Bedford ranks #7 in Massachusetts for public schools
Bedford is ranked on 40 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 1 and the top quarter on 18.
The lists Bedford does best on
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Bedford marked.
2 spots from the top 10 for library borrowing
Lists where Bedford sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Bedford lands in the top half on 23 of 26 lists
Each dot is Bedford’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Bedford does best come first.
Hotter summers than 86% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Bedford’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Bedford out-ranks 2 of its 6 ranked neighbors
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.
Where Bedford 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.
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Provincetown · 27.5 per resident
#15
Most library borrowing#1 West Tisbury · 34.6 per resident
#12
Best libraries for kids#1 West Tisbury · 115.2 per child
#17 
Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #27
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#24
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#32
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#30
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
#24
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
#48
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#42 People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#42
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#167
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#115
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#151
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#119 Safety
Safest#1 Groveland · 0.6
#55 
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#61 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#112
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#35
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#96 
Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#175
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#121
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
#206
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
#125 
The number on the right is Bedford’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.