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 15,280 people and four associated neighborhoods, Swampscott is the 137th largest community in Massachusetts. Swampscott has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.

Housing costs in Swampscott are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.

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.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 20.55% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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 educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

In Swampscott, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 34.51 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. 63.67% 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 $72,512, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $290,048 for a family of four.

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 Asian. 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: 19.91%.

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