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The Commemorative Quarter for Massachusetts





Welcome to Worcester ...

The city of Worcester is located in Worcester County<1> and is the County Seat for Worcester County.

Worcester was settled in 1673.

When the people of Worcester refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Worcesterite<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Worcester has a population of 185,371 people<3> (see below for details).

The community of Worcester is 500 feet [152 m] above sea level.<4>.

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

Area Codes for Worcester: 508 & 774<5>

The ZIP codes for Worcester: 01601-01610, 01613-01615, 01653-01655<6>

The Pronunciation of Worcester ..

We have heard more than one pronunciation for Worcester:<7>

Wuss-ter

Wuh-stir

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Worcester had an population of 185,371 people. This is an increase of 2.39% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 7.37% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Worcester had a population of 181,045 people (which is 22.62% of the total population of Worcester County). This makes Worcester the county's most populous community.

The population of Worcester represents 2.77% of the total population of Massachusetts (which has 6,547,629 people), making it the state's 2nd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 181,045 people, the population of Worcester increased 4.86% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 172,648 people).

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

Communities Also Named Worcester ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 8 communities that are also named Worcester - they are located in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Saskatchewan, Vermont and Wisconsin.

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

Websites for Worcester ...

Official Website:   www.ci.worcester.ma.us/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.worcesterchamber.org/

Junior League:   www.jlwma.org/

Communities near Worcester ...

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

  • Framingham
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Leominster
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Marlborough
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Milford
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hudson
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
    • Hudson is located in Middlesex County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
  • Holden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Grafton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Westborough
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Hopkinton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Ashland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)

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 Worcester. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Worcester.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Worcester. 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 Worcester.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Worcester. Our list includes 170 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Worcester.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Worcester ...

Looking for more information about Worcester? 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 Worcester, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Worcester.

Adding Worcester to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Worcester 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 Worcester was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

X2X - From that list, the Worcester post office opened in 1787.

We also found Worcester in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (1803).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Worcester.

The official website for Worcester: www.ci.worcester.ma.us/

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 Worcester, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Worcester refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Worcester may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Worcester.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Worcester - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>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 508 code has been Overlayed with the 774 area code. New phone numbers in the Worcester area will be assigned with one of these codes: 508 or 774. As a result, placing a call in the Worcester area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>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 city (such as Worcester). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Worcester or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Worcester includes: 01601, 1602, 1603, 1604, 1605, 1606, 1607, 1608, 1609, 01613, 1614, 01653, 1654 & 01655.
<7>The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Worcester. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<8>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<9>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025