Hanscom AFB vs Shirley

A side-by-side comparison of Hanscom AFB and Shirley: population, income, housing, and more.

Hanscom AFB and Shirley are places in Massachusetts. This page compares them across population, income, housing, education, commuting, and how each has changed since 2019.

Hanscom AFB has the higher population (1,745 vs 1,256 in Shirley). Since 2019, Hanscom AFB's population has grown faster (-14.7% vs -32.5%).

Population, income & housing

	Hanscom AFB	Shirley
Population	1,745	1,256
Median age	27.9 yrs	44.2 yrs
Median household income	$101,194	—
Median home value	—	$378,700
Median gross rent	$3,501	—
Housing units	495	583
Homeownership rate	0.0%	66.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.8%	41.5%
Unemployment rate	1.1%	8.1%

Trends (ACS 5-year, 2019–2023)

	Hanscom AFB	Shirley
Population	2,045 → 1,745 (-14.7%)	1,861 → 1,256 (-32.5%)
Median household income	$108,056 → $101,194 (-6.4%)	$65,507 → $85,119 (+29.9%)
Median home value	—	$258,600 → $378,700 (+46.4%)
Median gross rent	$3,143 → $3,501 (+11.4%)	$777 → $927 (+19.3%)

Hanscom AFB

Population

2,0451,745

Median household income

$108,056$101,194

Median gross rent

$3,143$3,501

Shirley

Population

1,8611,256

Median household income

$65,507$85,119

Median home value

$258,600$378,700

Median gross rent

$777$927

Age & race/ethnicity

Age distribution (share)

	Hanscom AFB	Shirley
Under 5	13.9%	8.4%
5 to 17	28.3%	9.2%
18 to 24	6.0%	4.9%
25 to 34	15.5%	10.4%
35 to 44	26.2%	20.9%
45 to 54	4.2%	6.4%
55 to 64	6.0%	25.3%
65 to 74	0.0%	10.5%
75 and over	0.0%	4.1%

Race & ethnicity (share)

	Hanscom AFB	Shirley
White (non-Hispanic)	34.9%	88.1%
Black or African American	0.7%	2.1%
American Indian & Alaska Native	0.0%	0.0%
Asian	16.3%	0.0%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	0.0%	0.0%
Some other race	4.2%	0.0%
Two or more races	1.0%	0.0%
Hispanic or Latino	42.9%	9.8%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

Share of adults 25+

	Hanscom AFB	Shirley
No high school diploma	0.0%	0.0%
High school graduate	6.6%	28.3%
Some college or associate's	53.6%	30.2%
Bachelor's degree	14.1%	27.4%
Graduate or professional degree	25.6%	14.1%

Commute to work

How workers get to work (share)

	Hanscom AFB	Shirley
Drove alone	81.0%	65.2%
Carpooled	0.9%	7.4%
Public transit	2.2%	1.8%
Walked	1.3%	0.0%
Bicycle	0.8%	0.0%
Worked from home	13.9%	25.5%
Other means	0.0%	0.0%

Housing

Units in structure (share)

	Hanscom AFB	Shirley
1-unit, detached	29.7%	64.5%
1-unit, attached	40.2%	1.9%
2 to 4 units	30.1%	0.0%
5 to 19 units	0.0%	33.6%
20 or more units	0.0%	0.0%
Mobile home & other	0.0%	0.0%

Poverty & households

	Hanscom AFB	Shirley
Poverty rate	0.0%	4.2%
Average household size	3.40	2.15
Mean commute (minutes)	17	36
Median year structure built	1972	1938