Methuen is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States.
History
Methuen was first settled in 1642 and was officially incorporated in 1726.
Geography
Methuen is located at (42.730040, -71.179352).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.8 km² (23.1 mi²). 58.0 km² (22.4 mi²) of it is land and 1.8 km² (0.7 mi²) of it (2.95%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 43,789 people, 16,532 households, and 11,539 families residing in the city. The population density was 754.8/km² (1,954.7/mi²). There were 16,885 housing units at an average density of 291.0/km² (753.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.35% White, 1.35% African American, 0.22% Native American, 2.38% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 4.87% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.64% of the population.
There were 16,532 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,627, and the median income for a family was $59,831. Males had a median income of $41,693 versus $31,864 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,305. About 5.8% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Historically, Methuen had a town meeting-selectmen form of government and was known as the Town of Methuen until it adopted a charter replacing its traditional town meeting and selectmen with a council and manager. Even with a form of government that had historically and legally been exclusive to cities, the community, in a gesture of traditionalism, retained the name Town of Methuen in its charter. However, because Massachusetts cities have self-governing powers not available to towns, it became known for legal purposes as "The City Known as the Town of Methuen." A subsequent charter, which adopted a strong mayor form of government, styled the community as the "City of Methuen."
Methuen's city government currently consists of a Mayor, three Councilors-at-Large, two East District Councilors, two Central District Councilors, two West District Councilors, and six School Committee members.
