ZIP Code Tabulation Area

02138

Cambridge, MA · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
38,509
Median household income
$119,967
People below poverty
13.5%
Median home value
$1,212,400

Income

The median income of households in 02138 was $119,967. An estimated 6% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 30.2% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 6
$10,000 to $14,999 1.6
$15,000 to $24,999 5.3
$25,000 to $34,999 3.1
$35,000 to $49,999 5.6
$50,000 to $74,999 8.5
$75,000 to $99,999 11
$100,000 to $149,999 16.8
$150,000 to $199,999 12
$200,000 or more 30.2

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 110965
Female 88670

An estimated 83.9% of households received earnings. An estimated 22.1% of households received Social Security and an estimated 18.1 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $28,676. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 83.9
Social Security 22.1
Retirement income 18.1
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 2.2
Cash public assistance income 1.9

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 13.5 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 14.3% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 6.6% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 15.3% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 13.5
Children under 18 years below poverty 14.3
People 65 years old and over below poverty 6.6
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 15.3

In 2020-2024, 4.9 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 39.4% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 29.4% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 29.4% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 02138 in 2020-2024, 98.4% had health insurance coverage and 1.6% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 88.7% and public coverage was 19.9%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 3.9%.


In 2020-2024, 02138 had a total population of 38,509 - 19,968 (51.9%) females and 18,541 (48.1%) males. The median age was 28.3 years. An estimated 13.1% of the population was under 18 years, 50.6% was 19 to 44 years, 13.1% was 45 to 64 years, and 14.4 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for 02138 in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 600 947
5 to 9 884 472
10 to 14 949 439
15 to 19 2201 1990
20 to 24 3343 4074
25 to 29 2203 2537
30 to 34 1298 1531
35 to 39 1233 1487
40 to 44 803 930
45 to 49 889 690
50 to 54 618 553
55 to 59 571 656
60 to 64 435 636
65 to 69 844 1017
70 to 74 830 768
75 to 79 319 543
80 to 84 184 322
85 and over 337 376

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 60.8% were White; 7% were Black or African American; 3.8% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 17.2% were Asian; 2.9% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 12.1% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 10% of the people in 02138 were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 58.8% of the people in 02138 were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 14,169 households in 02138. The average household size was 2.04 people.

Married-couple households made up 34.8% of the households in 02138 while cohabiting couple households made up 8.8% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 34.7% of all households, while 21.7% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 17.4% of households were male householders living alone, and 22.6% were female householders living alone, for a total of 40% of all households.

In 02138, 19.3% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 29.3% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 34.8
Cohabiting Couples 8.8
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
21.7
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
34.7

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 34.6% of males and 29% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 59.9 59.5
Now married, except separated 34.6 29
Separated 0.6 0.6
Widowed 1.6 3.5
Divorced 3.2 7.5

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In 02138, 79 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 6.3% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 75.3% of the people living in 02138 were U.S. natives. 30.1% of the 02138 population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 24.7% of 02138 residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 34.8% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 39.2 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of 02138 come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for 02138.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 18.1
Asia 46.4
Europe 24.8
Africa 6.2
Northern America 2.9
Oceania 1.6

Language

Among people at least five years old living in 02138 in 2020-2024, 32.2 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 6.9% of people at least five years old; 4.7% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 6.9
Other Indo-European languages 11.3
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 10
Other languages 3.8

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 73.8 % of the people at least one year old living in 02138 were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 73.8
Different house, same county 8.8
Different county, same state 3.6
Different state 10.1
Abroad 3.7

Education

In 2020-2024, 98.4 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 85.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 1.6% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in 02138 was 17,309 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 557 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 3,413. College or graduate school enrollment was 13,339.

Educational Attainment of People in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 1.6
High school diploma or equivalency 3.7
Some college, no degree 7.1
Associate's degree 2
Bachelor's degree 30
Graduate or professional degree 55.6

Disability

In 02138, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 6.6 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 1.7% of people under 18 years old, to 5.6% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 16.4% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In 02138, 59.3 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 38.6% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 87.2% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 8% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 4.8 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 17,590 87.2
Federal, state, or local government workers 1,613 8
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 963 4.8

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in 02138 worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 0.1
Construction 1.4
Manufacturing 5
Wholesale trade 0.4
Retail trade 4.6
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 1.5
Information 2.9
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 5.2
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 18.7
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 48.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 6.1
Other Services, except public administration 3.3
Public administration 2.4

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in 02138 in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 15,781 78.3
Service occupations 1,351 6.7
Sales and office occupations 2,342 11.6
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 223 1.1
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 469 2.3

Commuting to Work

An estimated 23.2% of 02138 workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 3% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 23.6 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 23.2
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 3
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 12.6
Walked 21.4
Other means 8.1
Worked from home 31.7

In 2020-2024, 02138 had a total of 16,043 housing units. Of these housing units, 22.2% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 77.6% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 0.2% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 22.2
Apartments in multi-unit structures 77.6
Mobile homes 0.2
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

6.7% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 54.8% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in 02138 was 4.4 rooms, and of these housing units 31.3% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, 02138 had 14,169 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 1,874 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 41.9% while renters occupied 58.1%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.02 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.05.

7% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 7.8% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 28.8% and another 3.5% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in 02138:

House Heating Fuel Used in 02138 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 68.9
Electricity 21.2
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 7
All other fuels 1
No fuel used 1.8

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in 02138 was $1,212,400.

Of the owner-occupied households, 50.7 % had a mortgage. 49.3% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $3,722 and for owners without a mortgage it was $1,340.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for 02138 was $2,772. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.