The city is made up of several neighborhoods, the result of the city's origin as a collection of villages in the northern-most part of Springfield, which it seceded from in 1848. These villages are now represented by the neighborhoods of Aldenville, Willimansett, Chicopee Center (Cabotville), Chicopee Falls, and Fairview.
The city has since filled in most of its open space resulting in a number of new neighborhoods. These neighborhoods include Chicomansett (often referred to as part of Willimansett, this area is located at the southern intersection of Meadow and Chicopee Streets northward to Meetinghouse Road), Ferry Lane (an offshoot of Chicomansett surrounding Ferry Lane), Sandy Hill (the area overlooking Chicopee Center, connecting Cabotville and Aldenville), and the geographically isolated Burnett Road neighborhood.
Chicopee uses the nickname “Crossroads of New England” as part of a business-development marketing campaign. The name reflects the city's convenient location amongst a number of metropolitan areas and its transportation network. Chicopee is located 29 miles away from Hartford, 92 miles away from Boston, 90 miles from Albany, and 140 miles from New York City. Four highways run through its boundaries: I-90, I-91, I-291, and I-391. State routes such as Route 33, 116, and 141, are major providers of regional linkage. The city is home to Westover Metropolitan Airport and is also served by Bradley International Airport in nearby Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Westover Air Reserve Base, was built here in 1940. It has one of the largest runways on the east coast at 11,597 x 301 feet (92 m).
Reflecting the Polish background of many of its residents, a number of Polish-American businesses are based in Chicopee. These include the Chicopee Provision Company,a major producer of Polish sausage kielbasa under the Blue Seal brand and Millie's Pierogi Company, a producer of traditional Polish dumplings pierogi. Chicopee held an annual kielbasa festival at the Fairfield Mall (now the site of Chicopee Crossing on Memorial Drive) until the mid 1990's. The festival featured the World's Largest Kielbasa for a number of years (several times the city's kielbasa lost to a kielbasa in Krakow, Poland).
Although once defined by the predominant nationality of its immigrant occupants, historically largely Polish and French Canadian, the city is now occupied by people of many cultures while still maintaining their historical, ethnic charm.
As of the census of 2000, there were 54,653 people, 23,117 households, and 14,147 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,389.7 people per square mile (922.7/km²). There were 24,424 housing units at an average density of 1,067.9/sq mi (412.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.82% White, 2.28% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 4.90% from other races, and 1.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.76% of the population.
There were 23,117 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,672, and the median income for a family was $44,136. Males had a median income of $35,585 versus $25,975 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,646. About 9.6% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.