Cambridge makes Massachusetts’s top 10 on 3 lists
Cambridge is ranked on 38 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 3 and the top quarter on 16.
A podium finish, and more
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Cambridge marked.
Younger than 99% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Cambridge’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
1 spot from the top 3 for a top hospital nearby
Lists where Cambridge sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Cambridge lands in the top half on 19 of 26 lists
Each dot is Cambridge’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Cambridge does best come first.
Cambridge out-ranks 3 of its 5 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 Cambridge 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 #44
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#12
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#11
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#30
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
#116
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
#149
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#4 People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#13
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#3
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#282
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#279
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#273 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Provincetown · 27.5 per resident
#40
Most library borrowing#1 West Tisbury · 34.6 per resident
#58
Best libraries for kids#1 West Tisbury · 115.2 per child
#8 
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#58 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#70
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#61
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 North Adams · 1.9 yrs
#267
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#274
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#65
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
#25 
The number on the right is Cambridge’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.