Harvard ranks #2 in Massachusetts for working from home
Harvard is ranked on 38 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 1 and the top quarter on 14.
A podium finish, and more
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Harvard marked.
2 spots from the top 10 for public schools
Lists where Harvard sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Harvard lands in the top half on 18 of 25 lists
Each dot is Harvard’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Harvard does best come first.
Fewer homes per newcomer than 87% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Harvard’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Harvard out-ranks 5 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 Harvard 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.
Safety
Safest#1 Groveland · 0.6
#27 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Provincetown · 27.5 per resident
#19
Most library borrowing#1 West Tisbury · 34.6 per resident
#34
Best libraries for kids#1 West Tisbury · 115.2 per child
#40 Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #89
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#190
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#53
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#108
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
#168 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#57
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#30
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#224 People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#68
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#164
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#123
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#218
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#112 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#66
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#98
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
#28 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 North Adams · 1.9 yrs
#238
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#72
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#276
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#176 
The number on the right is Harvard’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.