Worcester County, Massachusetts
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Worcester County is a county located in the state of Massachusetts. Its county seat is Worcester6.
To its east are Middlesex and Norfolk Counties; to its west are Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties; to the north are Cheshire County, New Hampshire and a tiny part of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire; to the south are Providence County, Rhode Island, Windham County, Connecticut, and a tiny part of Tolland County, Connecticut.
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Law and government
Worcester County exists today only as a historical geographic region. It has had no county government since July 1, 1998, when all former county functions were assumed by other governmental agencies. There are vestiges of the old system: for example, county sheriffs are still elected, but are under the state Executive Office of Public Safety. There is not, however, a county council or a commissioner. Communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services.
When the government of Worcester County was established on April 2, 1731, Worcester was chosen as its shire town (later known as a county seat). From that date until the dissolution of the county government, it was the only county seat. Because of the size of the county, there were fifteen attempts over 140 years to split the county into two counties, but without success. Initially, Lancaster was proposed as the seat of the northern county; later, Petersham was proposed once and Fitchburg was proposed repeatedly, most recently in 1903. Perhaps as a concession, on August 1884, the Worcester County Registry of Deeds was split into two, with the Worcester Northern registry placed in Fitchburg.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,090 km² (1,579 mi²). 3,919 km² (1,513 mi²) of it is land and 171 km² (66 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.18% water. The county stretches from the northern to the southern border of the state.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 750,963 people, 283,927 households, and 192,502 families residing in the county. The population density is 192/km² (496/mi²). There are 298,159 housing units at an average density of 76/km² (197/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 89.61% White, 2.73% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 2.62% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.93% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. 6.77% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 283,927 households out of which 33.60% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.50% are married couples living together, 11.40% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.20% are non-families. 26.20% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.40% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.56 and the average family size is 3.11.
In the county the population is spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $47,874, and the median income for a family is $58,394. Males have a median income of $42,261 versus $30,516 for females. The per capita income for the county is $22,983. 9.20% of the population and 6.80% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 11.30% of those under the age of 18 and 9.50% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Cities, towns, and villages*
- Ashburnham
- -- South Ashburnham (a village of Ashburnham)
- Athol
- Auburn
- Barre
- Berlin
- Blackstone
- Bolton
- Boylston
- Brookfield
- Charlton
- Clinton
- Douglas
- -- East Douglas (a village of Douglas)
- Dudley
- East Brookfield
- Fitchburg
- Gardner
- Grafton
- Hardwick
- Harvard
- Holden
- Hopedale
- Hubbardston
- Lancaster
- -- South Lancaster (a village of Lancaster)
- Leicester
- Leominster
- Lunenburg
- Mendon
- Milford
- Millbury
- Millville
- New Braintree
- North Brookfield
- Northborough
- Northbridge
- -- Whitinsville (a village of Northbridge)
- Oakham
- Oxford
- Paxton
- Petersham
- Phillipston
- Princeton
- Royalston
- Rutland
- Shrewsbury
- Southborough
- -- Cordaville (a village of Southborough)
- Southbridge
- Spencer
- Sterling
- Sturbridge
- -- Fiskdale (a village of Sturbridge)
- Sutton
- Templeton
- -- Baldwinville (part of Templeton)
- Upton
- -- West Upton (a village of Upton)
- Uxbridge
- Warren
- Webster
- West Boylston
- West Brookfield
- Westborough
- Westminster
- Winchendon
- Worcester
* Villages are census division, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.
External links
- National Register of Historic Places listing for Worcester Co., Massachusetts (http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/MA/Worcester/districts.html)
- MassGov page on counties (http://lwvma.org/govcounty.shtml).