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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Acton, MA
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Acton profile


Living in Acton



Acton is a medium-sized town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 23,829 people and six constituent neighborhoods, Acton is the 85th largest community in Massachusetts.

Acton home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Acton real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Acton has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Of important note, Acton is also a town of artists. Acton has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Acton’s character.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 25.25% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Because of many things, Acton is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Acton really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Acton perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

In Acton, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 34.19 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit.

Like elsewhere in America, most people in Acton use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Acton‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the train. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Acton. 76.44% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

The per capita income in Acton in 2018 was $65,952, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $263,808 for a family of four.

Acton is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Acton home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Acton residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Acton include Irish, English, German, Italian, and French.

In addition, Acton has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (27.32%).

The most common language spoken in Acton is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Langs. of India.