Williamstown is a somewhat small town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 7,663 people and two associated neighborhoods, Williamstown is the 214th largest community in Massachusetts. Much of the housing stock in Williamstown was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country. Housing costs in Williamstown 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.Williamstown is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 95.73% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Williamstown is a town of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Williamstown who work in teaching (32.77%), management occupations (9.64%), and office and administrative support (7.85%). Of important note, Williamstown is also a town of artists. Williamstown has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Williamstown’s character. Also of interest is that Williamstown 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: 20.87% 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. Williamstown is a small town where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Williamstown area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Williamstown maintain a good economy. Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.33 minutes getting to work every day.If knowledge is power, Williamstown is a pretty powerful place. 69.40% of the adults in Williamstown have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Williamstown in 2022 was $46,439, which is lower middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $185,756 for a family of four. However, Williamstown contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Williamstown is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Williamstown home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Williamstown residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Williamstown include English, Irish, German, Italian, and European. The most common language spoken in Williamstown is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and French.
