Gloucester ranks #40 in Massachusetts for short commutes
Gloucester is ranked on 40 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 0 and the top quarter on 2.
Cooler summers than 96% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Gloucester’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Gloucester does best on
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Gloucester marked.
Gloucester lands in the top half on 9 of 26 lists
Each dot is Gloucester’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Gloucester does best come first.
Gloucester out-ranks 0 of its 4 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 Gloucester 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.
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#40 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#35
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#95
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
#138
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
#150 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#131
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#61
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#137 Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #217
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#190
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#202
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#232
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
#116
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
#103
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#211 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 North Adams · 1.9 yrs
#162
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#91
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#142
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
#78 
People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#188
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#248
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#37
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#25
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#242 
The number on the right is Gloucester’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.