Greenfield makes Massachusetts’s top 10 on 2 lists
Greenfield is ranked on 35 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 2 and the top quarter on 4.
Hotter summers than 96% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Greenfield’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Greenfield does best on
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Greenfield marked.
Greenfield lands in the top half on 6 of 22 lists
Each dot is Greenfield’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Greenfield does best come first.
3 spots from the top 3 for affordability
Lists where Greenfield sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Greenfield out-ranks 0 of its 2 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 Greenfield 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
#8 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 North Adams · 1.9 yrs
#6
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#25
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#63
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
#106 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#143
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#150
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#140 Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #238
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#136
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#229
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#232
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
#243
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
#196
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#275 People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#196
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#177
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#108
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#60
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#189 
Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#192
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#241
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
#12
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
The number on the right is Greenfield’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.