Community Corner
Slightly Smaller Marlborough: Population Shrank After 2020, Census Data Says
New Census population estimates released Thursday show that Marlborough and many other Massachusetts cities lost residents.
MARLBOROUGH, MA — Marlborough has shrunk slightly since setting a population record following the 2020 decennial census.
New Census Bureau figures released Thursday estimated the city's population at 41,179 as of July 1, 2023 — 621 fewer people than the 2020 count. The 41,800 people counted in 2020 was a high mark for the city's population, and about 10,000 people higher than the 1990 census.
In a news release Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau said smaller cities in the Northeast saw growth of about 0.2 percent on average. But in Massachusetts, only 15 of the state's 58 cities grew between 2020 and 2023, according to the estimates.
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Marlborough was not alone in seeing a slight population decline. Here's a look at how other cities* changed:
| City | 2,020 | July 1, 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 678,617 | 653,833 | -24,784 |
| Worcester | 206,519 | 207,621 | +1,102 |
| Springfield | 155,929 | 153,672 | -2,257 |
| Cambridge | 118,395 | 118,214 | -181 |
| Lowell | 115,553 | 114,296 | -1,257 |
| Brockton | 105,659 | 104,890 | -769 |
| Quincy | 101,614 | 101,597 | -17 |
| Lynn | 101,264 | 101,241 | -23 |
| New Bedford | 101,088 | 100,695 | -393 |
| Fall River | 93,984 | 93,840 | -144 |
| Lawrence | 89,149 | 88,172 | -977 |
| Newton | 88,950 | 88,415 | -535 |
| Somerville | 81,030 | 80,407 | -623 |
| Framingham | 72,377 | 71,875 | -502 |
| Haverhill | 67,774 | 67,415 | -359 |
| Malden | 66,271 | 65,133 | -1,138 |
| Waltham | 65,206 | 64,477 | -729 |
| Revere | 62,208 | 57,954 | -4,254 |
| Medford | 59,654 | 58,744 | -910 |
| Taunton | 59,392 | 60,412 | +1,020 |
| Weymouth | 57,442 | 59,114 | +1,672 |
| Chicopee | 55,563 | 54,838 | -725 |
| Peabody | 54,492 | 54,056 | -436 |
| Methuen | 53,041 | 53,455 | +414 |
| Everett | 49,075 | 50,318 | +1,243 |
| Barnstable | 48,914 | 49,709 | +795 |
| Attleboro | 46,454 | 46,654 | +200 |
| Salem | 44,483 | 44,744 | +261 |
| Pittsfield | 43,938 | 43,076 | -862 |
| Leominster | 43,791 | 43,627 | -164 |
| Beverly | 42,672 | 42,318 | -354 |
| Fitchburg | 41,947 | 41,579 | -368 |
| Marlborough | 41,800 | 41,179 | -621 |
| Woburn | 40,884 | 41,647 | +763 |
| Westfield | 40,821 | 40,509 | -312 |
| Chelsea | 40,784 | 38,319 | -2,465 |
| Amherst | 39,263 | 40,277 | +1,014 |
| Braintree | 39,148 | 38,490 | -658 |
| Holyoke | 38,251 | 37,628 | -623 |
| Watertown | 35,337 | 35,256 | -81 |
| Randolph | 34,973 | 34,487 | -486 |
| Franklin | 33,272 | 33,125 | -147 |
| North Attleborough | 30,831 | 30,943 | +112 |
| Melrose | 29,819 | 29,357 | -462 |
| Gloucester | 29,731 | 29,959 | +228 |
| Northampton | 29,573 | 29,370 | -203 |
| West Springfield | 28,832 | 28,424 | -408 |
| Agawam | 28,695 | 28,406 | -289 |
| Bridgewater | 28,624 | 28,818 | +194 |
| Gardner | 21,282 | 20,974 | -308 |
| Winthrop | 19,321 | 18,319 | -1,002 |
| Newburyport | 18,291 | 18,731 | +440 |
| Greenfield | 17,763 | 17,628 | -135 |
| Southbridge | 17,732 | 17,880 | +148 |
| Amesbury | 17,369 | 17,303 | -66 |
| Easthampton | 16,215 | 16,031 | -184 |
| North Adams | 12,956 | 12,483 | -473 |
| Palmer | 12,458 | 12,315 | -143 |
*Fourteen cities in Massachusetts retain the title of "town" but are cities. Those include Agawam, Amherst, Barnstable, Braintree, Bridgewater, East Longmeadow, Franklin, North Attleborough, Palmer, Randolph, Southbridge, West Springfield, Weymouth and Winthrop.
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