WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester Regional Research Bureau released a new report entitled "Reinventing Worcester," which looks at the city's demographics and economy.
Executive director Paul Matthews said the changes the city has undergone in recent years go beyond the skyline's appearance. For example, he points to census data and Worcester's population exceeding 200,000 people, something which hasn't been done since 1950.
The report also highlights how the city is becoming younger, which Matthews described as somewhat of a surprise. In 2020, the median age of residents was around 34. Matthews said while college students play a role in those numbers, they don't tell the whole story.
"From 2012 to 2020, it's quite clear that the age cohort, we have about 33,000 people in the city now age 24 to 35,” Matthew said. “That's post-college, right? You can see in the last 10 years it really picked up a lot of people in that age group. It goes to show how the city's becoming younger for people out of college, which has always been an aspiration as long as I have lived in Worcester. Let's keep the college graduates here."
The report also shows trends in race and ethnicity changes. Since 2010, people identifying as two or more races has tripled. The city also has seen significant increases in Asian and Black populations.