Andover makes Massachusetts’s top 10 on 2 lists
Andover is ranked on 40 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 2 and the top quarter on 14.
The lists Andover does best on
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Andover marked.
Andover out-ranks every neighbor it can be compared with
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
1 spot from the top 3 for low depression
Lists where Andover sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Andover lands in the top half on 20 of 26 lists
Each dot is Andover’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Andover does best come first.
Longer growing season than 90% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Andover’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Where Andover lands in every MA ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #28
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#66
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#11
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#56
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
#24
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
#4
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#150 People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#30
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#124
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#158
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#226
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#44 
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#182
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#14
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#90 
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Provincetown · 27.5 per resident
#84
Most library borrowing#1 West Tisbury · 34.6 per resident
#59
Best libraries for kids#1 West Tisbury · 115.2 per child
#93 
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#115 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 North Adams · 1.9 yrs
#244
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#234
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#250
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
#7 
The number on the right is Andover’s spot. All of Massachusetts’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every MA list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.