Melrose is a medium-sized city located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 29,357 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Melrose is the 61st largest community in Massachusetts. Melrose has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.

Melrose home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Melrose real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Melrose has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Of important note, Melrose is also a city of artists. Melrose has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Melrose’s character.

A relatively large number of people in Melrose telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 25.58% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Melrose is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

One downside of living in Melrose is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Melrose, the average commute to work is 35.92 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the city, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of Melrose’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Like elsewhere in America, most people in Melrose use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Melrose‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the subway. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.

If knowledge is power, Melrose is a pretty powerful place. 61.99% of the adults in Melrose have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Melrose in 2022 was $65,038, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $260,152 for a family of four.

Melrose is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Melrose home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Melrose residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Melrose include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Polish.

Melrose also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 15.96%.

The most common language spoken in Melrose is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.