Somerville is a larger medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 80,407 people and 25 associated neighborhoods, Somerville is the 13th largest community in Massachusetts. Somerville has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

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

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.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 28.96% 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.

Another interesting thing about Somerville, despite not being a huge city, is that there is a relatively high proportion of people living here who are young, single, and upwardly-mobile professionals. This makes it a good choice for other relocating single professionals. Here, these young singles will find many others like themselves, with opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

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

One downside of living in Somerville, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.66 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

Although the majority of commuting trips in the city are by private automobile, Somerville is somewhat unusual for a city of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the subway helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Somerville area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Somerville. 68.04% 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 Somerville in 2022 was $70,880, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $283,520 for a family of four. However, Somerville contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Somerville is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Somerville home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Somerville residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Somerville also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 11.40% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Somerville include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Portuguese.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Somerville's cultural character, accounting for 24.79% of the city’s population.

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