What stands out worked out from the figures below

Dummer has the most expensive homes ($242k median).

Marshfield has the most people working from home (17.5%).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Dummer	Marshfield
People
Population	299Lowest	470Highest
Median age	53.6±6.4Highest 38% above U.S.	42.4±8.8Lowest 9% above U.S.
	Dummer and Marshfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.4%±5.1 U.S.: 22%	19.4%±9.1 U.S.: 22%
Age 65+	21.4%±4.6Highest U.S.: 17.2%	10.2%±4.4Lowest U.S.: 17.2%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	16.9%Lowest U.S.: 35.7%	35.7%Highest U.S.: 35.7%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0%±5.7Lowest U.S.: 6.4%	3.6%±2.4Highest U.S.: 6.4%
	Marshfield and Dummer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$91,250±$21kHighest 13% above U.S.	$84,375±$20kLowest 5% above U.S.
	Dummer and Marshfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$242,200±$51kHighest 27% below U.S.	$178,300±$31kLowest 46% below U.S.
	Dummer and Marshfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,125±$79 20% below U.S.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,898Lowest 7% below U.S.	$3,269Highest 5% above U.S.
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100Lowest U.S.: 51.1%	52.4%±62.4Highest U.S.: 51.1%
	Marshfield and Dummer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	9%Highest U.S.: 12.5%	4.9%Lowest U.S.: 12.5%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	94.2%Highest U.S.: 65.2%	81.2%Lowest U.S.: 65.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1977Highest 3 yrs older than U.S.	1938Lowest 42 yrs older than U.S.
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 5% below U.S.	29 minHighest 11% above U.S.
Work from home	6.8%±4.4Lowest U.S.: 15.1%	17.5%±7.2Highest U.S.: 15.1%
	Marshfield and Dummer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

U.S. average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.