Swampscott is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 15,280 people and four associated neighborhoods, Swampscott is the 137th largest community in Massachusetts. Swampscott has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns.

Housing costs in Swampscott 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 Swampscott has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 20.55% 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.

In addition, Swampscott is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.

Swampscott 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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

One downside of living in Swampscott is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Swampscott, the average commute to work is 34.51 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly town. Many of Swampscott’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Even though Swampscott is a smaller town, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the train for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Swampscott, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Swampscott is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 63.67% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in Swampscott in 2018 was $72,512, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $290,048 for a family of four.

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

Swampscott also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 19.91%.

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