Townsend ranks #5 in Massachusetts for graduation rate
Townsend 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 4.
The lists Townsend does best on
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Townsend marked.
Townsend lands in the top half on 14 of 25 lists
Each dot is Townsend’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Townsend does best come first.
Colder winters than 92% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Townsend’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
1 spot from the top 10 for library visits
Lists where Townsend sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Townsend out-ranks 1 of its 4 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 Townsend 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.
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Provincetown · 27.5 per resident
#11
Most library borrowing#1 West Tisbury · 34.6 per resident
#38
Best libraries for kids#1 West Tisbury · 115.2 per child
#35 
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 North Adams · 1.9 yrs
#72
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#104
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#133
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#99
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#92
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#256 
Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #160
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#110
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#166
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#153
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
#116
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
#230
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#196 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Edgartown · 62.9%
#249
Most new homes#1 Nantucket · 17.4 per 1,000
#205
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Orange · +69.9%
#20
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Malden · 83.1 per home
People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#218
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#67
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#221
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#205
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#114 
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#276 
The number on the right is Townsend’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.