Impact Essex County

Why is this important?

Education is increasingly critical to a productive life. Not only do earnings generally rise with increased education levels, but a solid education prepares one to be an informed citizen, consumer and community member. Disparities in enrollment between the sexes can mean unequal levels of opportunities for success as adults.

How is our county doing?

In 2020-24, females made up 68% of students in prekindergarten, 49% of students in kindergarten through 12th grade, 56% of undergraduate college students and 60% of graduate or professional students. The share of females in prekindergarten was up 4 percentage points from 2010-14, the largest increase of any group. The percentage of women who were graduate or professional students decreased 4 percentage points in that same time period.

Rates in Essex County were similar to state and national levels, although women in Essex County represented a slightly larger share of graduate or professional students compared to Massachusetts (57%) or the U.S. (59%).

How do we compare to similar counties?

Essex County was similar to the comparison counties of Middlesex, MA, Lake, IL and Westchester, NY. Middlesex and Lake had smaller shares of students in graduate or professional school who were female (54% and 57%, respectively). Essex also had a higher percentage of women who were undergraduate college students than Westchester (58%), Middlesex (52%) and Lake (50%).

Notes about the data

The multi-year figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval).

The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census.

Female Enrollment in School, 2020-24

	College	Graduate or Professional School	K-12	Not Enrolled	Pre-K
Essex County, MA	56%	60%	49%	52%	68%
Beverly	64%	64%	50%	51%	59%
Gloucester	54%	74%	43%	52%	37%
Haverhill	59%	69%	42%	51%	79%
Lawrence	62%	47%	47%	51%	63%
Lynn	45%	60%	49%	51%	63%
Newburyport	81%	51%	58%	55%	76%
Peabody	60%	73%	48%	52%	60%
Salem	72%	54%	46%	55%	59%
Andover	52%	57%	48%	51%	84%
Boxford	51%	80%	41%	48%	100%
Danvers	44%	74%	55%	53%	77%
Essex	44%	100%	55%	49%	70%
Georgetown	88%	38%	50%	51%	76%
Groveland	71%	38%	52%	53%	19%
Hamilton	46%	18%	50%	52%	63%
Ipswich	20%	12%	60%	53%	96%
Lynnfield	53%	65%	56%	52%	34%
Manchester	59%	100%	53%	48%	60%
Marblehead	43%	50%	52%	53%	91%
Merrimac	84%	64%	30%	49%	81%
Middleton	34%	85%	39%	43%	29%
Nahant	56%	100%	39%	55%	25%
Newbury	32%	100%	55%	49%	83%
North Andover	49%	50%	43%	52%	80%
Rockport	65%	31%	66%	54%	100%
Rowley	71%	54%	52%	49%	62%
Salisbury	61%	82%	52%	51%	62%
Saugus	48%	38%	52%	52%	67%
Swampscott	31%	79%	52%	53%	93%
Topsfield	33%	50%	41%	53%	78%
Wenham	61%	N/A	38%	53%	78%
West Newbury	57%	86%	60%	49%	63%
Middlesex County, MA	52%	54%	49%	51%	67%
Lake County, IL	52%	57%	49%	50%	60%
Westchester County, NY	55%	61%	49%	51%	71%
Massachusetts	55%	57%	49%	51%	65%
United States	55%	59%	49%	51%	61%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.

Number of Female Students, 2020-24

	College	Graduate or Professional School	K-12	Not Enrolled	Pre-K
Essex County, MA	20,915	5,879	61,284	311,146	6,608
Beverly	2,717	367	2,618	15,544	356
Gloucester	349	228	1,312	12,957	147
Haverhill	1,350	515	4,367	26,098	905
Lawrence	2,416	404	7,938	31,493	947
Lynn	1,984	663	8,857	37,002	589
Newburyport	472	34	1,810	7,891	87
Peabody	1,041	468	3,643	22,049	278
Salem	2,188	337	2,371	18,911	207
Andover	1,267	298	3,238	12,933	434
Boxford	172	44	703	2,853	48
Danvers	320	288	2,072	11,764	243
Essex	27	15	355	1,365	19
Georgetown	161	49	710	3,120	116
Groveland	97	9	582	2,756	29
Hamilton	173	24	775	2,737	39
Ipswich	88	15	1,199	5,682	172
Lynnfield	150	83	1,518	4,664	64
Manchester	73	80	543	1,940	18
Marblehead	276	63	1,999	7,959	310
Merrimac	85	28	199	2,688	64
Middleton	88	108	516	3,316	22
Nahant	46	42	91	1,554	8
Newbury	74	121	507	2,620	54
North Andover	1,398	312	2,204	11,275	318
Rockport	103	18	486	3,169	39
Rowley	127	66	502	2,350	24
Salisbury	231	63	454	3,927	39
Saugus	539	167	1,663	11,859	220
Swampscott	101	310	1,131	6,168	187
Topsfield	41	63	461	2,549	94
Wenham	833	0	306	1,346	72
West Newbury	73	44	376	1,754	50
Middlesex County, MA	47,348	26,284	116,226	602,828	12,107
Lake County, IL	16,956	5,895	62,988	253,256	4,984
Westchester County, NY	26,382	10,845	78,365	374,083	7,904
Massachusetts	224,058	84,928	496,880	2,647,944	48,924
United States	9,232,751	2,744,256	26,347,196	123,249,065	2,196,320

Female Enrollment in School, 2010-14

	College	Graduate or Professional School	K-12	Not Enrolled	Pre-K
Essex County, MA	57%	64%	48%	52%	64%
Amesbury	45%	76%	43%	51%	85%
Beverly	62%	61%	45%	54%	70%
Gloucester	63%	46%	50%	54%	68%
Haverhill	55%	59%	49%	52%	82%
Lawrence	62%	71%	51%	52%	45%
Lynn	60%	68%	50%	52%	56%
Methuen	55%	58%	44%	52%	59%
Newburyport	57%	76%	51%	54%	79%
Peabody	60%	71%	50%	52%	55%
Salem	55%	69%	50%	54%	67%
Andover	56%	64%	49%	54%	78%
Boxford	34%	45%	50%	50%	90%
Danvers	56%	75%	48%	51%	66%
Essex	58%	65%	61%	51%	48%
Georgetown	69%	70%	48%	50%	68%
Groveland	43%	89%	45%	49%	54%
Hamilton	43%	27%	45%	55%	76%
Ipswich	46%	81%	48%	51%	86%
Lynnfield	52%	69%	54%	51%	57%
Manchester	73%	100%	46%	52%	50%
Marblehead	65%	79%	43%	54%	73%
Merrimac	60%	66%	50%	53%	34%
Middleton	44%	66%	38%	39%	71%
Nahant	58%	41%	63%	56%	100%
Newbury	52%	18%	46%	54%	37%
North Andover	50%	47%	40%	52%	71%
Rockport	36%	77%	56%	57%	40%
Rowley	54%	100%	43%	54%	30%
Salisbury	41%	70%	52%	51%	44%
Saugus	60%	82%	53%	54%	42%
Swampscott	57%	70%	51%	55%	51%
Topsfield	35%	84%	62%	50%	58%
Wenham	62%	73%	52%	52%	100%
West Newbury	38%	67%	41%	50%	64%
Middlesex County, MA	53%	55%	49%	52%	71%
Lake County, IL	51%	59%	48%	50%	65%
Westchester County, NY	57%	62%	49%	52%	70%
Massachusetts	56%	57%	49%	52%	65%
United States	55%	58%	49%	51%	61%

Number of Female Students, 2010-14

	College	Graduate or Professional School	K-12	Not Enrolled	Pre-K
Essex County, MA	24,248	6,948	62,023	281,383	6,334
Amesbury	210	155	1,106	6,425	163
Beverly	2,339	517	2,374	15,444	377
Gloucester	674	152	2,073	12,089	283
Haverhill	1,727	556	4,947	22,839	577
Lawrence	2,754	246	8,045	27,256	461
Lynn	3,103	694	8,019	32,799	615
Methuen	1,646	371	3,758	17,514	262
Newburyport	318	314	1,250	7,000	301
Peabody	1,370	391	3,627	20,613	327
Salem	2,106	583	2,718	16,088	364
Andover	1,254	456	3,537	11,869	492
Boxford	65	39	861	2,887	138
Danvers	831	354	2,243	9,827	178
Essex	46	26	393	1,374	13
Georgetown	224	21	802	2,900	149
Groveland	137	48	581	2,451	21
Hamilton	156	120	718	2,795	139
Ipswich	260	209	1,135	5,055	65
Lynnfield	253	82	1,287	4,366	84
Manchester	139	16	454	1,988	16
Marblehead	367	317	1,686	7,653	368
Merrimac	207	66	661	2,404	36
Middleton	103	42	564	2,749	106
Nahant	130	9	285	1,486	25
Newbury	278	13	508	2,642	17
North Andover	967	367	2,044	10,210	352
Rockport	69	92	493	3,203	24
Rowley	112	41	438	2,379	10
Salisbury	180	77	558	3,339	33
Saugus	779	181	2,075	11,316	121
Swampscott	297	181	1,155	5,491	132
Topsfield	98	95	797	2,201	38
Wenham	973	68	420	1,286	6
West Newbury	76	49	411	1,445	41
Middlesex County, MA	51,394	26,936	114,699	556,901	13,986
Lake County, IL	18,558	4,960	69,063	240,946	6,436
Westchester County, NY	29,528	9,259	83,273	351,922	8,577
Massachusetts	256,218	80,978	509,225	2,427,935	54,201
United States	10,782,912	2,422,288	26,344,871	111,930,049	2,403,844

INDICATORS	TREND \| ESSEX COUNTY
People 65 or Older Living Alone	Decreasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Prevalence of Overweight Adults	Not Applicable
Preterm Births	Increasing
Infant Mortality Rate	Maintaining
Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels	Decreasing
Children Living in Poverty	Increasing
Children Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Disengaged Youth	Maintaining
Live Births to Teen Mothers	Decreasing
Youth Arrests	Decreasing
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Establishments	Maintaining
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Employment	Maintaining
Tourism Spending	Increasing
Voter Participation Rate	Increasing
Charitable Contributions	Maintaining
Protected Land	Not Applicable
Days with Good Air Quality	Increasing
Beach Contamination	Increasing
Daily Water Use per Resident	Decreasing
Crimes Against People	Maintaining
Crimes Against Property	Decreasing
Drug-Related Arrests	Maintaining
Reports of Domestic Violence	Increasing
Incarceration Rates	Decreasing
Recidivism	Decreasing
Households Without Vehicles	Decreasing
Means of Transportation to Work	Not Applicable
Traffic Injuries and Fatalities	Maintaining
Households With Internet Access	Not Applicable
Change in Total Population	Increasing
Change in Population by Age/Sex	Not Applicable
People with Disabilities	Maintaining
Households by Type	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Sex	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Foreign-Born Population	Increasing
Language Diversity	Increasing
Change in Total Jobs	Increasing
Change in Jobs by Sector	Not Applicable
Change in Average Salary	Increasing
Change in Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
Median Earnings by Occupation by Gender	Not Applicable
People Entering/Leaving County for Work	Not Applicable
Employer Size	Not Applicable
Self-Employment Revenue	Increasing
Business Ownership by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate	Increasing
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Prekindergarten Participation	Not Applicable
Female Enrollment in School	Not Applicable
Chronically Absent Students	Increasing
Per-Student Spending	Increasing
Bullying	Maintaining
Student Performance on Grade 3 Reading	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 English Language Arts	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 Math	Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate	Increasing
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group	Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults	Not Applicable
Bachelor's Degree or Higher by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Income in Relation to Poverty Level	Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income	Increasing
Median Household Income by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income by Household Type	Not Applicable
Living Wage Rate by Household Type	Not Applicable
Access to Financial Services, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Households Receiving Temporary Assistance	Increasing
Households Receiving Federal Food Assistance	Increasing
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Earned Income Tax Credit Participation	Decreasing
Economically Disadvantaged Students	Increasing
Median Home Value	Increasing
Cost of Homeownership	Increasing
Cost of Renting	Increasing
Homeownership Rates	Maintaining
Homeownership Rates by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Homeless Persons	Not Applicable
People Without Health Insurance	Decreasing
Medical Care Expenses	Increasing
Prevalence of Children with Asthma	Maintaining
Prevalence of Overweight Children	Maintaining
Diabetes Incidence	Decreasing
Chronic Disease Among Older Adults	Increasing
Cancer Incidence	Decreasing
Cancer Mortality Rate	Decreasing
Heart Disease Mortality Rate	Decreasing
Mortality Rate	Decreasing
People who Smoke	Not Applicable
Use of Illegal Drugs	Not Applicable
Youth Use of Illegal Drugs	Not Applicable
Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions	Not Applicable
Drug Overdose Mortality Rate	Increasing
Prevalence of Mental Illness	Maintaining
Suicide Rate	Maintaining
Children Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 3 Reading	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 English Language Arts	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 Math	Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group	Not Applicable
Bachelor's Degree or Higher by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Homeownership Rates by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable

INDICATORS

TREND | ESSEX COUNTY