About Assumption College

Worcester (/ˈwʊstər/ (listen) WUUS-tər) is a city in, and county seat of, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, Worcestershire, England, as of the 2010 Census the city’s population was 181,045, making it the second-most populous city in New England after Boston. Worcester is nearly 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston, 50 miles (80 km) east of Springfield and 40 miles (64 km) north of Providence. Due to its location close the geographic center of Massachusetts, Worcester is known as the “Heart of the Commonwealth;” a heart is the certified symbol of the city.

Worcester developed as an industrial city in the 19th century due to the Blackstone Canal and rail transport, producing machinery, textiles and wire. Large numbers of European immigrants made going on the city’s growing population. However, the city’s manufacturing base waned as soon as World War II. Long-term economic and population end was not reversed until the 1990s, when well along education, medicine, biotechnology, and other immigrants started to make their mark. The city’s population has grown by 15% since 1980, and it has experienced urban renewal.

Modern Worcester is known for its diversity and large immigrant population, with significant communities of Vietnamese, Brazilians, Albanians, Puerto Ricans, Ghanaians, Dominicans, and others. 22% of Worcester’s population was born outside the United States. A center of well along education, it is home to nine sever colleges and universities, including Holy Cross, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), and Clark University. Architecturally, Worcester is notable for its large number of 19th century triple-decker houses, Victorian-era mill architecture, and lunch car diners such as Miss Worcester.

Worcester is the principal city of Central Massachusetts, and is a regional government, employment and transportation hub. Since the 1970s, and especially after the construction of Interstate 495 and Interstate 290, both Worcester and its surrounding towns have become increasingly integrated in imitation of Boston’s suburbs. The Worcester region now marks the western periphery of the Boston-Worcester-Providence (MA-RI-NH) U.S. Census Combined Statistical Area (CSA), or Greater Boston.