Springfield makes Massachusetts’s top 10 on 2 lists
Springfield is ranked on 40 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 2 and the top quarter on 5.
A podium finish, and more
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Springfield marked.
Younger than 98% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Springfield’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Springfield lands in the top half on 6 of 26 lists
Each dot is Springfield’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Springfield does best come first.
Springfield out-ranks 0 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 Springfield 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
#3
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#35
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#10
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
#91 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#19 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#204
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#255
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#16 Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #280
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#280
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#275
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#278
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
#277
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
#196
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#100 
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Provincetown · 27.5 per resident
#201
Most library borrowing#1 West Tisbury · 34.6 per resident
#239
Best libraries for kids#1 West Tisbury · 115.2 per child
#245 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#180
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#258
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
#10
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
#30 
The number on the right is Springfield’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.