Massachusetts Living Index

Essex

North Shore · pop. 3,847

Essex is where Cape Ann antique dealers and fried clam purists converge: the clam shacks here (Woodman's, Farnham's) predate the category, and the salt marsh views are extraordinary.

Historic VillageCoastal Quiet

Livability Index

/ 100

Ranks #119 of 194 MA towns

The numbers

Median home

$880k

5.5× household income

Household income

$161k

ACS median

Commute to Boston

45 min

peak driving

Population

3,847

5-yr trend 60/100

How Essex scores

Schools

Safety

Walkability

Transit

Biking

Dining

Nightlife

Arts & Culture

Green Space

Diversity

Climate

The honest read

Best for

Buyers who want a small, prosperous, genuinely historic village with access to the Great Marsh.

The tradeoff

Very small town means limited services, and there is no commuter rail connection.

Compare on your terms

These scores reflect a neutral weighting. Your priorities are not neutral. Open the full atlas to tune schools, walkability, affordability, commute, and seven more dimensions, and see where Essex lands for you.

Open Essex in the atlas About Gary Browse all 194 towns

Nearby towns

Bordering and adjacent Massachusetts towns near Essex.

Gloucester

57/100 · $771k

North Shore

Manchester-by-the-Sea

Popular comparisons

Common head‑to‑heads people search when looking at Essex.

EssexvsGloucester

56 · 57livability

Side‑by‑side →

EssexvsManchester-by-the-Sea

Want my honest read on Essex?

I'm Gary Fikes, a licensed real estate agent at MP Signature Realty and the curator of this site. Tell me what you're looking for and I'll reply personally within 1 business day. No auto-dialer, no spam, no resale.

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