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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.

Chelsea, MA
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Chelsea profile


Living in Chelsea



Chelsea is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 38,637 people and nine constituent neighborhoods, Chelsea is the 40th largest community in Massachusetts. Chelsea has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.

Housing costs in Chelsea are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.

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

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 7.32% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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.

Chelsea is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

One downside of living in Chelsea is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Chelsea, the average commute to work is 34.23 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the city, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of Chelsea’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

For the size of the city, public transportation in Chelsea is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking the bus. For Chelsea, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.

In terms of college education, Chelsea is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 20.85% of adults 25 and older in Chelsea have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Chelsea in 2018 was $27,627, which is low income relative to Massachusetts, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $110,508 for a family of four. However, Chelsea contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Chelsea is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Chelsea home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Chelsea, accounting for 66.06% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Chelsea residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Chelsea include Italian, Irish, German, Brazilian, and English.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Chelsea's cultural character, accounting for 47.24% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Chelsea is Spanish. Other important languages spoken here include English and Portuguese.