 pp	3.0%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	515 ±209	1.3% ±0.5 pp	2.2%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	1,346 ±584	3.5% ±1.5 pp	0.9%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

3.4% of Chelsea residents (±1.0 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 2.6% in Massachusetts and 8.4% nationally. 86.6% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Chelsea	Massachusetts	U.S.	Compared with Massachusetts
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	3.4% ±1.0 pp	2.6%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	86.6% ±1.2 pp	92.8%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	1.6% ±0.8 pp · low precision	4.3%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Chelsea . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Chelsea housing and cost context or return to the city profile.