How Methuen compares across Massachusetts
Methuen is ranked on 28 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 0 and the top quarter on 1.
Drier than 90% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Methuen’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Methuen out-ranks 1 of its 7 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.
Methuen lands in the top half on 6 of 16 lists
Each dot is Methuen’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Methuen does best come first.
The lists Methuen does best on
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Methuen marked.
Where Methuen 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.
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 North Adams · 1.9 yrs
#118
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#150
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#85
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
#36 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#95 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#153
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#131
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#270
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#250
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#49 
Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#172 
People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#242
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#51
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#232
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#201
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#96 
The number on the right is Methuen’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.