823,938 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.0% since 2020)
493 square miles of land · 1,673 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
39 active community water systems list Essex County in the area they serve, reporting 894,820 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| LYNN WATER AND SEWER COMM surface water · local government · MA3163000 | 101,253 served |
| SALEM AND BEVERLY WATER SUPPLY BOARD surface water · local government · MA3030001 | 90,330 served |
| LAWRENCE WATER WORKS surface water · local government · MA3149000 | 89,143 served |
| HAVERHILL WATER DEPT surface water · local government · MA3128000 | 61,277 served |
| PEABODY WATER DEPT. surface water · local government · MA3229000 | 54,481 served |
| METHUEN WATER DEPT surface water · local government · MA3181000 | 53,059 served |
| BEVERLY WATER DEPT buys surface water · local government · MA3030000 | 47,461 served |
| SALEM WATER DEPARTMENT buys surface water · local government · MA3258000 | 44,480 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 897 people were held in Essex County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 1,042.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
32 school districts have their office in Essex County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $418.8 million — $407.5 million to run schools, about $26,197 per student, plus $3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $33.8 million local (mostly property tax), $291.9 million state, $35.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $40.9 million.
Spent $389.6 million — $340.3 million to run schools, about $26,407 per student, plus $39.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.2 million local (mostly property tax), $300.2 million state, $37.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $125 million.
Spent $179.4 million — $173.5 million to run schools, about $22,058 per student, plus $1.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $48.8 million local (mostly property tax), $100.3 million state, $20.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $28.9 million.
Spent $140 million — $132 million to run schools, about $20,043 per student, plus $616,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $42 million local (mostly property tax), $78.5 million state, $16.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $32.9 million.
Spent $130.2 million — $122.7 million to run schools, about $20,558 per student, plus $71,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $61.2 million local (mostly property tax), $55.9 million state, $12.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $50 million.
Spent $142.7 million — $139.4 million to run schools, about $24,929 per student, plus $723,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $103.9 million local (mostly property tax), $37.3 million state, $6.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $42.1 million.
Spent $97.3 million — $91.7 million to run schools, about $19,731 per student, plus $208,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $63 million local (mostly property tax), $25.8 million state, $8.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $67.3 million.
Spent $92.9 million — $89.1 million to run schools, about $19,834 per student, plus $1.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $55.8 million local (mostly property tax), $22.2 million state, $7.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.6 million.
And 24 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Essex County about $198.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
397 bridges in Essex County: 61 in good condition, 270 fair, and 66 poor (16.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US 1 NEWBRPRT TPK over I 95 /ST128 · built 1963 | 140,655 vehicles a day |
| I 495 over HWY MASSACHUSETTS AVE · built 1963 | 124,334 vehicles a day |
| I 93 over WATER MERRIMACK RIVER · built 1959 | 119,818 vehicles a day |
| I 495 SB over ST 28 SB/N MAIN ST · built 1962 | 95,100 vehicles a day |
| I 495 SB over COMB BMRR & LITTLE RIV · built 1961 | 93,469 vehicles a day |
| I 495 NB over COMB BMRR & LITTLE RIV · built 1961 | 93,469 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $323.5 million of work in Essex County in fiscal 2025, about $400 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
State election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Early voting: 2026-10-17 to 2026-10-30. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-24. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-27. Election Day: 2026-11-03. Last day for mailed ballots to arrive: 2026-11-06.
Source: Secretary of the Commonwealth, 2026 Information for Voters, p. 4 · Cambridge Election Commission, 2026 State Election guide (return deadlines) · Mass. General Laws ch. 54, sec. 93
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Essex County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Essex County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Massachusetts: the state government and every county in Massachusetts.
Nearby counties: Suffolk County (22 mi) · Rockingham County, NH (27 mi) · Middlesex County (29 mi) · Norfolk County (36 mi) · Plymouth County (46 mi) · Strafford County, NH (46 mi).