Welcome to Shirley ...

Shirley is located in Middlesex County<1>.

Shirley was settled in 1720 and was incorporated in 1775.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Shirley has a population of 7,608 people<2> (see below for details).

Shirley is 280 feet [85 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Shirley lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area codes for Shirley: (978) and (351)<4>

The ZIP code for Shirley: 01464<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Shirley had an population of 7,608 people. This is an increase of 5.51% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 19.38% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Shirley had a population of 7,211 people. This makes Shirley the county's 47th most populous community.

The population of Shirley represents 0.11% of the total population of Massachusetts (which has 6,547,629 people), making it the state's 214th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 7,211 people, the population of Shirley increased 13.15% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 6,373 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Shirley.

Communities Also Named Shirley ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Massachusetts communities named Shirley: This one is located in Middlesex County and the other is located in Suffolk County.

Beyond Massachusetts, there are 38 communities that are also named Shirley - they are located in Alabama (2), Arkansas, British Columbia, California (2), Colorado (3), Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York (2), Ontario (3), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Shirley.

Communities near Shirley ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Shirley.

• Lowell
  (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
  • Lowell is located in Middlesex County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 110,904 people
• Nashua
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
  • Nashua is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 89,167 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashua <6>
• Billerica
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billerica
  • Billerica is located in Middlesex County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,021 people
• Fitchburg
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchburg
  • Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,310 people
• Marlborough
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
  • Marlborough is located in Middlesex County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 39,290 people
• Shrewsbury
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury
  • Shrewsbury is located in Worcester County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,910 people
• Chelmsford
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelmsford
  • Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,528 people
• Dracut
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dracut
  • Dracut is located in Middlesex County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,423 people
• Hudson
  (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
  • Hudson is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,620 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson <6>
• Westford
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westford
  • Westford is located in Middlesex County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,276 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Shirley. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Shirley.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Shirley. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shirley.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Shirley. See our Newspapers Page for Shirley.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Shirley ...

Looking for more information about Shirley? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Shirley, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Shirley.

Adding Shirley to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Shirley in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Shirley was in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).

We also found Shirley in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Shirley.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shirley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/