In 1731, the extreme western portions of Suffolk County, which includedMendon andUxbridge, were split off to become part ofWorcester County. In 1793, most of the original Suffolk County split off and becameNorfolk County, leaving only Boston, Chelsea, Hingham, and Hull in Suffolk. Hingham and Hull would leave Suffolk County and join Plymouth County in 1803.[7]Revere was set off from Chelsea and incorporated in 1846 andWinthrop was set off from Revere and incorporated in 1852. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Boston annexed several adjacent cities and towns including Hyde Park, Roxbury, West Roxbury, and Dorchester from Norfolk County and Charlestown and Brighton fromMiddlesex County, resulting in an enlargement of Suffolk County.
During the early 20th century, County government functions were absorbed by the City ofBoston, withBoston City Council becoming the de-facto County Commission, and the City Treasurer similarly becoming the County Treasurer, albeit said government was not formally abolished until 1999.[8]
Like an increasing number of Massachusetts counties, Suffolk County exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government.[9] All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1999. The sheriff, district attorney, and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county region, but there is no county council, executives or commissioners. Prior to the abolition of county government, the authority of the Suffolk County Commission had for many years been exercised by the Boston City Council, even though three communities in the county are not part of the city. However, communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services.[10]
Politically speaking, Suffolk County supports the Democratic Party overwhelmingly. No Republican presidential candidate has won there sinceCalvin Coolidge in 1924. In 2012 Barack Obama received 77.4% of the vote, compared to 20.8% for formergovernor of MassachusettsMitt Romney. In the2014 gubernatorial election,Martha Coakley carried the county by a 32.4% margin, while losing the election statewide by 48.4 to 46.5%. In 2020,Joe Biden won the county by the largest margin of any presidential candidate sinceLyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and was the first candidate since then to win more than 80% of the vote in the county.
Voter registration and party enrollment as of February 1, 2025[11]
The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department's primary responsibility is oversight of theNashua Street Jail and theSouth Bay House of Correction. These were built in the 1990s to replace the historicCharles Street Jail andDeer Island Prison, respectively. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department was among those named in a 2020WBUR report about the neglect of inmates with medical conditions in Massachusetts prisons leading to their deaths.[13]
Several notable figures in Massachusetts history were once the sheriff of Suffolk County:[14]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 120 square miles (310 km2), of which 58 square miles (150 km2) is land and 62 square miles (160 km2) (52%) is water.[15] It is the second-smallest county in Massachusetts by land area and smallest by total area.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 797,936. Of the residents, 16.0% were under the age of 18 and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 32.3 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.5 males. 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 0.0% lived in rural areas.[23][24][25]
There were 324,655 households in the county, of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 38.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[24]
There were 349,616 housing units, of which 7.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 33.2% were owner-occupied and 66.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%.[24]
Suffolk County, Massachusetts – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the 2010 census, of the 292,767 households, 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.1% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 52.0% were non-families, and 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 31.5 years.[29]
The median income for a household in the county was $50,597 and the median income for a family was $58,127. Males had a median income of $48,887 versus $43,658 for females. The per capita income for the county was $30,720. About 15.7% of families and 20.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 28.1% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.[30]
Suffolk County Racial Breakdown of Population (2017)[31][32]
Map of Suffolk County showing (clockwise from bottom)Boston (red),Chelsea (yellow),Revere (green), andWinthrop (blue). Interior water features such asBoston Harbor are filled in by the color of the containing city.
