Swampscott is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 15,658 people and four associated neighborhoods, Swampscott is the 137th largest community in Massachusetts. Swampscott has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns.

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

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

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 27.22% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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, Swampscott 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.

Swampscott is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

In Swampscott, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.46 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the town is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Even though Swampscott is a smaller town, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the train for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.

If knowledge is power, Swampscott is a pretty powerful place. 62.16% of the adults in Swampscott 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 Swampscott in 2022 was $78,590, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $314,360 for a family of four. However, Swampscott contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Swampscott is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Swampscott home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Swampscott residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Swampscott include Irish, Italian, English, Russian, and German.

Swampscott also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 20.53%.

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