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The Commemorative Quarter for Massachusetts





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 & 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.

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 U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).

We also found Shirley in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Shirley.

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/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Massachusetts' counties, including Middlesex, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Shirley.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Shirley - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 978 code has been Overlayed with the 351 area code. New phone numbers in the Shirley area will be assigned with one of these codes: 978 or 351. As a result, placing a call in the Shirley area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Shirley). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Shirley or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025