Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Andover earns an A+, 45th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally, the median household earns $173K, and its schools rank ahead of 89% of Massachusetts towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $986K, 8.5 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 48 places on the National Register. 76% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Andover, above both the Massachusetts town median (47%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Its National Register listings include Shawsheen Village Historic District and Abbot-Battles House. Andover is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Andover beats most towns.
Benjamin Abbot House| Widest gap | Andover | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.7% | 11.9% |
Census counts: 2,863 in 1790, a low of 2,863 in 1790, 36,569 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1680 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
48 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Andover takes its name from Andover in Hampshire, England, 3,210 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionAndover, settled in 1642, takes its name from Andover, a large town in Hampshire, England.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Andover is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Andover. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw22 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
17 mi LakeWalden Pond
21 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
20 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard StadiumFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Andover, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Andover.
Andover draws workers from Lawrence and beyond and is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Massachusetts.
135 miles of trail in 124 parks and preserves. The trail density in Andover is 4.2 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Harold Parker State Forest, 1,004 acres with 28.4 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Harold Parker State Forest | 28.4 mi | 1,004 |
| 2. Ward Reservation | 7 mi | 351 |
| 3. Deer Jump Reservation | 5.9 mi | 142 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $987K.
Its public schools are run by the Andover school district. Three of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 605 | A− |
| Gr Lawrence Regional Vocational TechnicalLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,837 | B− |
| Andover HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,609 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 5.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
Andover beats the Massachusetts average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 13% of Andover adults report frequent mental distress. Among 279 Massachusetts towns, just 3 have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Andover.
| Andover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.3% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 12% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Andover | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.7% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.5% | 5.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
34,345 jobs are based in Andover, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 30.4% of workers work from home, against 18.6% across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave Andover for work: only 16% work in town. 30% of workers work from home in Andover. Since 2013, Andover has added 1,689 jobs, to 34,345 in 2023.
| Andover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $173,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 30% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 8.5 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $987K) costs more against local pay than in 84% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; North Reading is next at $815K.
Andover’s median rent is $2,201 a month. The typical Andover home is worth about $987,000, up 2.6% in a year, 51% above the Massachusetts typical home.
| Andover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,201 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 63% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Reported crimes rose from 186 to 240 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Andover has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 67 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
147 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 29 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 147 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Andover.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7 within 15 miles of the center of Andover
About 8 of every 100 Andover residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Massachusetts.
16.4% of the town is conserved land, across 124 parks and preserves.
48 places in Andover on the National Register of Historic Places.
34 notable people were born in Andover.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646. At the 2020 census, the population was 36,569. It is located 20 miles (32 km) north of Boston and 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Lawrence. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Andover. It is twinned with its namesake: Andover, Hampshire, England.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Andover.
It grades higher overall than all 7 graded towns on its borders; North Reading (A) comes closest. Lawrence next door grades lower for schools (D to Andover’s A) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andover | #45 | A+ | D | A− | A | A+ |
| Tewksbury | #157 | B | D | B− | B | A |
| Methuen | #227 | C+ | C− | B | C | — |
| Wilmington | #108 | A− | D | B | B | A |
| Dracut | #170 | B | C− | B+ | C | A− |
| Lawrence | #275 | D− | C | C | D | C− |
| North Andover | #79 | A | D− | A− | A− | A |
| North Reading | #51 | A | D− | A− | A | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Andover grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #45 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
34 notable people were born here, including Kara Hayward and Samuel Osgood.
