Community & Data
Demographics
A Portrait of North Reading
North Reading holds about 15,554 people on 13.2 square miles of land north of the Ipswich River, which works out to roughly 1,182 residents per square mile. It is a town of families and of owners: 22.0% of residents are under 18, households average 2.6 people, and 83.8% of its occupied homes are owner-occupied. Figures below are from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Follow the source links for the latest.
Key Figures
Sources: US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
Population & Households
- Population (2020 Census): 15,554
- Households: 5,856
- Persons per household: 2.6
- Foreign-born: 7.2% of residents
- Age 65 and over: 14.3%
- Under 18: 22.0%
Race & Ethnicity
- White: 88.1%
- Asian: 5.4%
- Black or African American: 0.5%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race): 2.1%
- Two or more races: 5.3%
- Speak a language other than English at home: 9.4%
Economy & Housing
- Median household income: $150,820
- Poverty rate: 2.8%
- Median home value: $680,000
- Median gross rent: $2,253
- Homeownership: 83.8% of units
- In the labor force: 70.7%
Registered Voters
Massachusetts publishes voter-registration counts by town through the Secretary of the Commonwealth; the counts below are the state’s enrollment snapshot from February 1, 2025. As in most of the state, North Reading’s largest bloc by far is voters who choose no party at all, and because Massachusetts lets an unenrolled voter take either party’s primary ballot, that bloc is the one every candidate has to win.
- Total registered: 12,921
- Unenrolled (no party): 8,780 (67.95%)
- Democrats: 2,378 (18.40%)
- Republicans: 1,640 (12.69%)
On May 5, 2026 the Town Clerk counted 13,134 registered voters across the town’s four precincts and certified 16% turnout at the annual town election. One voter in six filled a Select Board seat, the Moderator’s chair, a School Committee seat and two Community Planning Commission seats for the whole town, which tells you what a single ballot is worth in a town election.
Sources
See how North Reading fits into the broader Commonwealth.