Somerville is a larger medium-sized coastal city (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 77,478 people and 15 constituent neighborhoods, Somerville is the 12th largest community in Massachusetts. Somerville has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Somerville is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 86.43% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Somerville is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Somerville who work in office and administrative support jobs (13.98%), sales jobs (8.25%), and management occupations (8.09%).

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

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Somerville has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

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

Because there are quite a few people attending college in Somerville, it is thought of as a college town. To the benefit of the many students in the area, Somerville provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards their needs and activities.

Not only is Somerville a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, shaping the character of the city into a place that is geared toward, and considered attractive to, many single, educated people. Many singles consider Somerville a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.

In addition to being popular with young singles, Somerville is also home to many people who can be described as "urban sophisticates." Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

One of the nice things about Somerville is that is it nautical, meaning that parts of the city are somewhat historic and on the ocean, or touch tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

Somerville Information and Demographics

The citizens of Somerville are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 40.58% of adults in Somerville have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Somerville in 2000 was $23,628, which is lower middle income relative to Massachusetts, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $94,512 for a family of four.

Somerville is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Somerville home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Somerville is White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Somerville include Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian, English, German, and Haitian.

In addition, Somerville has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (29.33%).

The languages spoken by people in Somerville are also diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in Somerville is English. Other important languages spoken here include Portuguese, Spanish, French Creole, Italian, and Chinese.