Community & Data
Shirley Demographics
A Portrait of Shirley
Shirley is a town of about 7,431 people spread across roughly 15.9 square miles of Middlesex County countryside. Four in five of its homes are owner-occupied, households average about two and a half people, and about one resident in fourteen was born outside the United States. Its median household income runs well above the state as a whole, and fewer than three residents in a hundred live below the poverty line. 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), American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020-2024.
Population & Households
- Population (2020 Census): 7,431
- Households: 2,277
- Persons per household: 2.5
- Foreign-born: 8.0% of residents
- Age 65 and over: 19.8%
- Under 18: 16.4%
Race & Ethnicity
- White: 79.6%
- Asian: 2.2%
- Black or African American: 10.1%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race): 12.8%
- Two or more races: 3.8%
- Speak a language other than English at home: 12.3%
Economy & Housing
- Median household income: $122,365
- Poverty rate: 9.9%
- Median home value: $427,600
- Median gross rent: $1,481
- Homeownership: 77.4% of units
- In the labor force: 52.6%
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 August 22, 2026. As in most of the state, Shirley’s largest bloc by far is voters who choose no party at all.
- Total registered: 4,831
- Unenrolled (no party): 3,527 (73.01%)
- Democrats: 785 (16.25%)
- Republicans: 463 (9.58%)
- Political designations: 56 (1.16%)
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Shirley
- MA Secretary of the Commonwealth, Voter Registration
- MA DESE, Ayer Shirley Regional School District
- Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Elections Calendar: August 22, 2026 was the last day to register to vote and change party enrollment for the September 1, 2026 state primary (G. L. c. 51, sections 26 and 28), which is the date this enrollment count is as of.
See how Shirley fits into the broader Commonwealth.