Medford is a larger medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 58,744 people and 14 associated neighborhoods, Medford is the 21st largest community in Massachusetts. Medford has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.

Housing costs in Medford 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.

Also of interest is that Medford 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: 18.55% 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.

Another interesting thing about Medford, despite not being a huge city, is that there is a relatively high proportion of people living here who are young, single, and upwardly-mobile professionals. This makes it a good choice for other relocating single professionals. Here, these young singles will find many others like themselves, with opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

One of the nice things about Medford is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

One downside of living in Medford is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Medford, the average commute to work is 32.37 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the city, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of Medford’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Although the majority of commuting trips in the city are by private automobile, Medford is somewhat unusual for a city of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the subway helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Medford area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Medford. 55.96% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

The per capita income in Medford in 2022 was $58,522, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $234,088 for a family of four. However, Medford contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Medford is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Medford home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Medford residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Medford include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Haitian.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Medford's cultural character, accounting for 23.62% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Medford is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.