Town Chart.

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Towns with the best schools in Massachusetts

Ranked by our Schools score out of 100, which is based on how many high-school students take AP, IB or college classes, how many students miss a lot of school, the graduation rate and class size, for the public schools in the town. Of the 199 towns in Massachusetts with 1,000 or more people, these are the top 25.

Newburyport ranks first with a score of 79. Bedford and Granby follow, with 79 and 77. Scores compare each town with all 27,850 towns we track across the US.

RankTownScore High-school students in AP or IB classesHigh-school students taking college classes Population
1 Newburyport, Essex County 79 26.3%20.0% 18,652
2 Bedford, Middlesex County 79 26.7%16.5% 14,727
3 Granby, Hampshire County 77 28.7%16.3% 6,080
4 Williamstown, Berkshire County 75 44.3%8.7% 9,150
5 Lexington, Middlesex County 73 50.3%0.0% 34,295
6 Weston, Middlesex County 71 54.9%0.0% 11,579
7 Natick, Middlesex County 71 34.8%1.7% 36,873
8 Cohasset, Norfolk County 71 41.0%0.0% 8,427
9 Wellesley, Norfolk County 70 30.5%0.1% 30,347
10 Melrose, Middlesex County 69 41.4%7.2% 29,650
11 Westwood, Norfolk County 69 39.8%0.0% 16,318
12 Medfield, Norfolk County 69 37.7%0.0% 13,068
13 Dover, Norfolk County 69 34.9%0.0% 5,930
14 Concord, Middlesex County 69 26.1%0.8% 18,223
15 Millis, Norfolk County 69 36.3%0.3% 8,888
16 Beverly, Essex County 69 17.6%36.0% 42,665
17 Acton, Middlesex County 69 28.7%0.2% 24,155
18 Duxbury, Plymouth County 68 27.4%0.0% 16,185
19 Westford, Middlesex County 68 27.8%1.2% 24,690
20 Reading, Middlesex County 68 26.0%2.2% 25,612
21 Northfield, Franklin County 68 23.5%7.2% 2,872
22 Harvard, Worcester County 67 33.4%0.0% 6,927
23 Mansfield, Bristol County 67 27.9%0.4% 23,931
24 Longmeadow, Hampden County 67 26.1%0.0% 15,696
25 Boxford, Essex County 67 29.6%0.7% 8,208

This is not a test-score ranking, and graduation rates are from 2018 or 2019. Only towns with a high school of their own are listed, and a town does not show up when its students go to school elsewhere. Only towns with 1,000 or more people are ranked. Scores compare each town with all towns we track. See how we score towns and where the figures come from. These are estimates, so check official sources before you decide.

More rankings for Massachusetts

Towns with the best schools in other states

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