North Reading is #1 in Massachusetts for graduation rate
North Reading is ranked on 39 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 1 and the top quarter on 11.
A podium finish, and more
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with North Reading marked.
North Reading lands in the top half on 17 of 25 lists
Each dot is North Reading’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where North Reading does best come first.
More homes per newcomer than 91% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just North Reading’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
2 spots from the top 10 for new homes
Lists where North Reading sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
North Reading out-ranks 3 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 North Reading 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.
Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#110
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#12
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
#146
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
#185 
Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #46
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#41
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#53
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#30
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
#24
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
#149
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#115 
Safety
Safest#1 Groveland · 0.6
#67 People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#93
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#129
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#156
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#211
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#68 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#247
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#128
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#107 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Provincetown · 27.5 per resident
#157
Most library borrowing#1 West Tisbury · 34.6 per resident
#118
Best libraries for kids#1 West Tisbury · 115.2 per child
#109 
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#225 
The number on the right is North Reading’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.