Worcester is a city in Worcester County in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States of America. Its population in the 2000 census was 172,648; a July 1, 2002 estimate put the city's population at 174,962. Worcester is the third-largest city in New England, behind Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. The city is also home to nine collages and universities * Assumption College (1904) * Becker College, formerly Becker Junior College (1887) * Clark University (1887) * College of the Holy Cross (1843) * Oread Institute (1849-closed, 1881) * Quinsigamond Community College (1963) * University of Massachusetts Medical School (1970) * Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) (1865) * Worcester State College (1874)