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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.

Melrose, MA
Real Estate & Demographic Data





Melrose profile


Living in Melrose



Melrose is a medium-sized city located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 29,155 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Melrose is the 61st largest community in Massachusetts. Much of the housing stock in Melrose was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

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

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

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

A relatively large number of people in Melrose telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 20.57% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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, Melrose 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.

Because of many things, Melrose is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Melrose a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The city’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Melrose has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Melrose’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

In Melrose, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 36.05 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. In addition, the city is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Although the majority of commuting trips in the city are by private automobile, Melrose 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 Melrose area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Melrose, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Melrose is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 61.28% 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 Melrose in 2022 was $60,957, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $243,828 for a family of four.

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

In addition, Melrose has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (15.44%).

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