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", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.

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.

One downside of living in Swampscott is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Swampscott, the average commute to work is 33.46 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly town. Many of Swampscott’s neighborhoods are dense enough 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.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Swampscott, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Swampscott is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 62.16% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

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.

In addition, Swampscott has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (20.53%).

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