Swampscott ranks #17 in Massachusetts for graduation rate
Swampscott is ranked on 35 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 0 and the top quarter on 11.
The lists Swampscott does best on
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Swampscott marked.
Swampscott lands in the top half on 16 of 25 lists
Each dot is Swampscott’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Swampscott does best come first.
More vacation homes than 82% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Swampscott’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
3 spots from the top 25 for a top hospital nearby
Lists where Swampscott sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Swampscott out-ranks 2 of its 3 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 Swampscott 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.
Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #92
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#136
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#53
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#153
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
#28 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#51
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#28
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
#189
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
#153 
People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#66
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#175
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#112
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#121
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#140 
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Provincetown · 27.5 per resident
#151
Most library borrowing#1 West Tisbury · 34.6 per resident
#73
Best libraries for kids#1 West Tisbury · 115.2 per child
#55 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#264
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#248
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#39 
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 North Adams · 1.9 yrs
#228
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#247
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#217
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#233 
The number on the right is Swampscott’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.