THE GLOUCESTER LAND BRIEF
Land in the
Gulf of Maine Coastal Lowland setting.
Gloucester city has 26.2 square miles of land in Essex County. Its Census reference point is in Gulf of Maine Coastal Lowland, within Northeastern Coastal Zone.
Irregular plains and low hills form a coastal transition with glacial lakes and oak-pine woodland. This northeastern landscape is gentler than the mountainous country farther inland.
Regional context: Northeastern Coastal Zone ↗ · Classification at the Census reference point
Gloucester and Essex County
Gloucester is associated with Essex County in the Census boundary data. Start with the parcel’s tax bill to match the property to that jurisdiction, then confirm which government handles its land use.
Gloucester by land and water
The Census records 15.3 square miles of water within Gloucester, or 36.9% of its total area. It is 3.7 percentage points lower than the 40.6% recorded for Essex County. This is geographic context; waterfront status and usable land must be checked at the parcel.
For scale, Gloucester city has 6.6 times the land area of nearby Rockport CDP (3.98 square miles). These areas describe boundaries, not comparable property prices.

