New Data Show More Waltham Residents Living In Poverty

WALTHAM, MA — Waltham has a growing population, the percentage of children living in poverty is increasing, as is the cost of rent as a percentage of income here, while the share of people 65 or older living alone in the city is decreasing.

That's according to data covering everything from voter participation rates to car ownership and crime rates released Wednesday by the nonprofit Foundation for MetroWest .

The public data on the Impact MetroWest website is part of a project to highlight strengths and weaknesses across communities in the area.

"MetroWest residents see the changes taking place around them, but they may not understand what's driving those changes," foundation Executive Director Judy Salerno said in a press release. "Impact MetroWest illuminates a common path forward by providing tangible evidence of where we are as a region and generating conversations about where we want to go and how we can get there together."

How's Waltham doing when it comes to the rest of the MetroWest region? Data show that the region is also seeing an increase in childhood poverty, an increase in commute times, and a jump in opioid-related deaths. At the same time data show high school graduation rates are increasing, as is access to entertainment options.

Here's what the data say about Waltham:

• Home ownership has gone up 50 percent between 2014 and 2018,
• Children living in poverty went up 13 percent between 2014 and 2018,
• Single parent families went up 23 percent during that same time,
• Average travel time to work is 26 minutes, which has gone up,
• Population is becoming more diverse with the percent of people born outside of the country between 2014 and 2018 rising 28 percent,
• The number of people 65 or older living alone has gone down by 41 percent,
• People living in poverty has gone up 11 percent,
• Home ownership has gone up by 50 percent.
• Total population of people living in the city went up 6.3 percent between 2000 and 2018.

Go to the MetroWest website to look at the data for Waltham.

Staff writer Neal McNamara contributed to this article. Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).